Groups slam Asean watchdog for being toothless, secretive

Groups slam Asean watchdog for being toothless, secretive

The Asean human rights body has remained secretive and toothless in its work, a review of the three-year-old regional body has found.

A network of Asean civil society organisations unveiled its review of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) yesterday.

The evaluation was in a 190-page study called "Still Window-Dressing", the third critical assessment of the AICHR's work since 2011.

The civic group, called the Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy, Taskforce on Asean and Human Rights, urged the 10-member AICHR to arrange more meaningful engagement with civic groups.

Shiwei Ye, the main researcher on the report, said there was a wide range of human rights defenders in the region who have been blocked or imprisoned.

Cases had been recorded in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos, he said.

The AICHR has so far been silent and has taken no visible action over this, he added.

Mr Ye said the AICHR has made few improvements over the past three years.

Public consultations and announcements by the commission were scarce, he said.

"The AICHR has largely shunned civil society within the region but meets outside entities such as the European Union," Mr Ye said. "The AICHR should be more inclusive."

A major factor contributing to the regional body's failure is an unwillingness on the part of the bloc's member states to act against human rights violations, he said.

"Asean governments have paid only lip service and have been unwilling to take a step forward in protecting the rights of the people," he said. If the situation stays the same, the AICHR could find its relevance decreasing, he said.

He added the five-year review of the AICHR's terms of reference (ToR) due next year will be an important step for the body.

Civil society groups hope next year's review would allow them to engage with the human rights body and prompt Asean governments to unshackle the AICHR so it can fulfil its mandate.

Amnesty International legal adviser Yuval Ginbar said the AICHR has proven to be a toothless rights body, given that there has been almost no public consultations over the Asean Human Rights Declaration.

Phil Robertson, of Human Rights Watch, said the discussion on the ToR will be a make-or-break point for the AICHR.

"We will see if the body remains a non-transparent one that does not make a significant change, [and] whether the members will be willing to go out in the field and check on the real situation," Mr Robertson said.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (1)