Media advisory
Civil Society Demands Transparency and Consultation on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
8
th April 2012
In a joint statement released today, over 100 civil society organizations and networks across the ASEAN region have called fo r the release of the draft ASEAN
Human Rights Declaration and the initiation of meaningful public consultations on its content. The Declaration is being draft ed by the ASEAN Inter-governmental
Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which is meeting in Phnom Penh, C ambodia, April 9-11, 2012.
The draft has been in development for nearly a year, but has not yet been released to the public.
Civil society has been largely excluded from the drafting process as well. Only the AICHR representatives of Indonesia, Malay sia, Philippines and Thailand have
solicited input from civil society on the historic Declaration. Meanwhile, civil society organizations that have submitted re commendations on the Declaration
have received no official response from the AICHR.
“The peoples of ASEAN, whose human rights the Declaration is supposed to uphold, are being left in the dark,” said Yap Swee Seng, the Executi ve Director of
Bangkok based Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM -ASIA) . “They are not being given any meaningful way to ensure that their concerns
are presented, received and reflected in the Declaration.
“This threatens to fundamentally undermine the legitimacy of the Declaration.”
The joint statement also calls upon AICHR to implement specific steps to ensure that the process of drafting the Declaration will be credible, inclusive,
transparent, reflective and consistent with universal human rights standards. These steps include the immediate release of th e draft, public consultations, and
the translation of the draft into national and local languages.
“Consultations without a draft of the AHRD at hand are meaningless, and a Declaration adopted without meaningful and broad -based consultations will not be
legitimate,” said Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek, President of LICADHO “ ASEAN and AICHR risk making themselves an outcast among regional organizations if they ignore
civil society and impose a Declaration drafted without public input.”
The joint statement has so far been endorsed by 122 organizations and networks representing a wide range of sectors in ASEAN member states, including youth
organizations, women’s organizations, child rights organizations, LGBT organizations, migrant workers network organizations, labour unions, farmers
organizations , environmental organizations, human rights organizations, development organizations and some academic institutions.
The AHRD is widely predicted to be adopted at the 45
th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in July in Phnom Penh. “The AICHR should postpone its submission of
the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration to the AMM in July if no meaningful public consultations were held in the finalization of this document,” said Haris Azhar,
coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence of Indonesia (Kontras).

Media contact persons for English:
Yap Swee Seng , Executive Director, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development ( FORUM-ASIA ), +66 (0) 818689178
Aung Myo Min, Director and Founder, Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), + 66 (0) 819925293
Dr. Pu ng Chhiv Kek, President, Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), + 855 (0) 12589091

Mr. Haris Azhar, Coordinator, Kontras, Indonesia, + 62 (0) 815 -13302342

Media contact persons for other languages:
Name of contact per sons Country Organizations Mobile phone

Emails
Mr. Aung Myo Min Burma/Myanmar

Human Rights Education
Institute of Burma (HREIB)
+ 66 (0)8199 25 293

myominburma@gmail.com

Ms. Khin Ohmar

Burma/Myanmar Burma Partnership +66 (0) 8188 40772

khinohmar@burmapartnership.o
rg
Mr. Ou Virak Cambodia Cambodian Center for
Human Rights
+ 855 (0) 12404051

ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org

Mr. Haris Azhar Indonesia Kontras + 62 (0) 815 -13302342

haris_azhar@yahoo.com
Ms. Vanida S.
Thephsouvanh
Laos (based in
France)
Lao Movement for Human
Rights
+33 (0) 607945840 midh@midh -lao.org
Ms. Enalini Ellumalai

Malaysia Suara Rakyat Malaysia +60 (0) 19 3758912 enalini_elumalai@yahoo.com

Mr. Ryan Silverio Philippines Child Rights Coalition -Asia + 63 (0) 917 8797710

rsilverio@childrightscoalitionasia.
org
Mr. Tan Kong Soon Singapore Think Centre -Singapore + 65 (0) 91 077 905

t_kong_soon@hotmail.com
Ms. Sirada Khemanittathai Thailand People’s Empowerment
Foundation
+ 66 (0) 89696 6286

n.sirada@gmail.com
Ms. An Phong Viet Nam Boat People SOS +66 (0) 80 118 4729 or
0801 184 729

anphong.vo@bpsos.org