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
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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.

ASEAN has five founding countries. Where's the fifth?

http://aseanhrmech.org/news/asean-four-hailed-as-inspiration-to-region.html

ASEAN Four Hailed as an Inspiration to the Region

International parliamentarians praised the national human rights institutions (NHRIs) of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines last October 15-17, 2007 for partnering with each other on a regional level. The grouping, which calls itself the "ASEAN Four", presented their Declaration of Cooperation during the Workshop on the Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions which was held in Manila, the Philippines. Participants, comprised of members of NHRIs and human rights-related government agencies from Asia-Pacific countries, likewise lauded a recent outcome of their collaboration- a Position Paper that urges for the mention of a regional human rights mechanism or organ in the ASEAN Charter.

"The important role that NHRIs play at the international level is undeniable," said United Nations (U.N.) High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, "I sincerely congratulate the NHRIs of the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. These initiatives represent not only a great achievement for NHRIs but also an important contribution in the field of human rights in the ASEAN region".

The National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia (KOMNAS HAM), Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (Khamakarn Sit) presented their respective best practices on human rights promotion and protection. As ASEAN Four, they talked about their areas of cooperation, which mainly covers terrorism and human rights, migrants and migrant workers, trafficking, economic, social and cultural rights, and human rights education. The grouping is also set to meet during the first quarter of 2008 to address the human rights areas that are to be mentioned in the ASEAN Charter through joint activities.

Other participants also noted ASEAN Four’s success. Ms. Aruna Sharma, joint secretary of the National Human Rights Commission of India, said that ASEAN Four should serve as an inspiration to countries in the region without national human rights infrastructures. "ASEAN Four is a platform which addresses a country's (sovereign) decision to have an NHRI for itself and also its need to cooperate with other NHRIs," she highlighted. Currently, there are only 20 NHRIs in Asia, four of which are in ASEAN member-countries.

Cambodia is seen to be the next in the region to follow suit. Ms. Sudary Khoun, a member of the Cambodian National Assembly, revealed that a first draft of the law which will call for the establishment of a Cambodian NHRI had already been completed by an independent working committee. She promised her full support for the legislation, once this is formally presented to parliament.

Participants urged Cambodia and other countries in Asia without NHRIs to seek assistance and advice from United Nations Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights (U.N. - OHCHR), U.N. Country Teams, the Asia Pacific Forum on NHRIs, and ASEAN Four. "NHRIs are pillar elements of strong, effective national human rights protection systems and key to the realization of human rights at the country level," High Commissioner Arbour concluded, "this workshop...identified the numerous advantages of having an NHRI, and it is my wish that this will only be the beginning of a constructive and collaborative partnership between governments, the U.N., the Asia Pacific Forum, and NHRIs in the region aimed at the establishment of NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles."

The workshop was organized by the U.N.- OHCHR, held in cooperation with the CHRP, and was supported by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. Its main objective was to provide participants, mainly parliamentarians from Asian countries with NHRIs, with a clear picture of how NHRIs should function and their effectiveness in the promotion and protection of human rights.

A public forum to inform Singaporeans of the ASEAN human rights mechanism was held on 23rd September earlier this year. The meeting which took place at Allson Hotel saw a crowd of about 90 people, well over initial estimates.

The panel of six speakers featured forum chair and gay activist Mr Alex Au, lawyer and veteran politician Mr J B Jeyaretnam, human rights lawyer Mr M Ravi, social worker Mr Jolovan Wham, independent arts researcher Mr Isrizal and SDP secretary-general Dr Chee Soon Juan. They spoke variously of human rights issues in Singapore and the need to establish a national working group and commission to tackle them.

For detailed reports, please see The Online Citizen and the SDP websites.