Summit turns spotlight on human rights

The high-level panel on the establishment of an Asean human rights body will hand its first report to the14th Asean summit, starting this week, for consideration.

Vitavas Srivihok, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's Asean Affairs Department, said yesterday the first draft of the terms of reference for the Asean human rights body would be tabled at the summit before being finalised at the Asean foreign ministerial meeting in July.

The high level panel is chaired by Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Thailand's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva, and comprises senior foreign ministry officials from the 10 Asean countries: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Mr Vitavas, who yesterday gave details to reporters at Government House of preparations for the Asean summit being held from Feb 27 to March 1 in Cha-am, said the issue of an Asean human rights body would be highlighted at the summit as all Asean countries were facing the same challenges in the fields of human rights violations.

He said all 10 foreign ministers would also meet at the summit with the high level panel members and legal experts to discuss the issue.

"The issue of human rights in each country is sensitive and different," he said. "So it's necessary for all Asean countries to develop it gradually."

Mr Vitavas expected the Asean human rights body to be established during Thailand's chairmanship of Asean, if possible.

"We would like to finalise everything for our Asean human rights body during our [Thailand's] term as the chairman of Asean," he said.

Mr Vitavas also called on the Asean people and civil sectors to help push for the establishment of an Asean human right mechanism.

He said this would be a channel for the protection and promotion of human rights in the region.

"It will be an evolutionary process not a revolutionary process," he said.

Mr Vitavas said the Asean summit would discuss the Rohingya boat people as this was a problem for all countries of the region to deal with. The summit would also discuss democracy in Burma.

Apart from human rights issues, Mr Vitavas said there were more than 20 documents to be signed during the summit. The 10 Asean leaders would sign only three: the Declaration on a Road Map for the Asean Community, the Initiative for Asean Integration and the Declaration on Asean Development Goals.

He said the rest would be signed by foreign or commerce ministers. They included free trade area documents involving Asean-South Korea, Asean-Australia and New Zealand and Asean-India.

"Thailand becomes the last member to sign these," he said.

To make this summit more people-centred, he said all Asean leaders would meet with the Asean-International Parliament Assembly, Asean-Youth, Asean-Civil Society and Asean-Business Advisory Council.

On the financial issue, it was expected to have a multi-swap arrangement to tackle the financial crisis in the region, he said.

"The countries are thinking of expanding from bilateral to a multilateral swap arrangement. They are going to expand the money to put in the mechanism to add value," he said.