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Asian rights body draws flak
Melbourne Age - October 25, 2009
Ben Doherty Hua Hin, Thailand – A new human rights body for Asia that counts Burma's repressive military dictatorship as a member, and has no power to sanction nations that abuse human rights, has been condemned as worthless by critics.
Unveiled to great fanfare this weekend at the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Thailand, the Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights is already under fire for its membership and mandate.
Burma, regarded as one of the world's most brutal regimes, is a commission member, but the body has no power to investigate governments, nor pull states into line for continued abuses.
Instead, it has a mandate to "promote" rather than protect rights. South-East Asia's record on human rights remains flawed.
Burma's military junta holds more than 2000 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi who has spent 14 years under house arrest. Cambodia, under Prime Minister Hun Sen, last week banned demonstrations of more than 200 people. Malaysia's Government continues to detain without trial people it deems a threat to security. Debbie Stothard, co-ordinator for civil rights group Altsean Burma, said the commission had been stacked by secretive governments, and "had not been set up to be effective and impartial".
The UN said establishing a commission alone would not improve rights abuses.
The commission "will have to work hard to establish itself as a credible regional mechanism and help close the gap between human rights rhetoric and the reality on the ground," said Homayoun Alizadeh, regional representative for the UN human rights commission.
The commission membership has largely been appointed by governments, with no consultation with civil society groups.
"This confirms our worst fears, because an intergovernmental body has always been second best, but an intergovernmental body that won't even talk to its own citizens is a joke, and worthless," said Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
Defenders of the commission say the body can be strengthened over time. They also point out the difficulty of setting human rights benchmarks in a disparate grouping of nations that includes democracies like Indonesia, communist regimes such as Vietnam and Laos, an absolute monarchy in Brunei, and Burma's dictatorship.
ASEAN would review the commission's terms of reference every five years to "further develop and strengthen the mandate and function of the body", Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said.
The human rights debate and the late attendance of several key leaders have cast a shadow over the weekend's ASEAN summit.
On the opening day, Burma, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines refused to meet with civil rights organisations anxious to raise human rights issues. And four of 10 leaders missed the start of the summit.
ASEAN concluded overnight but is abutted by the East Asia Summit, which involves ASEAN members plus Australia, New Zealand, China, India, Japan and South Korea.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was due to arrive in Hua Hin last night, was expected to again push his proposal for an Asia-Pacific community at the meeting. He will also have talks with leaders from China, Indonesia and Thailand.
Mr Rudd is expected to again discuss the issue of asylum seekers and a free trade agreement with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, but no formal announcement is expected.
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