ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

19 November 2012

The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration has been published.  [source]

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ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS DECLARATION

WE, the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (hereinafter referred to as “ASEAN”), namely Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, on the occasion of the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

REAFFIRMING our adherence to the purposes and principles of ASEAN as enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, in particular the respect for and promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance; Read the rest of this entry »

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MARUAH statement on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

10 November 2012

We, members of MARUAH, held a consultation with organisations and the public on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD), a document that we have been anxiously waiting for. We have been actively engaged on the AHRD, submitting reports and holding consultations at the local level.

We appreciate the work put in by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) representatives, their support staff and the hard work too of the ASEAN Secretariat. In November 2012, ASEAN leaders will adopt the AHRD as a document for the people of ASEAN.

Whilst we congratulate the AICHR team for completing what is often described a difficult feat, we will need to register our deepest concerns and regrets in this matter. Read the rest of this entry »

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3rd MARUAH submission on ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

9 July 2012

Please see below for MARUAH’s 3rd submission on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. Our submission can also be downloaded as a PDF. For reference, we include our 1st and 2nd submissions.

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8 July 2012

To the ASEAN Foreign Ministers & AICHR representatives,

Dear Sirs and Madams,

We take this opportunity to thank the members of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) for their dedication to the service at the regional level and to the teams that work with them.

In a very short period of time they have framed the most important document for ASEAN, with the help of the Drafting Group. We also thank the AICHR members for agreeing to meet Civil Society Organisations in a Regional Consultation on 22nd June 2012, which we found useful.

As a human rights organisation from Singapore, we submit the following key areas of concern as the deliberation over the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration continues. This consultation among civil society actors was done over a 3-hour interaction and we submit these humbly to ask for a consideration on the most important document that will drive ASEAN and its people to a better future in the years to come. Read the rest of this entry »

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ASEAN Matters: consultation on ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, 7 July 2012

3 July 2012

The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) is a document that is going to be very important to all of us in ASEAN, Singapore included. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has been working at this document with their team of experts for almost a year. Come this November, the document will be handed over to the 10 Heads of State in ASEAN for it to be formally accepted as a document that governs how ASEAN will observe human rights. Read the rest of this entry »

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Betraying human rights, ASEAN style

15 May 2012

An opinion article that appeared in The Nation, a Thai newspaper, by Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Since it was established, AICHR has refused to release a single document related to the drafting of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration – including its terms of reference, the names of the drafters, and actual drafts of the declaration. Nor has AICHR met as a regional body with civil society representatives, despite repeated requests to do so. When it comes to public participation, AICHR has been nothing short of a full-blown train wreck. The peoples of ASEAN should be asking how a purported “human rights commission” can operate while continually refusing to talk to those whose rights it is supposed to protect?

Link here.

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