ASEAN makes rights body toothless

Sat, 02/28/2009
Lilian Budianto
The Jakarta Post

Cha-am, Thailand - The power of the ASEAN human rights body has been watered down to a "consultative level" forum for the bloc's members, who have different political systems, after negotiators agreed to take into account each member's legal readiness.

The high level panel for the rights body submitted the first draft of its terms of reference to the bloc's foreign ministers Friday during the 14th ASEAN Summit in Cha-am, Thailand. The body is set to operate soon this year after the panel of representatives of the 10 member states submitted its final draft in July.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Friday there should be more provisions to protect human rights in the reference, adding the body should have "monitoring, dissemination and education, and advisory services functions".

Hassan said monitoring, which meant there was a reporting mechanism for rights protection in all member states, would contribute to the progress of enforcement of human rights in the region with different levels of democracy.

"There has been some issue when we come to the *provision on* protection. Countries may feel reluctant as they do not want to interfere in domestic affairs. The point is there should be a shift in the way we perceive the principle of non-interference in domestic affairs. Gross violations of human rights are not a domestic problem," he said.

Rafendi Djamin, an Indonesian representative of the panel, said although the body might look limited in its power, there was "space" to encourage the protection of human rights among the member countries with different levels of democracy.

"This body explicitly says there is going to be a dialogue process between the human rights commission and civil society. When it comes to dialogue, you can bring the victims of human rights abuses to talk at the body. Exposure is protection. The governments would feel the pressure once they learn that victims have established contact with the human rights body," he said.

Rafendi, coordinator for the Indonesian NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy Group, added that each member state would have to appoint a commissioner to the body, who could come from a government office or a representative from civil society.

"The commissioners have the right to ask governments about allegations of human rights abuse, whether it is an individual case or a trend in the member state," he said, adding that governments would also be obliged to report on the enforcement of human rights to the body.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan said the scope of power of the human rights body could always evolve, adding the "members should not be too ambitious" for the time being.

"The draft body has been deliberating the issues on how to promote and how to protect human rights. Would it mean the right to investigate, the right to issue judgments or ask orders for judicial review or to correct the wrong or to give advice? I think the point now is we have to begin somewhere. We can't be too ambitious. Let it evolve," Surin said in Cha-am.

Civil communities had expected the rights body would have the power to investigate and prosecute by piling pressure on iron-fisted governments, especially the military junta in Myanmar.

ASEAN consists of 10 countries, ranging from military-ruled Myanmar, socialist Vietnam and Laos, to democratic Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia.

Djauhari Oratmangun, the Indonesian Foreign Ministry's director general of ASEAN affairs, said because the terms of reference of the rights body would still be developed until it was finalized in July, Jakarta would look into the possibility of having all member states take into account what the human rights commission in Indonesia had achieved.

"The development of the rights body in the future could also refer to the existing rights commissions, especially the one in Indonesia, which has the power to investigate cases and summon people *to be questioned*," he said.