Supalak Ganjanakhundee
The Nation
Phnom Penh July 8, 2012 11:12 am
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) was expected to have its Human Right Declaration as a guideline to promote and protect basic rights in the region by late this year, a senior diplomat said.
Foreign Ministers of the Asean opened a discussion on Sunday with representatives of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on a draft of Asean Human Right Declaration.
Key issue in the discussion was that Asean regarded the human right as 'universal' principle but many members might preserve their regional or national 'particularity' for human right protection.
Member countries of the group expected to see the Asean human right instrument to meet international standard, no less than the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, said Thai Foreign Ministry's Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow.
As Asean members were parties to the United Nations human right declaration, it did not make any sense for the group if its own human instrument was lower than international standard, he said.
The AICHR was mandated to develop an Asean Human Rights Declaration with a view to establishing a framework for human rights cooperation through various Asean conventions and other instruments dealing with human right.
The document would reflect aspirations of the Asean to be a people-centric organization and commitment to promote and protect human right, Sihasak said.
The foreign ministers in the meeting might consider the draft and would assign senior officials of the group to work on it together with the AICHR representatives before submitting the declaration to the leaders' summit in November this year.
From Thailand's position, the senior officials would not scrutinize the draft of human right declaration but would facilitate the AICHR to reach its objective, Sihasak said.
AICHR may need to consult with all stakeholders in the Asean including civic society, sectoral bodies of the group to listen to their opinions on the matters, he said.
The Nation
Phnom Penh July 8, 2012 11:12 am
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) was expected to have its Human Right Declaration as a guideline to promote and protect basic rights in the region by late this year, a senior diplomat said.
Foreign Ministers of the Asean opened a discussion on Sunday with representatives of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on a draft of Asean Human Right Declaration.
Key issue in the discussion was that Asean regarded the human right as 'universal' principle but many members might preserve their regional or national 'particularity' for human right protection.
Member countries of the group expected to see the Asean human right instrument to meet international standard, no less than the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, said Thai Foreign Ministry's Permanent Secretary Sihasak Phuangketkeow.
As Asean members were parties to the United Nations human right declaration, it did not make any sense for the group if its own human instrument was lower than international standard, he said.
The AICHR was mandated to develop an Asean Human Rights Declaration with a view to establishing a framework for human rights cooperation through various Asean conventions and other instruments dealing with human right.
The document would reflect aspirations of the Asean to be a people-centric organization and commitment to promote and protect human right, Sihasak said.
The foreign ministers in the meeting might consider the draft and would assign senior officials of the group to work on it together with the AICHR representatives before submitting the declaration to the leaders' summit in November this year.
From Thailand's position, the senior officials would not scrutinize the draft of human right declaration but would facilitate the AICHR to reach its objective, Sihasak said.
AICHR may need to consult with all stakeholders in the Asean including civic society, sectoral bodies of the group to listen to their opinions on the matters, he said.
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