| ASEAN countries' foreign ministers join their hands during a photo session at the 45th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' Plus three Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Tuesday, July 10, 2012. (Photo: AP) |
| Cops beating a child during the forced eviction of Borei Keila: Human rights in Cambodia under Hun Xen? |
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer | Washington, DC
“Asean member states, as members of the United Nations, have to comply with those minimum standards.”
As Cambodia prepares to host a major
regional security meeting in Phnom Penh this week, local and
international rights group say the country should use its presidency of
Asean this year to push for a declaration of human rights that is up to
international standards.
Asean members have already drafted a human
rights declaration that it expects to approve later this year, but built into it are limitations
that rights advocates say need changed.
Asean officials have not allowed members of
civil society to officially review their draft declaration,
but according to a draft obtained by VOA Khmer, basic
rights and freedoms are subject to a number of exceptions.
These include “the just
requirements of national security, public order, public health, public
safety, public morality, as well as the general welfare of the peoples
in a democratic society,” according to the draft.
These limitations create the potential for
justifying human rights abuses, rights advocates say.
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