H.E. Hor Namhong
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Cambodia and
Chair, ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
Dear Your Excellency
Warmest greetings from the Southeast Asia Women's Caucus on ASEAN.
We write regarding the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD). We note that in the forthcoming ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in July in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ASEAN’s foreign ministers will meet the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to review the draft AHRD. We urge AMM to ensure that the concerns of Southeast Asian women are fully incorporated into the declaration.
We are grateful that AICHR invited the Women’s Caucus, along with its regional and national members to their consultation with civil society on 22 June 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AICHR acknowledged our submissions, including the addendum which we presented recently during AICHR’s consultation with civil society. These submissions are attached to this letter. We welcome the determination of states to ensure the AHRD upholds existing international human rights standards and indeed that the AHRD “adds” value’ and advances the interpretation of the normative framework.
We appreciate the responses from AICHR representatives who welcomed our recommendations. We were particularly pleased to gain support from members who shared our position that “public morality” or “public morals” are no longer acceptable as limitations of human rights.
After consulting with our members as well as international law experts globally, we contend that the inclusion of “public morality” would serve to undermine the potential enjoyment of women’s human rights. The term has not been defined at law and has served to excuse grave violations against women, including sexual violence. While “public morality” is mentioned in Article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in some national constitutions, we believe that ASEAN can strengthen women’s rights by removing the term in this important declaration, as was done in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
We urge you to integrate women’s human rights around substantive equality, non-discrimination, right to decent work for all sectors and all people regardless of status, the right to bodily integrity, sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, rights in marriage and family life and freedom of movement and citizenship, especially in a region that is marked by increasingly feminized migration. The region’s particularities must inspire ASEAN to set the bar higher for women’s human rights.
Women from Southeast Asia look forward to proudly promoting a declaration that reflects their aspirations. In order to do that, the declaration needs to be transparently and democratically developed. We are concerned that the draft has not been released for public comment. Communities in most member states have not had the chance to engage in the consultative process. As a foundational human rights document of ASEAN, the AHRD should be owned by ASEAN, the community, not just ASEAN, the body. As we formally communicated to AICHR, ensuring such ownership is a better legacy than a rushed AHRD.
We hope that you will consider these points in reviewing the draft AHRD.
Respectfully yours,
Nina Somera
Secretariat
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Cambodia and
Chair, ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
Dear Your Excellency
Warmest greetings from the Southeast Asia Women's Caucus on ASEAN.
We write regarding the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD). We note that in the forthcoming ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in July in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ASEAN’s foreign ministers will meet the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to review the draft AHRD. We urge AMM to ensure that the concerns of Southeast Asian women are fully incorporated into the declaration.
We are grateful that AICHR invited the Women’s Caucus, along with its regional and national members to their consultation with civil society on 22 June 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AICHR acknowledged our submissions, including the addendum which we presented recently during AICHR’s consultation with civil society. These submissions are attached to this letter. We welcome the determination of states to ensure the AHRD upholds existing international human rights standards and indeed that the AHRD “adds” value’ and advances the interpretation of the normative framework.
We appreciate the responses from AICHR representatives who welcomed our recommendations. We were particularly pleased to gain support from members who shared our position that “public morality” or “public morals” are no longer acceptable as limitations of human rights.
After consulting with our members as well as international law experts globally, we contend that the inclusion of “public morality” would serve to undermine the potential enjoyment of women’s human rights. The term has not been defined at law and has served to excuse grave violations against women, including sexual violence. While “public morality” is mentioned in Article 29 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in some national constitutions, we believe that ASEAN can strengthen women’s rights by removing the term in this important declaration, as was done in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
We urge you to integrate women’s human rights around substantive equality, non-discrimination, right to decent work for all sectors and all people regardless of status, the right to bodily integrity, sexual and reproductive health and rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, rights in marriage and family life and freedom of movement and citizenship, especially in a region that is marked by increasingly feminized migration. The region’s particularities must inspire ASEAN to set the bar higher for women’s human rights.
Women from Southeast Asia look forward to proudly promoting a declaration that reflects their aspirations. In order to do that, the declaration needs to be transparently and democratically developed. We are concerned that the draft has not been released for public comment. Communities in most member states have not had the chance to engage in the consultative process. As a foundational human rights document of ASEAN, the AHRD should be owned by ASEAN, the community, not just ASEAN, the body. As we formally communicated to AICHR, ensuring such ownership is a better legacy than a rushed AHRD.
We hope that you will consider these points in reviewing the draft AHRD.
Respectfully yours,
Nina Somera
Secretariat
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 | Women's
Caucus - original submission.pdf 566K View Download |
| Addendum - final.pdf 260K View Download |
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