ASIA: CSO’s urges AICHR to make transparent the drafting of the ASEAN HR Declaration

Summary: Joint Statement on Calling AICHR to release ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.

 [8 April 2012] - We, the undersigned civil society organisations 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 organisations 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 publicise 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 organisations such as youth organisations, women’s organisations, child rights organisations, LGBT organisations, migrant workers network organizations, labour unions, farmers organzitions, environmental organizations, human rights organisations, 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.

List of endorsers:

1. Aceh Human Rights Coalition of NGO, Indonesia
2. Action for Environment and Community (AEC), Cambodia
3. All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC), Burma
4. All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Burma
5. All Burma Students League (ABSL), Burma
6. All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU), Burma
7. All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), Malaysia
8. Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean Burma)
9. Arakan League for Democracy (Exile) Youth (ALD-Youth), Burma
10. ASEAN WATCH, Thailand
11. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
12. Asian Indigenous People’s Pact
13. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners – Burma
14. Back Pack Health Worker Team
15. Banteay Srei, Cambodia
16. Boat People SOS
17. Building Community Voice (BCV), Cambodia
18. Burma Issues, Burma
19. Burma Medical Association, Burma
20. Burma Partnership, Burma
21. Burmese Women Union, Burma
22. Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA), Cambodia
23. Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), Cambodia
24. Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), Cambodia
25. Cambodian Food Service Workers Federation (CFSWF), Cambodia
26. Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association (CITA), Cambodia
27. Cambodian League for the promotion and defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia
28. Cambodian Watchdog Council (CWC), Cambodia
29. Cambodian Youth Network (CYN), Cambodia
30. Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines
31. Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia)
32. Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Burma
33. Chin Students Union (CSU), Burma
34. Christians for Social Justice (CJS), Cambodia
35. Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC), Cambodia
36. Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Indonesia
37. Community Action Network, Malaysia
38. Community Resource Centre (CRC), Thailand
39. Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), Burma
40. Dignity International, Malaysia
41. EarthRights International, Burma
42. Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH), Thailand
43. Education and Research Association for Consumers (ERA Consumer), Malaysia
44. EMPOWER Foundation, Thailand
45. Empowering Youth in Cambodia (EYC), Cambodia
46. Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF-Burma)
47. FOKER LSM, Papua
48. Foundation for Consumers (FFC), Thailand
49. Foundation for Ecological Recovery, Thailand
50. Foundation for Sustainable Development, Thailand
51. Foundation for Women, Law and Rural Development (FORWARD), Thailand
    1. Foundation for Women, Thailand
    2. EMPOWER Foundation, Thailand
52. Highland Peoples Task force (HPT), Thailand
53. Homenet, Thailand
54. Housing Rights Task Force, Cambodia
55. Human Rights Documentation Unit, Burma
56. Human Rights Education Institute of Burma
57. Human Rights Foundation of Monland, Burma
58. Human Rights Lawyers Association, Thailand
59. Humanum, Indonesia
60. Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), Cambodia
61. Indigenous People Task Force on ASEAN
62. Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM), Indonesia
63. International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
64. JATAM, Indonesia
65. Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand (KWAT), Burma
66. Karen Youth Organization (KYO), Burma
67. Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY), Burma
68. Khmer Ahimsa Organisation, Cambodia
69. KIARA, Indonesia
70. KontraS (National Office, Jakarta, Indonesia)
71. Kuki Students Democratic Front (KSDF), Burma
72. Lahu Women’s Organization, Burma
73. Lao Movement for Human Rights (MLDH)
74. LPSHAM, Indonesia
75. M Plus Foundation, Thailand
76. Messenger Band (MB), Cambodia
77. Migrant Forum in Asia
78. Migrante International, Philippines
79. Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), Burma
80. My Village Organization (MVi), Cambodia
81. Naga Youth Organization (NYO), Burma
82. National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (Youth), Burma
83. Network for Democracy and Development (NDD), Burma
84. Network for Human Rights Documentation in Burma
85. Network of Eastern Democracy, Thailand
86. NGO Coordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD), Thailand
87. Northern Development Foundation, Thailand
88. One-2-One, Cambodia
89. Pa O Youth Organization (PYO), Burma
    1. Palang Thai, Thailand
90. Palaung Women’s Organization, Burma
91. People’s Action for Change (PAC), Cambodia
92. People’s Defense Force (Burma)
93. People’s Empowerment Foundation
94. Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS), Malaysia
95. Pokja 30, Indonesia
96. Project for Ecological Awareness Building (EAB), Thailand
97. Pro Rights Foundation, Thailand
98. Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (PUSAT KOMAS), Malaysia
99. Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam
100. Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK), Cambodia
101. Sahakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Cambodia
102. Sex Workers Organization, Thailand
103. Shwe Gas movement
104. SILAKA, Cambodia
105. Social Action for Change (SAC), Cambodia
106. Social Agenda Working Group, Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
107. Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), Philippines
108. South East Asia Working Group/ Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network
109. South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)
110. Southeast Asia Coalition to stop Child Soldiers
111. Southeast Asia Popular Communications Programme (SEAPCP)
112. Students and Youth Congress of Burma
113. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Malaysia
114. Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, Thailand
115. Sustainable Development Foundation, Thailand
116. Ta’ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO), Burma
117. Tavoy Youth Organization (TYO), Burma
     1. Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation, Thailand
     2. Thai Working Group for Climate Justice (TCJ), Thailand
118. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights, Cambodia
119. The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Cambodian
120. The Northeastern Women’s Network, Thailand
121. Think Centre, Singapore
122. Union for Civil Liberty (UCL), Thailand
123. United Lahu Youth Organization, Burma
124. Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
125. Volunteers for Sustainable Development (VSD), Cambodia
126. Women and Children Protection Foundation, Thailand
127. Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)
128. YLBHI, Indonesia
129. Yoma3 News Service, Burma
130. Youth for Social Change, Myanmar
131. Zomi Students and Youth Organization (ZSYO), Burma

Further Information:

• ASEAN: Regional body must lead by example and place transparency at its core (6 May 2011) 
• CRIN's transparency campaign: The future of children's rights - in whose hands?