Update: ASEAN Charter Set to Establish Human Rights Commission
By Daniel Hollingsworth
August 2, 2007 | Printer Friendly

Voice of America reports that ASEAN representatives have agreed to include the creation of a Human Rights Commission in an ASEAN charter to be agreed upon in November.  Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo told Voice of America that details still need to be finalized, but a consensus on this inclusion was reached: “We have to establish a sense of reference and discuss specifics, however, we did establish a human rights body.”  According to the report, ASEAN overcame initially strong objections by the military government in Burma, while Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia – three countries with authoritarian, single-party governments – were wary of closer scrutiny of human rights.

Freedom House issued a press release commending the decision by the ASEAN committee.  The Freedom House press release states that “language outlining a human rights body would allow for the establishment of a regional human rights commission similar to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights or the European Court of Human Rights. Like those bodies, the commission could allow for the airing of individual cases against governments, or could be tasked with assessing countries’ human rights situations.”

The full effect of this provision remains to be seen; Jennifer Windsor, Executive Director of Freedom House, cautions that “getting the commission up and running remains a major hurdle to be scaled, particularly in a region where very few countries are currently meeting universally agreed-upon standards.”  Also, ASEAN members remain committed to the principle of non-interference in other members’ affairs, rejecting the option of a sanctioning mechanism for non-compliant states and bringing the effectiveness of the commission into question. 

The four ASEAN members expressing the strongest reservations to this provision in the charter – Burma, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia – were ranked as “Not Free” in Freedom House’s 2007 Freedom in the World report; the Philippines and Thailand have regressed in recent years; and only Indonesia is rated “Free” by the report. 

For additional information, please see CCD’s previous July 25 report, “Proposed ASEAN Charter Would Include Protection for Human Rights”

Reference:

Voice of America: ASEAN Charter to Include Human Rights Commission

Freedom House: In Time for 40th Anniversary, ASEAN Members Agree to Create Human Rights Commission