HLP Chair: ASEAN body to take evolutionary approach in promoting and protecting regional human rights

HLP Chair: ASEAN body to take evolutionary approach in promoting and protecting regional human rights

The establishment of an ASEAN human rights body (AHRB) would be based on three main principles, according to Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Chairman of the High-Level Panel on an ASEAN Human Rights Body (HLP): to realistically take into account the actual situation in ASEAN, to establish a credible AHRB through consistency with internationally accepted human rights standards and norms, and to make the AHRB an evolutionary process to be continually strengthened in the future.

Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations Offices and other international organizations in Geneva, was speaking at a press briefing on the HLP’s meeting with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on 27 February 2009.
Ambassador Sihasak said the HLP informed the ASEAN Foreign Ministers of the progress and working approach of the HLP in drafting the terms of reference (TOR) for an ASEAN human rights body. He stressed that this was still a work in progress and that the final decision on the TOR depended on the ASEAN Foreign Ministers.
The draft TOR comprised two main pillars: promotion and protection of human rights of the ASEAN people, he said. The work of the AHRB had to strike a balance between these two pillars, while bearing in mind the situation on the ground. Under current circumstances, the HLP was of the view that the AHRB should focus mainly on the promotion of human rights, regarding which there were a number of activities the AHRB could undertake. These included raising human rights awareness through human rights education and dissemination of information; developing human rights norms and standards for the ASEAN region, including possibly adopting an ASEAN declaration on human rights; encouraging ASEAN member countries to accede to major international human rights instruments; expanding the space for human rights dialogue in ASEAN, including by promoting interaction with civil society and other stakeholders; and issuing reports on the state of human rights in ASEAN.

Regarding the composition of the AHRB, the HLP Chairman said this would comprise representatives from each of the ten ASEAN member countries. There should also be sufficient funding for the AHRB, and one possible way would be to set up a fund. The question of the official name of the AHRB, meanwhile, remained to be decided.

Ambassador Sihasak emphasized that the establishment of the AHRB would be an important step and lay the groundwork for further development on the promotion and protection of human rights in ASEAN. The HLP intended to make the process of drafting the TOR for the AHRB as open as possible and to listen to views from all sectors of society. In finding a balance between the promotion and protection of human rights, the HLP would have to be realistic and take into account the comfort level of all ASEAN member countries. This comfort level, he noted, would enable the member countries to work together in developing and raising the standard of human rights promotion and protection in ASEAN. The HLP Chairman expressed the view that the establishment of an AHRB must start somewhere and should not be judged by high expectations on its mandate or power to address specific situations, but rather should be seen as a process that will evolve and develop over the long term.