Working Group for ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism

The Initiative for an intergovernmental human rights for Southeast Asia

The Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism’s primary goal is to establish a regional human rights commission for the ASEAN. More>



Visayan Civil Society Organizations Meet, Give Recommendations for ASEAN Human Rights Body


Workshop groups discuss grassroot concerns for the ASEAN human rights body.

Human rights organizations, Church groups, party- lists, and other grass roots-based groups from the Visayas in the Philippines gathered in Cebu City on July 31, 2008 to contribute their recommendations for the proposed human rights body of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The activity was organized by the Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (PWG) and two of its member organizations, the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA). More>


Senior Officials to Endorse a Meeting Between Panel which will Draft the ASEAN Human Rights Body and the Working Group


The Working Group (left) and ASEAN Senior Officials (right) get down to business.
The High Level Panel on the Drafting of the ASEAN Human Rights Body (HLP) may have first convened on July 21, 2008 but discussions on the ASEAN human rights body had taken place throughout the course of the 41ST ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM). One of the most notable was the dialogue between ASEAN Senior Officials and the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (Working Group) on July 19, 2008.

The Working Group reiterated its call for a realistic timeline for the drafting of the terms of reference (ToR) which will define the structure and mandate of the ASEAN human rights body. In addition, they discussed specific recommendations for this that was culled from civil society and government agency representatives during the 7th Workshop on the ASEAN Regional Mechanism on Human Rights. More>


41st Ministerial Meeting: ASEAN Acknowledges Working Group’s Efforts

Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) closed the 41st ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Singapore on July 21, 2008 with the release of a Joint Communiqué, a document which summed up their discussions. Among issues like regional security, narrowing the development gap, and disaster management, the Joint Communiqué mentioned steps taken for the ASEAN Charter and human rights in the region. On this issue, the Foreign Ministers acknowledged the role of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism: More>




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