- By Quratul-Ain Bandial
- ’s representative to
- ’s human rights body has called on the
- 10-member bloc to establish a regional human rights court within the next
- ten years.
- Rafendi Djamin, who sits on the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human
- Rights (AICHR), said it is the next step in developing Asean’s rights
- mechanism.
- “The current terms of reference for AICHR lacks the mandate to investigate
- ,“ he said.
- “There are many elements to promote human rights but not enough to protect
- or investigate them.”
- AICHR was set up in 2009 as a consultative body to promote regional
- cooperation on human rights but
- have characterised the body as
- toothless and lacking the authority to investigate or prosecute human
- rights offenders.
- Rafendi said Asean’s court should have similar standards to tribunals set
- up in
- and
- to prosecute genocide and other gross human rights
- violations. Once legal avenues had been exhausted at the national level,
- cases could be submitted to the regional court.
- “When Asean in the future agrees to have a court there will be a rule of
- exhaustive principles … When national remedies have reached their maximum
- or there is no political will to actually settle for judicial solution…
- then it will go to a regional level.”
- The veteran rights activist said the court’s establishment had yet to be
- discussed in AICHR because before the court could be set up, the body must
- formulate more legally-binding mechanisms such as a human rights convention.
- Although Asean leaders signed the
Asean Human Rights Declaration
- in 2012,
- it is only a political commitment to common values, not a legally binding
- document to respect rights like a convention, said Rafendi.
- “Regarding the convention, the discussion is still very broad… it has to
- be discussed with all stakeholders, including NGOs.”
- He added that next year, under
- ’s chairmanship of Asean, there would
- be a review of AICHR’s terms of reference, which would hopefully be amended
- to include more protection elements
- Read more here-
http://www.bt.com.bn/frontpage-news-national/2013/12/27/call-set-asean-human-rights-court
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