Work on the Terms of Reference for Human Rights Body Can Begin: WG Holds Roundtable on ASEAN and Human Rights

The newly-adopted Charter of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) calls for the establishment of a regional human rights body. The terms of reference (TOR)- which will define the mandate and structure of the body- will be crafted at a later date by the ASEAN foreign ministers. Realizing that the TOR is the first step towards the formation of the regional human rights body, the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (Working Group) held a Roundtable Discussion which also discussed the body as mandated in the Charter. Held on December 17 to 18, 2007 in Manila, Philippines, the Roundtable was co-organized with the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines (DFA) and the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR). The Roundtable brought together participants from the governments of all ASEAN Member States, as well as national human rights institutions in the region, and observers from partner funding agencies.

(L-R) Former HLTF Chair Rosario Manalo, Program Manager Ray Paolo Santiago (Working Group), Director General Luis Cruz (ASEAN Desk, Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippines), Secretary-General Carlos Medina (Working Group), and Commissioner Tunku Datuk Nazihah Mohd Rus (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia)

Ambassador Rosario Manalo, former chairperson of the High Level Task Force on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter, contextualized the Roundtable by giving an insider’s view on how the Charter was deliberated. Although the entire details of the ASEAN human rights body was not included in the Charter, she suggested that ASEAN be prepared to pick up where the HLTF left off. Ambassador Manalo urged for a timeline to guide and monitor the development of the human rights body. In line with this, she encouraged the Working Group and other organizations who have the human rights expertise to be ready to contribute to the process.

The ASEAN Secretariat agrees with this view. Dr. Termsak Chalermpalanupap, special assistant to the ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong, shared that the secretary-general recently proposed to create an ASEAN experts group to do the follow-up work on the ASEAN Charter. Dr. Termsak underscored the importance of resolving the TOR of the ASEAN human rights body. “The ASEAN Secretariat believes that it is not necessary to wait for the full ratification of the Charter to start doing work (for the TOR). Although drafting it won’t be easy, this Roundtable is a good venue to increase common understanding in ASEAN on what a regional grouping can do on the issue of human rights promotion and protection.”

Full participation from governments of ASEAN Member States and national human rights institutions.

Other follow-up measures on significant human rights issues in the region were also discussed. The Vientiane Action Programme (VAP) which calls for the setting up of specialized bodies on women, children, and migrant workers’ rights, expires in 2010. However, this may be overtaken by blueprints for the political-security and socio-cultural pillars of the ASEAN Community (which has a 2015 deadline). Since human rights areas of the VAP will likely be carried over in the blueprints, delegates noted that all relevant parties should continue with their efforts. On the issue of migrant workers rights, they expressed their hope that the recently-created committee which was tasked to implement the ASEAN Declaration on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Migrant Workers would begin its work soon.

“These are encouraging signs for us who are working in the field of human rights in ASEAN. We hope that this Roundtable- which is the Working Group’s third- becomes a timely and effective tool in enabling ASEAN to come up with policies responsive to the needs of ASEAN peoples,” concluded Senator Wigberto Tañada, chairperson of the Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism.

View the Summary of Proceedings of the Third Roundtable Discussion on Human Rights in ASEAN: Building Human Rights in an ASEAN Community.