ASEAN lags behind on human rights: Hassan

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta

In spite of its impressive economic growth and giant strides in reducing poverty in previous decades, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is far behind other regions of the world in establishing a regional human rights mechanism, Indonesia's foreign minister said.

"We have to admit that ASEAN is far behind other regions like Europe, the Americas and even Africa -- where there are already established regional human rights systems," Hassan Wirayuda said in his key note address at a regional workshop on regional mechanism on human rights in Jakarta on Thursday.

In Africa, they have the African Commission on Human and People's Rights with in the African Union to promote human and people's rights and to ensure their protection in that continent, Hassan said.

"The African Union has the right to intervene in a member state 'with respect to grave circumstances, namely war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity'," he said.

In China, a Communist country, one specific chapter on "Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens" was included in its Constitution.

Hassan underlined the need to take human rights promotion more vigorously in the region.

"It is not all because of external pressure. Rather, it is because we need to protect our own people's rights and dignity," he added.

Not only that the greater respect for, and better protection of human rights would contribute significantly to the development of ASEAN as a true community of nations, the minister said.

Indonesia is the current chair of the 10-member ASEAN.

In order to promote human rights and establish a regional mechanism, according to Hassan, ASEAN member countries may start by establishing a network among the mechanisms already existing in some countries.

In a gathering in Hanoi in 1993, ASEAN Ministers issued a Joint Communique for the need of ASEAN to set up mechanism for human rights.

Since then, ASEAN has achieved some progress such as the establishment of national institutions for human rights in four ASEAN member countries, namely the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Secretary General of ASEAN Ong Keng Yong said that ASEAN was now prepared to continue to engage the civil society on the issue of promotion and protection of human rights.

Asked whether the ASEAN countries' move to support campaigns to combat terrorism could also hurt the protection of human rights, Ong disagreed.

"I don't see any inconsistency with ASEAN pursuing the campaign again terrorism on the one hand, and protecting human rights on the other hand," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the workshop.

Meanwhile, Marzuki Darusman, co-chair of the Regional Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism said that ASEAN was now in the process of setting up an Eminent Persons Group (EPG) to help speed up the establishment of the ASEAN Regional Human Rights Mechanism.

"We are now looking at who to choose among ASEAN leaders, who will sit on the EPG," Marzuki told the Post.