ASEAN 'must establish regional mechanism on human rights'

ASEAN 'must establish regional mechanism on human rights'

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta

Southeast Asian nations must continue their endeavors to
establish and develop a network of human rights mechanisms, the
participants of a regional workshop said on Friday.

At the two-day gathering, which was attended by government
officials, human rights activists, non-governmental organizations
and scholars, the possibility of forming a regional mechanism on
human rights was discussed at length. The meeting also focused on
setting up a joint working group, an eminent persons group, and a
regional commission for the promotion and protection of the
rights of women and children.

Human rights and fundamental freedoms -- including civil
liberties -- are the hallmarks of a democratic society. However,
participants agreed that human rights was not the only issue that
needed to be addressed. In a world that so recently experienced
terror attacks, including in Bali, Jakarta and Madrid, security
too was a crucial concern.

That is why the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
adopted the ASEAN Security Community (ASC) concept during its
Bali summit last year.

Marty A. Natalegawa, director-general for ASEAN cooperation at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed that the recognition of
a need for an ASEAN Security Community had alerted ASEAN to slow
progress in the realization of a regional mechanism on human
rights.

"The more ASEAN governments and societies are committed to the
establishment of an ASEAN Security Community (ASC), the more we
can be assured that an effective regional mechanism will be
formed to promote and protect human rights," Marty said on
Friday.

The formation of an ASC and the establishment of an ASEAN
Regional Mechanism on Human Rights must be regarded as
complimentary endeavors, said secretary-general of the foreign
ministry Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat.

"A government's commitment to the Security Commitment may also
be seen as a commitment to the conscientious promotion and
protection of the human rights of its citizens," Sudjadnan said
in his closing remarks on Friday at the workshop.

Another participant said that progress on the planned regional
human rights mechanism was relatively slow.

"We have to admit that, in terms of a substantive agreement
among the ASEAN governments in establishing the proposed regional
mechanism, and in taking concrete action in various fields,
progress so far has been decidedly slow," Ali Alatas, former
Indonesian foreign minister told participants on Friday.

The meeting's recommendations will be presented to the
forthcoming ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting to be held on June 28
in Jakarta.