ASEAN Four Signs Declaration of Cooperation

The meeting of the “ASEAN Four” in Bali, Indonesia on 28 June 2007 saw the signing of a Declaration of Cooperation. The ASEAN Four is composed of the national human rights commission of Indonesia (KOMNAS HAM), Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP) and the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (Khamakarn Sit).

In the Declaration, the ASEAN Four formally pledged to have a regional strategy in enforcing the promotion and protection of human rights. This includes how to advise their respective governments on the steps that can be taken in establishing an ASEAN human rights mechanism. The Declaration also recognized the efforts being made by groups, particularly the ASEAN and the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, in support of this.

The ASEAN Four further agreed to carry out programs and activities on five human rights issues of common concern. These are: (1) suppression of terrorism while respecting human rights; (2) human rights aspects of trafficking in persons, (3) protection of the human rights of migrants and migrant workers, (4) implementation of economic, social and cultural rights and right to development, and (5) enhancement of human rights education.

Chairperson Purificacion Valera-Quisumbing of the CHRP said that the signing of the Declaration of Cooperation is a historic event. The ASEAN Four decided to work together during the Fourth Workshop on the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism in Jakarta, Indonesia in June 2004.

They later on identified five human rights issues of common concerns during their First Consultative meeting in 2005 in Thailand, where they also agreed to individually prepare research papers on the five issues, namely: terrorism (Indonesia), migration and migrant workers (Malaysia), human trafficking (Philippines), right to development (Thailand), and human rights education (Philippines and Thailand).

The research papers were presented and discussed during the Second Consultative meeting held in Malaysia in March 2006 and at the First Regional Workshop of Human Rights Cooperation held in Manila in April 2006.

The Declaration formalized ASEAN Four’s cooperation. They are now in the process of drafting their framework of action based on the research papers on the five human rights issues of common concern.

Chairperson Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara (Indonesia), Chairperson Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman (Malaysia), Chairperson Purificacion C. Valera Quisumbing (Philippines), and Commissioner Khunying Ambhorn Meesook (Thailand) signed the Declaration.

Download a copy of the ASEAN Four’s Declaration of Cooperation.