REGIONAL civil society organisations (CSO) have called for the establishment of a high-level panel to review the mandate of ASEAN’s human rights body.
REGIONAL civil society organisations (CSO) have called for the establishment of a high-level panel to review the mandate of ASEAN’s human rights body.
In a document addressed to ASEAN foreign ministers, 30 CSOs proposed the forming of an independent panel – comprising stakeholders from government, civil society and the United Nations – to review the terms of reference for the ASEAN Intergovernmenal Human Rights Commission (AICHR).
“We strongly believe that after five years since its establishment in 2009, AICHR’s mandates need to be improved… ensuring the availability of remedies for the victims of human right violations,” the document read.
CSOs have long argued that AICHR’s weak mandate has prevented it from having any real impact on human rights in Southeast Asia, claiming there is no political will to give the body power to investigate and remedy rights violations.
The commission consists entirely of government-appointed representatives who do not have the mandate to receive or investigate human rights complaints.
“We demand that AMM consider the inclusion of communication procedures in AICHR in order to receive, analyse and investigate individual petitions regarding human rights violations committed by the State or business,” CSOs said, adding that AICHR should provide opinions on all human rights situations, both within and outside ASEAN.
The grouping also suggested the appointment of special rapporteurs, similar to the UN, to monitor human rights situations on the ground.
The 30 CSOs met with Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa last week to discuss their recommendations, which will be submitted to the ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting (AMM) in Myanmar next month.
“If ASEAN really want become a people-centred community by 2015, it has to improve the mandate of AICHR,” said Daniel Awigra of Human Rights Working Group Indonesia (HRWG), the NGO that spearheaded the drafting of the document. “Otherwise, ASEAN will have no independent, credible and accesible body on human rights in the region… It will lose its relevance to the people.”
He told The Brunei Times that regional integration will bring many challenges, including potential human rights abuses.
“Vulnerable groups will be affected by the establishment of economic integration,” he said.
The civil society groups also called for more collaboration between ASEAN and NGOs, saying that “engaging civil society is and must be an essential pre-condition in the democratically legitimate decision-making process of ASEAN as well as in AICHR.”
“We are convinced that engagement with civil society in all sectors is integral part in achieving the goal of the ASEAN Community.”
