HRW to Asean: Set Timetable for Human Rights Mechanism

Letter to ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong

The ASEAN Charter

November 15, 2007

H.E. Ong Keng Yong
Secretary General
The ASEAN Secretariat
70A, Jalan Sisingamangaraja
Jakarta 12110
Indonesia

Re: ASEAN Charter

Dear Secretary General:

Congratulations on the impending signing of the new ASEAN Charter at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore from November 18-22. We are hopeful that the long-awaited signing of the Charter may lead to a commitment among ASEAN members to protect human rights. We especially welcome the provisions of the Charter pledging all signatories to abide by international law and enacting a regional human rights mechanism. We urge you and other ASEAN Foreign Ministers to establish specific deadlines for implementing a binding human rights mechanism as part of the new Charter.

We also urge ASEAN members to use the opportunity of signing the Charter to pressure the military junta of Burma to end abuses and to embark on serious, structured, and time-bound negotiations with opposition parties and ethnic groups to create democratic, civilian rule as soon as possible. We welcome ASEAN’s strong statement delivered on September 27 in New York on the crackdown upon peaceful protestors that “expressed their revulsion… over reports that the demonstrations in Myanmar are being suppressed by violent force.” It is now time to turn these words into action.

Human Rights and the New Charter
One of the purposes of ASEAN set out in the draft Charter is to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law and to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, with due regard to the rights and responsibilities of the Member States of ASEAN. Another purpose is to ensure that the peoples and Member States of ASEAN live in peace in a just, democratic, and harmonious environment. Substantively for ASEAN to achieve these purposes, the draft Charter establishes a series of principles to which each State must adhere to. These include respect for fundamental freedoms, the promotion and protection of human rights and social justice as well as the renunciation of aggression and of the threat or use of force or any actions in any manner inconsistent with international law, and upholding international law.

You have stated that the Charter will make “ASEAN a more rules-based organization and… will put in place a system of compliance monitoring and, most importantly, a system of compulsory dispute settlement for noncompliance that will apply to all ASEAN agreements.” We welcome this vision, yet are concerned that there is no clear mechanism to take action against states, such as Burma, that simply ignore the Charter’s human rights provisions.

The Charter lacks any procedures to implement its principles and contains weak compliance provisions. Violations of the Charter’s principles are simply referred to the next ASEAN summit for discussion, suggesting a slow deliberation process that will become entwined in politics and national vetoes.

We are also concerned that the terms of reference for the proposed regional human rights body in the Charter is to be decided at a separate meeting of foreign ministers, a process which could drag on for years given that ASEAN has been deliberating on a regional human rights mechanism since 1993.

While we see the Charter as a step in the right direction, much more is needed if the Charter’s aims of protecting and promoting human rights are to be achieved. The Charter’s list of principles are quite vague, and only commit ASEAN Member States very broadly to do what they are already bound to do under international law and the UN Charter. The ASEAN Charter sets out the principles; what is needed is fast action to create a mechanism to turn these principles into reality for ASEAN’s people.