Joint Statement: Calling AICHR to release ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
8 April 2012 5:41 pm
We, the undersigned civil society organizations and networks from Southeast Asia, express our grave concern and disappointment over the continuing secrecy in the drafting process of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD).
The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is mandated under Article 4.2 of its Terms of Reference to develop an ASEAN Human Right Declaration with a view to establishing a framework for human rights cooperation through various ASEAN conventions and other instruments dealing with human rights. At the 6th meeting of the AICHR in Vientiane on 28 June – 2 July 2011, a Drafting Group was officially established by the AICHR to prepare a draft of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. In January 2012, the Drafting Group submitted to the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) a draft AHRD for deliberation and debate.
To this date, the draft AHRD remains confidential while the public has been excluded from any meaningful participation in the drafting process. There has not been any substantive and broad-based regional consultation with the peoples in the region on the draft AHRD.
While we commend the representatives of the AICHR from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines for holding consultation with their civil society at national level, we are disturbed that no such initiative has taken place in the rest of the ASEAN countries.
If ASEAN’s aspiration to be “People-Oriented” is to be achieved, the AICHR that is tasked to defend the fundamental freedoms of the peoples in the region must set a good example in ensuring meaningful and substantive consultation and people’s participation in the drafting of the historic AHRD.
We therefore strongly urge the AICHR to heed the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, that “no discussion of human rights can be complete or credible without significant input from civil society and national human rights institutions” and immediately begin dialogues and consultations with civil society organizations on the AHRD.
We further call upon AICHR to implement the following steps to ensure that the drafting process of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration will be credible, inclusive, transparent, reflective and consistent with universal human rights standards:
1) To immediately publicize the draft AHRD so that the public can meaningfully participate in the drafting process. Consultations will remain meaningless if the draft declaration is kept confidential and out of reach of the peoples.
2) AICHR representatives who are already conducting national consultations in their respective countries must continue to do so, and ensure that these consultations are held nation-wide and in an inclusive and more regular manner. They should further encourage other AICHR representatives that have not taken such initiatives to do the same. The AICHR should also conduct consultations both at national and regional levels, especially if national consultations are not applicable yet in particular places.
3) To translate the draft AHRD into national languages and other local languages of the ASEAN countries in order to encourage broader public participation in the region.
4) To ensure that consultation meetings of the AICHR will be inclusive of all stakeholders, especially civil society organizations and national human rights institutions.
Until and unless the AICHR consults and engages with all stakeholders in a transparent, meaningful and substantive manner, the AICHR should postpone its submission of the final draft of AHRD to the AESAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), which is scheduled to take place in July 2012.
This call is made to public as wide as possible in the ten countries of ASEAN and is endorsed by different sectors of civil society organizations such as youth organizations, women’s organizations, child rights organizations, LGBT organizations, migrant workers network organizations, labour unions, farmers organzitions, environmental organizations, human rights organizations, development organizations and some academic institutions. The joint statement is also translated into ASEAN major languages, Burmese, Bahasa-Indonesian, Bahasa-Malay, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese to indicate our commitment to promote the basic human rights of the people that they are entitled to receive information and awareness about ASEAN and its works.
For Vietnamese version of the joint statement, please click Here.
For Thai version of the joint statement, please click Here.
For Burmese version of the joint statement, please click Here.
For Bahasa Indonesia version of the joint statement, please click Here.
For Khmer version of the joint statement, please click Here.
For Laos version of the joint statement, please click Here.
For Bahasa Malaysia version of the joint statement, please click Here.
Media contacts:
Yap Swee Seng , Executive Director, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), +66 (0) 818689178
Aung Myo Min, Director and Founder, Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), + 66 (0) 819925293
Mr. Pung Chhiv Kek, President, Cambodian League for the promotion and defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), + 885 (0) 12589091
Mr. Haris Azhar, Coordinator, Kontras, Indonesia, + 62 (0) 815-13302342
List of endorsers:
- Aceh Human Rights Coalition of NGO, Indonesia
- Action for Environment and Community (AEC), Cambodia
- All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC), Burma
- All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Burma
- All Burma Students League (ABSL), Burma
- All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU), Burma
- All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), Malaysia
- Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean Burma)
- Arakan League for Democracy (Exile) Youth (ALD-Youth), Burma
- ASEAN WATCH, Thailand
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
- Asian Indigenous People’s Pact
- Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma
- Back Pack Health Worker Team
- Banteay Srei, Cambodia
- Boat People SOS
- Building Community Voice (BCV), Cambodia
- Burma Issues, Burma
- Burma Medical Association, Burma
- Burma Partnership, Burma
- Burmese Women Union, Burma
- Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA), Cambodia
- Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), Cambodia
- Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), Cambodia
- Cambodian Food Service Workers Federation (CFSWF), Cambodia
- Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), Cambodia
- Cambodian League for the promotion and defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia
- Cambodian Watchdog Council (CWC), Cambodia
- Cambodian Youth Network (CYN), Cambodia
- Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines
- Child Rights Coalition-Asia
- Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Burma
- Chin Students Union (CSU), Burma
- Christians for Social Justice (CJS), Cambodia
- Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC), Cambodia
- Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Indonesia
- Community Action Network, Malaysia
- Community Resource Centre (CRC), Thailand
- Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), Burma
- Dignity International, Malaysia
- EarthRights International, Burma
- Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH), Thailand
- Education and Research Association for Consumers (ERA Consumer), Malaysia
- EMPOWER Foundation, Thailand
- Empowering Youth in Cambodia (EYC), Cambodia
- Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF-Burma)
- FOKER LSM, Papua
- Foundation for Consumers (FFC), Thailand
- Foundation for Ecological Recovery, Thailand
- Foundation for Sustainable Development, Thailand
- Foundation for Women, Law and Rural Development (FORWARD), Thailand
- Foundation for Women, Thailand
- EMPOWER Foundation, Thailand
- Highland Peoples Task force (HPT), Thailand
- Homenet, Thailand
- Housing Rights Task Force, Cambodia
- Human Rights Documentation Unit, Burma
- Human Rights Education Institute of Burma
- Human Rights Foundation of Monland, Burma
- Human Rights Lawyers Association, Thailand
- Humanum, Indonesia
- Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), Cambodia
- Indigenous People Task Force on ASEAN
- Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), Indonesia
- International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
- JATAM, Indonesia
- Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand (KWAT), Burma
- Karen Youth Organization (KYO), Burma
- Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY), Burma
- Khmer Ahimsa Organisation, Cambodia
- KIARA, Indonesia
- KontraS (National Office, Jakarta, Indonesia)
- Kuki Students Democratic Front (KSDF), Burma
- Lahu Women’s Organization, Burma
- Lao Movement for Human Rights (MLDH)
- LPSHAM, Indonesia
- M Plus Foundation, Thailand
- Messenger Band (MB), Cambodia
- Migrant Forum in Asia
- Migrante International, Philippines
- Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), Burma
- My Village Organization (MVi), Cambodia
- Naga Youth Organization (NYO), Burma
- National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (Youth), Burma
- Network for Democracy and Development (NDD), Burma
- Network for Human Rights Documentation in Burma
- Network of Eastern Democracy, Thailand
- NGO Coordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD), Thailand
- Northern Development Foundation, Thailand
- One-2-One, Cambodia
- Pa O Youth Organization (PYO), Burma
- Palang Thai, Thailand
- Palaung Women’s Organization, Burma
- People’s Action for Change (PAC), Cambodia
- People’s Defense Force (Burma)
- People’s Empowerment Foundation
- Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS), Malaysia
- Pokja 30, Indonesia
- Project for Ecological Awareness Building (EAB), Thailand
- Pro Rights Foundation, Thailand
- Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (PUSAT KOMAS), Malaysia
- Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam
- Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK), Cambodia
- Sahakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Cambodia
- Sex Workers Organization, Thailand
- Shwe Gas movement
- SILAKA, Cambodia
- Social Action for Change (SAC), Cambodia
- Social Agenda Working Group, Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
- Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), Philippines
- South East Asia Working Group/ Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network
- South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)
- Southeast Asia Coalition to stop Child Soldiers
- Southeast Asia Popular Communications Programme (SEAPCP)
- Students and Youth Congress of Burma
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia
- Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, Thailand
- Sustainable Development Foundation, Thailand
- Ta’ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO), Burma
- Tavoy Youth Organization (TYO), Burma
- Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation, Thailand
- Thai Working Group for Climate Justice (TCJ), Thailand
- The Cambodian Center for Human Rights, Cambodia
- The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Cambodian
- The Northeastern Women’s Network, Thailand
- Think Centre, Singapore
- Union for Civil Liberty (UCL), Thailand
- United Lahu Youth Organization, Burma
- Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
- Volunteers for Sustainable Development (VSD), Cambodia
- Women and Children Protection Foundation, Thailand
- Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
- YLBHI, Indonesia
- Yoma3 News Service, Burma
- Youth for Social Change, Myanmar
- Zomi Students and Youth Organization (ZSYO), Burma