ASEAN lags behind on human rights: Hassan

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.