The Associated Press
MANILA, Philippines: Southeast Asian countries are looking at the contentious issue of creating a regional human rights commission under a landmark charter being drafted by their 10-nation bloc, diplomats said Thursday.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, have asked a task force drafting the charter to consider a provision to allow such a commission, which has been long stalled by conflicting views in the group.
"We have different perceptions on this issue but we will work this out," said Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand's representative to the task force, which began work on the ASEAN charter in Manila this week.
Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have strongly pushed for such a commission, which has been resisted by other ASEAN members. Current ASEAN chair, Myanmar, has been condemned by Western governments for its dismal human rights record.
Some ASEAN members fear such a commission could allow scrutiny of rights conditions in one country, possibly violating the group's cardinal policy of noninterference in one another's affairs, said Filipino diplomat Rosario Manalo, who heads the task force.
A human rights commission, however, would allow the group to deal with its human rights problems in its own way and parry Western criticism of problems in the region, Manalo said.
"If we can find the right form of words and purpose of this, it will be reflected in the charter," ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said.
Human rights has long been a thorny issue in the ASEAN, which consists of fledgling democracies, communist countries, authoritarian capitalist states, a military dictatorship and a monarchy.
Human rights groups complain that ASEAN's long-standing noninterference principle has fostered undemocratic regimes in the region.
Indonesia proposed a regional rights commission with investigative powers in 2003 but ASEAN has failed to reach a consensus. Two years later, the regional bloc agreed to set up panels to protect the rights of women, children and migrant workers and to promote human rights education pending establishment of a commission.
ASEAN, formed in 1967, has decided to draft a chapter to become a more rules-based organization with better bargaining power in international negotiations. It hopes the charter could be signed at the annual ASEAN leaders' summit in November.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It admitted Myanmar in 1997 despite strong opposition from Western nations.
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, have asked a task force drafting the charter to consider a provision to allow such a commission, which has been long stalled by conflicting views in the group.
"We have different perceptions on this issue but we will work this out," said Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand's representative to the task force, which began work on the ASEAN charter in Manila this week.
Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines have strongly pushed for such a commission, which has been resisted by other ASEAN members. Current ASEAN chair, Myanmar, has been condemned by Western governments for its dismal human rights record.
Some ASEAN members fear such a commission could allow scrutiny of rights conditions in one country, possibly violating the group's cardinal policy of noninterference in one another's affairs, said Filipino diplomat Rosario Manalo, who heads the task force.
A human rights commission, however, would allow the group to deal with its human rights problems in its own way and parry Western criticism of problems in the region, Manalo said.
"If we can find the right form of words and purpose of this, it will be reflected in the charter," ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said.
Human rights has long been a thorny issue in the ASEAN, which consists of fledgling democracies, communist countries, authoritarian capitalist states, a military dictatorship and a monarchy.
Human rights groups complain that ASEAN's long-standing noninterference principle has fostered undemocratic regimes in the region.
Indonesia proposed a regional rights commission with investigative powers in 2003 but ASEAN has failed to reach a consensus. Two years later, the regional bloc agreed to set up panels to protect the rights of women, children and migrant workers and to promote human rights education pending establishment of a commission.
ASEAN, formed in 1967, has decided to draft a chapter to become a more rules-based organization with better bargaining power in international negotiations. It hopes the charter could be signed at the annual ASEAN leaders' summit in November.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It admitted Myanmar in 1997 despite strong opposition from Western nations.
3 comments:
It's not going to work like the EU model because Burma, VN and Laos run their countries in communist and dictatorship styles.
Cambodia is a facade of democracy, where one-man does all for the country.
Thailand is not even a real democratic nation. Recently just had a coup.
Philippines not real, yet better than Cambodia.
Indonesia has its own problem in which is similar to Thailand.
Malaysia is on and off democratic.
Singapore is almost a dictatorship island nation.
Brunei is just a patch of kingdom in on the island of Malaysia.
All in all, the so-called SEA Human Rights Commission will not work because of the above brief look at these nations and because of the non-interference charter of ASEAN itself.
Well you maybe right. But if ASEAN has their own definition of human rights than thing could be different. We heard of "Democracy Asian Way", maybe we will hear "Human Rights Asia Way" too.
The is democracy the right way and democracy the Asian like to bullshit way.
Now we are having human rights the right way or are we going to seeing the suppressive regimes in Asia creating Human Rights the bullshitting way again?
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