Representatives of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights
Each AICHR representative is appointed by his or her government. The process of appointment differs in each country. Only Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia have adopted an open and competitive selection process.
Brunei DarussalamBrunei Darussalam
H.E. Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim
2016-2018
H.E. Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim is the Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s office of Brunei Darussalam. He studied law and graduated with LLM from University of Southampton, United Kingdom.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Pehin Dato Dr. Awang Hj. Ahmad bin Hj. Jumat (2013-2015)
CambodiaCambodia
H.E. Mrs. Polyne Hean
2016-2018
H.E. Mrs. Polyne Hean is a member of the National Committee to Counter Trafficking and the Cambodia-China Relations Research Group. Prior her time as AICHR, she was the Director of ASEAN Department at the Office of the Council of Ministers. She earned a master degree in Development Studies from East Anglia University, United Kingdom, and a master degree in democracy and governance from Georgetown University, USA.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Mr. Srun Thirith (2013-2015)
IndonesiaIndonesia
H.E. Dinna Wisnu, PhD
2016-2018
H.E. Dr. Dinna is an Associate Professor, a certified lecturer (by Minitry of Higher Education) based in Jakarta – Indonesia. She earned PhD in Political Science with specialization on political economy, at the age of 30 from the Ohio State University. An expert in international political economy, development, and diplomacy she built deep understanding of comparative social protection systems and healthcare in East and Southeast Asia. Her expertise and over 19-years of network in the fields landed her in the various experience of being part of the development of Indonesia’s National Health Insurance, including to advise key stakeholders (e.g. President Joko Widodo by being the Head of Working Group on Health & Manpower at Tim Transisi, the State Ministry of National Planning, BPJS Watch, Alliance of Independent Journalists, ILO, UNESCAP, the Ministry of Social Solidarity in Timor Leste), to co-produce research products relevant for NHI transformation (e.g. Evaluation of President Yudhoyono’s Presidency on social welfare for international academic peers, Roadmap to Health Sector reform for President Yudhoyono, Health mapping document for the Ministry of Health, Healthcare plan for TNP2K). She is also among the co-founders of the first interdisciplinary Master-degree program of Social Policy at the Faculty of Public Health, University of Indonesia.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Mr. Rafendi Djamin (2013-2015)
Lao PDRLao PDR
H.E. Mr. Phoukhong Sisoulath
2013-2015, 2016-2018
H.E. Mr. Phoukhong Sisoulath has been appointed as the Representative of Lao PDR to AICHR since 2013. Since 2014, He also act as the Secretary General of Lao National Steering Committee on Human Rights and the Head of Output 5: International Law and Human Rights, Legal Sector Master Plan on the Rule of Law. He was one of the Lao Delegation for the Country’s UPR 2nd cycle to the Human Rights Council.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Mr. Phoukhong Sisoulath (2013-2015)
MalaysiaMalaysia
H.E. Edmund Bon Tai Soon
2016-2018
H.E. Edmund read law at University College London, and was called to the English Bar (Lincoln’s Inn) in 1997. He was admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya in 1998, and has been in active practice since then. Edmund is a Chevening scholar and has a Masters degree from Oxford University. In 2008, Edmund was appointed to advise a Chief Minister and State Government and since then has been dealing with – both as a contract negotiator and litigator – major issues pertaining to the management of State resources. Over the course of almost two decades in practice, Edmund has appeared as solicitor and lead counsel in cases ranging from corporate and commercial law to property disputes and defamation actions. He is an experienced trial lawyer having conducted a myriad of cases under laws such as the National Land Code, Contracts Act, Companies Act, Penal Code and Securities Industry Act (now repealed). Edmund has appeared in more than 60 major cases involving contractual breaches, joint ventures, shareholder-director disputes, and construction cases relating to difficult questions of law and fact.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Dato Sri. Dr. Muhammad Shafee Abdullah (2013-2015)
MyanmarMyanmar
H.E. Amb. Hla Myint
2016-2018
H.E. Amb. Hla Myint started his career in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs, before moving to Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1980. He held various strategic positions under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other as the Director of International Organizations and Economic Department (1998-2002), Director-General of Training Research and Foreign Language Department, and the Ambassador to the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand (2008-2010). He graduated with a master in Public Policy from John Hopkins University, USA.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Amb. Kyaw Tint Swe (2013-2015)
PhilippinesPhilippines
H.E. Mr. Leo Herrera-Lim
2016-2018
H.E. Mr. Leo M. Herrera-Lim is a career officer of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. Prior to his arrival in Los Angeles on 17 April 2014, he served as Second Secretary and Consul at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1991 to 1998 and had frequent interaction with the World Bank Group, Intelsat, U.S. Department of State and U.S. Treasury and in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as First Secretary and Consul and later Minister and Consul General at the Philippine Embassy in London from 2000 to 2007 dealing with government, international organizations and the private sector. He last served as the Consul General at the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago from 2010 to 2014. In the Philippines, he previously served in the Department of Foreign Affairs in various capacities, such as Special Assistant in the Office of the Undersecretary for Policy (OUP) and in the Office of the Undersecretary for Administration (OUA), as Director of the U.S. Division of the Office of American Affairs, and Assistant Director of Treaties Division of the Office of Legal Affairs. He was also a member of Philippine delegations to the United Nations (UN), Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) and treaty negotiations. He attended trainings, seminars and programs at the Foreign Service Institute in Manila, the United States, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Italy. He studied economics and law at the University of the Philippines.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Amb. Rosario Gonzales Manalo (2013-2015)
SingaporeSingapore
H.E. Amb. Barry Desker
2016-2018
H.E. Amb Barry Desker is a Distinguished Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. He formerly headed RSIS and the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies from October 2000 to November 2014. He is a Member of the Presidential Council for Minority Rights, Singapore, and a Member of the Board of Directors of the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Trade Development Board from 1994 to 2000 and was Singapore’s Ambassador to Indonesia from 1986 to 1993. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 1992 and the Long Service Award in 1995. Amb Desker is currently also the Non-Resident Ambassador of Singapore to the Holy See and Spain. A President’s Scholar, he was educated at the University of Singapore, University of London and Cornell University. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Warwick University in 2012 and by the University of Exeter in 2013.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Amb. Chan Heng Chee (2013-2015)
ThailandThailand
H.E. Dr. Seree Nonthasoot
2013-2015, 2016-2018
H.E. Dr. Seree Nonthasoot has been serving as the Representative of Thailand to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) since 2013. In 2015, Dr. Nonthasoot initiated the Bangkok Human Rights Dialogue that led to a research collaboration with UNICEF on the impact of ASEAN economic integration on the rights of children, which will be launched in 2018. Priorities for his second term (2016-2018) include the development of a regional action plan to mainstream disability rights in the ASEAN Community, thematic studies on legal aid, juvenile justice and the death penalty, and the development of a national action plan for business and human rights in Thailand. He also teaches at various institutions, including Mahidol and Thammasat Universities, on the subject of human rights and law. He obtains his doctoral degree from Oxford University.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Dr. Seree Nonthasoot (2013-2015)
VietnamVietnam
H.E. Amb. Nguyen Thi Nha
2016-2018
H.E. Amb. Nguyen Thi Nha worked as Minister Counselor, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Viet Nam to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland from 2005-2008. She was also the Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam from 2011-2014. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations in Vietnam, and a master degree in Law & Diplomacy from Tufts University, USA.
PREVIOUS REPRESENTATIVE
H.E. Ms. Le Thi Thu (2013-2015)
