MARUAH Singapore

The Straits Times reported on MARUAH’s position paper on the ASEAN charter.

Charter’s call to protect human rights welcomed
The Straits Times – November 22, 2007
Zakir Hussain

A NEW civil society working group welcomed the ASEAN Charter as a promising ‘positive step’, even as it raised several concerns about the document inked on Tuesday.

The interim Singapore Working Committee for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, which calls itself MARUAH – Malay for dignity, aims to raise awareness of human rights.

It was formed in September when key civil society organisations met to help shape the kind of human rights body ASEAN would finally set up, following the July decision by the grouping’s leaders to include a provision for a human rights body in the Charter.

When up and running, MARUAH will be part of a coalition of national groups from ASEAN countries which has its secretariat in Manila.

In a four-page statement this week, MARUAH congratulated ASEAN for successfully negotiating the ASEAN Charter and welcomed its call to protect human rights.

‘We feel that through the ASEAN Charter, more good will be achieved for the people of ASEAN,’ it said.

The group itself plans to offer a Singapore perspective on the ASEAN human rights body and work with its ASEAN counterparts to set up an inter-governmental human rights commission.

However, MARUAH expressed concern that the Charter did not provide ‘adequate comfort’ on how non-compliant member states would be dealt with.

Provisions of the Charter were also ‘vague and open to different interpretations’.

It said: ‘We would also like to seek assurance on how the ASEAN Charter would function…in situations where respect for the sovereignty of member states may be in direct conflict with human rights violations within that member state.’

It noted that ASEAN was already facing difficulties in dealing with the Myanmar crisis.

It also stressed the need for ASEAN to involve civil society and expressed disappointment that civil society groups were not engaged in drafting the Charter in the run-up to this week’s ASEAN summit.

The group’s members come from organisations such as the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), Transient Workers Count Too and Action for Aids.

Led by social activist and Straits Times journalist Braema Mathi, members include AWARE president Constance Singam, nominated MP Siew Kum Hong, and former Law Society president Peter Low.

Said Mr Siew: ‘The Charter gives us a unique opportunity to get a dialogue on human rights started.

‘Hopefully there is a chance for groups like ours to engage governments and shape what the human rights body could look like.’

A Straits Times report on the ASEAN Civil Society Conference, where the upcoming ASEAN Charter was discussed.

ASEAN Charter to turn region into community – Duo involved in drafting of charter say it will bolster grouping’s ability to assert itself
The Sunday Times – October 28, 2007
Shefali Rekhi, Assistant Foreign Editor

PRINCIPLES of good governance, rule of law and democracy will be enshrined as ‘aspirational goals’ in the ASEAN Charter due to be signed at the grouping’s summit of leaders to be held in Singapore next month.

A new dispute settlement mechanism – with ‘teeth’ – will also be created and the charter will also recommend the formation of a new human rights body.

These insights into the new charter were provided by Singapore Solicitor-General Walter Woon and ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong at a conference yesterday.

The final document, billed as ASEAN’s new Constitution, will start the process of transforming the region into a community and bolster its ability to assert itself, according to the two speakers.

The signing will be a major milestone for the grouping after 40 years of its existence, giving it a legal identity and enabling it to facilitate negotiations and transactions – globally and regionally.

The duo, who were involved in the drafting of the charter, noted that the ASEAN principle of operating via consensus is being retained, although there was discussion on the notion of deciding by majority vote.

The charter will have to be ratified by each member country but the mechanism for doing so has been left to member states and each could opt to do it through parliament, a referendum or in any other way deemed appropriate.

It was not clear if any timetable for the ratification of the charter had been set.

The charter will also be open to review though the timeframe for this process has not been set.

Professor Woon likened the final document to a ‘diplomatic camel’ created by a committee asked to ‘design a throughbred’.

‘But don’t underestimate the camel,’ he told the ASEAN Civil Society Conference held at the Regent Hotel here yesterday.

Non-governmental organisations, diplomats and observers from the region and beyond are participating in two-day discussions on the role of civil society groups, and ways to deepen and broaden the ASEAN community.

Prof Woon said: ‘It may not look pretty and it may have humps and lumps in the wrong places. But it will move and it is a better animal when it comes to rough terrain. We are convinced it will get us where we are going.’

He was clearly allaying concerns expressed by those who say that the final document has turned out to be a somewhat watered down version of what was expected.

At the conference, participants noted that decision-making based on consensus could lead to delays.

They also said that the charter will mark only the beginning of the process to create a human rights body with much to be accomplished to get its terms of reference in place.

But Mr Ong told the gathering that all matters needed to be settled in ‘an organic South-east Asian way’.

He said: ‘This is how it is. ASEAN cannot be faster than what is the instinctive nature of South-east Asia.

‘We have to evolve diplomacy to a manner comfortable to all of us. We cannot afford to go against our region.’

The charter ‘is not a perfect document but it is a very good start’, he told the audience and maintained that it would be reviewed and amended as crucial matters come up.

The two-day conference, organised by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, with support from the ASEAN Secretariat, continues today.

Discussions will be held on additional priorities of the Asean community and recommendations of the role to be played by civil society.

shefali@sph.com.sg

The Straits Times reported on the setting up of MARUAH.

Working group on human rights planned
The Straits Times – October 3, 2007
Yeo Ghim Lay

AN INTERIM committee to establish a Singapore working group on human rights has been set up, with former Nominated MP Braema Mathi at its helm.

The Singapore working group, when up and running, will be part of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, a coalition of national groups from ASEAN countries which has its secretariat in Manila.

Ms Mathi was chosen by representatives from civil society organisations to lead the interim committee at a meeting here last month.

The move follows a decision by ASEAN ministers in July to include a provision in the ASEAN charter for a human rights body – the form and workings of which have yet to be finalised.

Civil society organisations from member countries – many operating via their respective working groups – aim to provide input and help shape the kind of human rights body ASEAN finally sets up.

Ms Mathi said yesterday there was now an opportunity to discuss human rights issues in a bigger way in Singapore, given the ASEAN foreign ministers’ decision on a human rights body.

The charter, a mini constitution for ASEAN, is expected to be unveiled at next month’s ASEAN leaders’ summit in Singapore.

Said Ms Mathi: ‘It is good for Singapore, as one of the founding ASEAN members, to be involved in the process. We want to see what we can do locally to help the process of this mechanism.’

Besides Ms Mathi, Nominated MP Siew Kum Hong and Mr Leong Sze Hian, president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (Singapore), are on the committee.

Ms Mathi declined to reveal the identities of other members, saying the committee is still in the early stages of its work, and is in the process of recruiting more people.

Called the Singapore Working Committee for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, its activities will include dialogues and forums to educate and raise awareness about human rights, international conventions, ASEAN’s charter and proposed human rights body, among other issues.

‘We have to work to build up confidence. When you talk about human rights, some people always say, ‘Oh, don’t go there.’ But there are already groups in Singapore that are working for children’s rights, women’s rights, migrant workers’ rights etc,’ said Ms Mathi.

Her committee will also work and hold discussions with civil society groups.

Among those she has spoken to is Think Centre president Sinapan Samydorai.

From 2003, he was the point man in Singapore for the Manila-based ASEAN group and headed the ‘interim Singapore Working Group’, which has held forums to promote awareness on human rights issues and the need for an ASEAN human rights mechanism.

But a meeting last month between representatives from civil society groups here and the Manila-based ASEAN group opted for Ms Mathi to coordinate the efforts and the work of an interim committee.

Mr Samydorai, who said he met Ms Mathi before her committee was formed, told The Straits Times his working group will listen to and welcome recommendations from Ms Mathi’s group and others.

On their part, both Ms Mathi and Mr Siew say they will remain open to engaging all relevant groups. They also stressed that the approach taken by the interim committee must be non-partisan.

Besides Mr Samydorai, lawyer and activist M. Ravi is understood to have his own group.