ASEAN MPs Pledge to Promote Democracy and Human Rights [ACSC/APF 2016 Press Release]

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    Through this dialog ASEAN States’ parliamentarians can think of how to better promote human rights, gender equality, especially how to promote women to get involved in politics and all aspects of life in the region.

    Dili, Timor-Leste – 03-08-2016- During a town hall dialog with civil society, which was held on the 2nd August of 2016 in the Timorese Capital of Dili, parliamentarians of ASEAN member states pledged to uphold democracy and help promote the issue of human rights in each respective country.

    During a three-hour discussion, each  parliamentarian of ASEAN states concentrated on human rights, discriminations, domestic violence, gender equality, energy, the environment , drugs and human trafficking and how they could put hands together to seek for solutions and APF is considered to be a proper mechanism to address all the issues.

    Through this dialog ASEAN States’ parliamentarians can think of how to better promote human rights, gender equality, especially how to promote women to get involved in politics and all aspects of life in the region.

    MP Mu Sochua from Cambodia in her presentation said ASEAN since 2015 tried to focus on large economy with credibility as only credible economy could uphold the development in South East Asia in various sectors.

    “Economically, ASEAN have achieved great progresses, but we need to keep fighting together in order to protect ASEAN peoples regarding human rights,” Mu Sochua said.

    MP Nguyen Van Tien from Vietnam said as Member of Parliament they worked hard to ensure that people in the region could have their rights of getting access to health and said they also made efforts to help promote gender issue in the region.

    “We have achieved some progresses, which is about gender equality. We will continue to make efforts to fight against domestic violence, which is still staying high in Vietnam. Hopefully, ASEAN Peoples’ forum can help us to make change,” Nguyen Van Tien said.

    Meanwhile, House Speaker of Timor-Leste,  Aderito Hugo da Costa, during the session shared his experience on how the State of Timor-Leste and its people contribute to the process of democracy building in the country,

    “Fourteen years of independence, I do not want to say that Timor-Leste is rich and has good economy. But within the 14 years of independence we have achieved some progresses. The experience that we have is about elections where it has been conducted twice. Timor-Leste has high credibility of democracy building,” he said.

    ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) was established in 2013 and is a human rights intervention force of parliamentarians and other influential persons, who use their unique positions and innovative means to prevent discrimination, uphold political freedom, and promote democracy and human rights throughout Southeast Asia.

    Parliamentarians of ASEAN have great numbers of experiences and that will help them to stand in solidarity to achieve ASEAN community’s expectations.

     

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