MARUAH Singapore

The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions highlights developments to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.

ASEAN rights body sets out priority areas
The ASEAN secretariat and newly-appointed members of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights are currently in the process of developing the rules of procedure for the new body and determining its strategic priorities.

An initial draft of the commission’s regulations will be ready for its first official meeting in Jakarta next month, while a five-year working plan will be completed by July.

Thailand’s nominee to AICHR, Commissioner Sriprapha Petcharamesree last week met with representatives of Thai civil society groups and advised them that the AICHR’s priorities for the coming year include:
* raising awareness of AICHR
* starting the process of drafting an ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights, and
* undertaking two studies, one on corporate social responsibility and one on migration.

Ms Sriprapha has told the Bangkok Post that public meetings – held in Bangkok and four other regions – would be organised to outline what the regional human rights body will do and to gather information for the AICHR as it further determines its strategic priorities.

The regional rights body was launched at an ASEAN regional summit in Hua Hin last October.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva opened the summit by defending the rights body against criticism that it was powerless to rein in members that breached its rules, such as army-ruled Burma and communist Vietnam and Laos.

Mr Abhisit said the creation of the commission was a significant milestone in the evolution of ASEAN.

However, the human rights body has been widely criticised for focusing on promotion, rather than protection, of human rights. The UN has urged leaders to make the commission credible.

ASEAN says it will review the body’s powers in five years.

The Bangkok Post reports on updates to the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights.

Human rights issues step into the regional spotlight
* Published: 22/02/2010 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News

Five open seminars focusing on human rights issues will be held to gather information for the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

Rules and procedures for the region’s new human rights body _ which critics say already focuses too much on promotion, rather than protection, of people’s rights _ are being drafted by the ASEAN Secretariat.

Commissioner Sriprapha Petcharamesree last week met representatives of civil society groups at the Foreign Ministry.

Ms Sriprapha said she was organising the five roadshows in Bangkok and four other regions to tell the public what the regional human rights body will do.

An initial draft of the regulations would be ready for the commission’s first official meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, next month. A five-year working plan would be completed by July.

The commission (known as AICHR) has several priorities for this year, she said. They include raising awareness of AICHR, starting the process of drafting an ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights, and undertaking two studies, on corporate social responsibility and migration.

The human rights body was launched at an ASEAN regional summit in Hua Hin last October.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva opened the summit by defending the rights body against criticism that it was powerless to rein in members that breached its rules, such as army-ruled Burma and communist Vietnam and Laos.

Mr Abhisit said the creation of the commission was a significant milestone in the evolution of ASEAN, launched while Thailand was ASEAN’s chair.

However, the human rights body has been widely criticised for focusing on promotion, rather than protection, of human rights. The UN has urged leaders to make the commission credible. ASEAN says it will review the body’s powers in five years.

About the author
Writer: Achara Ashayagachat
Position: Reporter

Two representatives from MARUAH attended a briefing session organised by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) last week. At the briefing, MCYS announced that it is currently seeking nominations for Singapore’s representatives to the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).

The Terms of Reference of the ACWC were released in November 2009. The TOR of the ACWC requires each ASEAN member state to appoint two representatives to the ACWC, one on women’s rights and the other on children’s rights.

MCYS asked the groups present at the briefing to consult with their stakeholders on, and/or to nominate, suitable candidates for nomination to these positions, based on certain criteria that were shared at the briefing. The deadline for submission of nominations to MCYS is 9 February 2010.

MARUAH would be happy to share further details on this process with any interested parties, and/or to provide any required assistance in submitting their nominations. Please send an email to maruahsg@gmail.com if you wish to learn more about this.

In the interests of transparency, MARUAH hereby discloses that it is currently also considering whether to nominate candidate(s) to the ACWC. MARUAH will work with any interested parties who contact it, to ensure that appropriate measures are put in place to preserve confidentiality and to prevent any conflict of interests.

Garry Rodan has written an essay on human rights in Singapore, see below for an excerpt. The full article can viewed at the link here.

Human Rights, Singaporean Style
by Garry Rodan

Posted December 4, 2009

While there has been a lull in the debate over “Asian values” since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, the concept never disappeared. The development of a regional human-rights commission constitutes a fresh battleground where competing views are playing out. As in the past, the main interlocutors on the side of cultural relativism are Singaporean leaders and officials, but this time, opposing voices within Southeast Asia have grown louder and more self-confident.

Forming the Asian Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has taken more than a decade of wrangling. Launched by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in October, the commission is the result of a protracted and contentious process of compromise. Now the fledgling organization faces an uphill struggle to show it can make political and bureaucratic elites accountable on human rights.

A Regional Meeting was held in Jakarta on 16-17 October 2009 with the aims of raising awareness about certain interpretations of Sharia laws and the impact of these on Muslim women in ASEAN as part of the ASEAN community.

This Meeting was also conducted to raise awareness about processes related to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

Thirty Muslim participants, female and male, from five ASEAN countries with significant Muslim populations attended the Meeting and participated fully. These participants are from civil society organisations, religious institutions and academic institutions. There were four observers from development agencies and international NGOs.

Please click on the link below to view the recommendations in full.
Recommendations

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/28299/despite-its-imperfections-aichr-can-still-be-force-for-human-rights

29th Nov 2009
Thongbai Thongpao

Human rights activists gathered early last week in Bangkok to celebrate the nomination of Sriprapa Phetmeesri, director of Mahidol University’s Office of Human Rights Studies and Social Development, as chair and representative of Thailand in the newly established Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).
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The Terms of Reference (TOR) of the ASEAN Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) have been released.

The TOR can be downloaded at the link below.
http://www.aseansec.org/documents/TOR-ACWC.pdf

Dear all,

The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed on 3 December 2009. We at MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism) are keen to build on the efforts by many actors who have been advocating on behalf of children with disabilities. In that context we would like to to invite you to attend a Focus Group discussion on Compulsory Education for Children with Disabilities in Singapore.

Day/ Date: Sat 28 Nov Time: 1.30 – 3.30pm
Venue: Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO),
96 Waterloo Street, Singapore 187967 (near Singapore Art Museum)
[This happens right before MARUAH’s Open House]

Under Singapore’s current Compulsory Education Act (2003), ‘any  child who is unable to attend any national primary school due to any physical or intellectual disability’ is excluded from education act…
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MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism) invites you to join its Open House on 28th Nov 2009. In this brief but important session, you can find out more about the local human rights group MARUAH, the work it has done, the work it intends to do, as well as talk about the work that you wish to see MARUAH do.

Date: 28th Nov 09, Saturday
Time: 4-6pm
Venue: Training Room 2, SCWO Building (Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations)
96 Waterloo Street
Click here for map (gothere.sg)

Please RSVP to maruahsg@gmail.com. Thanks and we hope to see you there. Read the rest of this entry »

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=448966
Five Countries Reject Civil Society Reps At Asean Summit

By D Arul Rajoo

HUA HIN, Oct 23 (Bernama) — The governments of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines and Singapore have rejected members of civil groups from their respective countries at the 15th Asean Summit here.
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