SG Human Rights

Several news outlets are reporting that the final draft of the ASEAN charter, to be signed in the coming summit, has been leaked. The document appears to be authentic, spanning some 31 pages and tightly organised into 13 chapters and 55 articles.

Article 14 specifically contains the provision of a regional human rights body. No terms of reference are given. It is still unclear as to what legal powers the body shall have or what and how it will be established.

Today reports:
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/221264.asp

Asean Charter leaked online?

Purported final draft surfaces, with some surprises

Friday, November 9, 2007

SHARON VASOO
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

IT was meant to have been unveiled at the summit of regional leaders here — but nearly two weeks before the meet, what is purportedly the final draft of the Asean Charter has been leaked online.

Stamped "Confidential" and "Final draft adopted by the HLTF (high level task force), 8.15pm, 20 October 2007", the 31-page document was found uploaded on at least one Thai news website.

The leaked document is 31-pages long and contains a total of 13 chapters and 55 articles.

It outlines a range of provisions from the group's purposes and principles, to its membership and conduct of external relations.

It surfaced online as Thailand's parliament met this week to endorse the Charter ahead of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) Summit on Nov 19.

There are several features encapsulated in the leaked document that are different from the current set-up of Asean).

One is that each Asean member should appoint a permanent representative to the bloc, "with the rank of ambassador", and that this person should be based in Jakarta where the group's headquarters is located, according to the document.

Another is the appointment of four deputy secretaries-general — the grouping currently has three. They will assist the secretary-general and all five must come from different Asean member states.

Two of the deputies, according to the leaked document, will be selected based on alphabetical rotation of the states, while another two will be "openly recruited based on merit".

The purported final draft document also includes systems to settle disputes, monitor compliance and penalise those who do not fulfil their commitments.

It also spells out changes to Asean's principle of non-interference to help address transboundary matters.

Several blogs and websites have already linked to the posted document, including civil society groups and political parties.

Some have claimed the document shows the 10-member grouping is too soft on the issue of human rights, and that there was not enough public consultation during the process of framing the Charter.

The task force responsible for doing so — which comprises ambassadors and retired ministers — had been meeting since January to finalise the Asean Charter, which is seen as a historic step to creating a rules-based community.

Until now, the bloc has operated without a constitution, relying on informal diplomacy and decision-making by consensus.

According to Thai news website, Prachatai, many civil society groups in the region had earlier tried to obtain copies of the draft Charter from their governments, but were "met with an almost impregnable wall of secrecy".

One political website that linked to the leaked document remarked that "while the Preamble waxes lyrical about human rights — declaring that the group adheres to 'the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance, respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms' — there is precious little about how this is going to be carried out".

In the leaked document, two paragraphs in Article 14, titled "Asean Human Rights Body", state that Asean "shall establish an Asean human rights body".

No time line is given; the body will operate "in accordance with the terms of reference" to be determined at the Asean Foreign Ministers meeting, it states.