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ASEAN
Charter leaked – reference to human rights body vague
7
Nov 07
The closely guarded ASEAN Charter has apparently
been leaked with the document being widely posted on the
Internet. (See here)
The Charter which has been in the planning for the past
two years is supposed to be a document for the benefit of the
people in ASEAN. However, the process has been kept a secret and
the people have had no say in the drafting of the document.
What
is not a secret is that the Charter is established to give ASEAN
a legal status on which trade deals can be based.
The
"confidential" final draft contains a total of 13
chapters and 55 articles outlining various provisions ranging
from organisation's registration to dispute settlement to the
various functions of its sub-groups.
Article 36 even
specifies the Association's motto: "One Vision, One
Identity, One Community." There will also be an ASEAN
anthem.
If the leaked document is what
ASEAN is going to sign during the summit in Singapore on 20 Nov
07, then there is little to cheer for human rights.
While
the Preamble waxes
lyrical about human rights – declaring that the group
adheres to "the principles of democracy, rule of law and
good governance, respect for and protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms" - there is precious little about how
this is going to be carried out.
There are
only two paragraphs contained in Article 14 of the Charter
entitled "ASEAN Human Rights Body". One of the
paragraphs states that ASEAN "shall establish an ASEAN human
rights body." (See below)
No time line was given and
no information of the nature of the body was provided except that
it will operate "in accordance with the terms of reference"
that will be determined by the ASEAN governments.
Not
unexpectedly, ASEAN has deliberately kept the language vague and
general to the point of it being quite devoid of meaning.
To
be sure ASEAN consists of a few oppressive governments that will
not allow a regional human rights body to interfere with their
work.
It
is therefore important for human rights defenders in the region
and all over the world to continue to press ASEAN for concrete
action instead of paying lip-service on the subject.
For
a start, the Singapore Democrats call on ASEAN to:
i. Make
a commitment to establish a human rights commission within the
next two years,
ii. Ensure that the terms of reference
for such a commission adheres to the principles of the UN's
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
iii. Provide the
commission the necessary powers to investigate complaints of
human rights violations by ASEAN governments and to enforce the
rules laid down by the commission.
ASEAN
CHARTER
Article 14
ASEAN HUMAN RIGHTS
BODY
1. In conformity with the purposes and principles
of the ASEAN Charter relating to the promotion and protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms, ASEAN shall establish an
ASEAN human rights body.
2. This ASEAN human rights body
shall operate in accordance with the terms of reference to be
determined by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
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