SE Asia approves long-awaited rights body

FE Team | Published: July 21, 2009 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Southeast Asian foreign ministers pose for group outdoor photograph at a resort in Phuket during the opening ceremony of the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministerial meeting. — AFP

PHUKET, July 20 (AFP): Foreign ministers from Southeast Asia endorsed the region's first human rights watchdog Monday, rejecting criticisms that it would be powerless to tackle rogue members such as Myanmar.
Officials were also to express "grave concern" over North Korea's nuclear programme and condemn the hotel bombings in Jakarta after meeting in the Thai resort island of Phuket ahead of Asia's main security forum this week.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will officially launch the long-awaited rights commission at a summit in October after years of claims that it is too soft on military-ruled Myanmar and communist Vietnam and Laos.
But rights groups said the proposed watchdog lacks teeth to punish violators, has no monitoring powers and would merely make the bloc's members provide internal reports on rights conditions inside their countries.
ASEAN officials confirmed that the foreign ministers had endorsed the terms of reference for the rights body at their meeting Monday.
"It's better to make a start than to leave this hanging with no progress at all," Thai premier and ASEAN chairman Abhisit Vejjajiva said, adding that the body would focus on the "promotion and protection" of human rights.
Myanmar has been a thorn in the side of ASEAN since it joined in 1997 because of its detention of more than 2,000 political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The junta caused fresh headaches for the bloc by putting the Nobel peace laureate on trial following an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house in May. She faces up to five years in jail.
ASEAN has been hamstrung throughout its 42-year history by its guiding principle of non-interference in members' internal affairs. The rights commission is being set up under a new ASEAN charter agreed in December.
Rights groups said the new body's remit fell short of international standards.
Splits emerged in ASEAN's normally placid facade Sunday as Indonesia objected to the final terms for the rights body and Myanmar protested against changes wanted by the Indonesians, diplomats said.
Meanwhile, the ASEAN ministers were set to issue a statement urging North Korea to return to six-party talks on its weapons programme and to "express grave concern over the recent nuclear explosions", an ASEAN official said.
Pyongyang's foreign minister has declined to attend Thursday's ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Phuket, which groups 27 nations including the United States.