We, the undersigned civil society organisations and networks from Southeast Asia, express our grave concern and disappointment over the continuing secrecy in the drafting process of the Asean Human Rights Declaration (AHRD).

The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is mandated under Article 4.2 of its Terms of Reference to develop an Asean Human Right Declaration with a view to establishing a framework for human rights cooperation through various Asean conventions and other instruments dealing with human rights. At the 6th meeting of the AICHR in Vientiane on 28 June – 2 July 2011, a Drafting Group was officially established by the AICHR to prepare a draft of the Asean Human Rights Declaration. In January 2012, the Drafting Group submitted to the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) a draft AHRD for deliberation and debate.

To this date, the draft AHRD remains confidential while the public has been excluded from any meaningful participation in the drafting process. There has not been any substantive and broad-based regional consultation with the peoples in the region on the draft AHRD.

While we commend the representatives of the AICHR from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines for holding consultation with their civil society at national level, we are disturbed that no such initiative has taken place in the rest of the Asean countries.

If Asean’s aspiration to be “people-oriented” is to be achieved, the AICHR that is tasked to defend the fundamental freedoms of the peoples in the region must set a good example in ensuring meaningful and substantive consultation and people’s participation in the drafting of the historic AHRD.

We therefore strongly urge the AICHR to heed the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, that “no discussion of human rights can be complete or credible without significant input from civil society and national human rights institutions”  and immediately begin dialogues and consultations with civil society organizations on the AHRD.

We further call upon AICHR to implement the following steps to ensure that the drafting process of the Asean Human Rights Declaration will be credible, inclusive, transparent, reflective and consistent with universal human rights standards:

1. To immediately publicise the draft AHRD so that the public can meaningfully participate in the drafting process. Consultations will remain meaningless if the draft declaration is kept confidential and out of reach of the peoples.

2. AICHR representatives who are already conducting national consultations in their respective countries must continue to do so, and ensure that these consultations are held nation-wide and in an inclusive and more regular manner. They should further encourage other AICHR representatives that have not taken such initiatives to do the same. The AICHR should also conduct consultations both at national and regional levels, especially if national consultations are not applicable yet in particular places.

3. To translate the draft AHRD into national languages and other local languages of the Asean countries in order to encourage broader public participation in the region.

4. To ensure that consultation meetings of the AICHR will be inclusive of all stakeholders, especially civil society organizations and national human rights institutions.

Until and unless the AICHR consults and engages with all stakeholders in a transparent, meaningful and substantive manner, the AICHR should postpone its submission of the final draft of AHRD to the Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM), which is scheduled to take place in July 2012.

This call is made to public as wide as possible in the ten countries of Asean and is endorsed by different sectors of civil society organisations such as youth organisations, women’s organisations, child rights organisations, LGBT organisations, migrant workers network organisations, labour unions, farmers organzitions, environmental organisations, human rights organisations, development organisations and some academic institutions.

The joint statement is also translated into Asean major languages, Burmese, Bahasa-Indonesian, Bahasa-Malay, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese to indicate our commitment to promote the basic human rights of the people that they are entitled to receive information and awareness about Asean and its works.  

This joint statement is endorsed by:

1. Aceh Human Rights Coalition of NGO, Indonesia

2. Action for Environment and Community (AEC), Cambodia

3. All Arakan Students and Youth Congress (AASYC), Burma

4. All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), Burma

5. All Burma Students League (ABSL), Burma

6. All Kachin Students and Youth Union (AKSYU), Burma

7. All Women’s Action Society (AWAM), Malaysia

8. Alternative Asean Network on Burma (Altsean Burma)

9. Arakan League for Democracy (Exile) Youth (ALD-Youth), Burma

10. Asean WATCH, Thailand

11. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development

12. Asian Indigenous People’s Pact

13. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma (AAPP-B)

14. Back Pack Health Worker Team

15. Banteay Srei, Cambodia

16. Boat People SOS

17. Building Community Voice (BCV), Cambodia

18. Burma Issues, Burma

19. Burma Medical Association, Burma

20. Burma Partnership, Burma

21. Burmese Women Union, Burma

22. Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA), Cambodia

23. Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR), Cambodia

24. Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU), Cambodia

25. Cambodian Food Service Workers Federation (CFSWF), Cambodia

26. Cambodian Independent Teachers' Association (CITA), Cambodia

27. Cambodian League for the promotion and defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodia

28. Cambodian Watchdog Council (CWC), Cambodia

29. Cambodian Youth Network (CYN), Cambodia

30. Center for Migrant Advocacy Philippines

31. Child Rights Coalition-Asia

32. Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), Burma

33. Chin Students Union (CSU), Burma

34. Christians for Social Justice (CJS), Cambodia

35. Coalition of Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC), Cambodia

36. Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Indonesia

37. Community Action Network, Malaysia

38. Community Resource Centre (CRC), Thailand

39. Democratic Party for a New Society (DPNS), Burma

40. Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS), Burma

41. Dignity International, Malaysia

42. EarthRights International, Burma

43. Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (EARTH), Thailand

44. Education and Research Association for Consumers (ERA Consumer), Malaysia

45. EMPOWER Foundation

46. Empowering Youth in Cambodia (EYC), Cambodia    

47. Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) Indonesia

48. Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF-Burma)

49. FOKER LSM, Papua

50. Foundation for Consumers (FFC), Thailand

51. Foundation for Ecological Recovery, Thailand

52. Foundation for Sustainable Development, Thailand

53. Foundation for Women, Law and Rural Development (FORWARD), Thailand

54. Foundation for Women, Thailand

55. Highland Peoples Task force (HPT), Thailand

56. EMPOWER Foundation, Thailand      

57. Palang Thai, Thailand

58. Homenet, Thailand

59. Housing Rights Task Force, Cambodia

60. Human Rights Documentation Unit, Burma

61. Human Rights Education Institute of Burma

62. Human Rights Foundation of Monland, Burma

63. Human Rights Lawyers Association, Thailand

64. Humanum (Ambon, Indonesia)

65. Independent Democracy of Informal Economic Association (IDEA), Cambodia

66. Indigenous People Task Force on Asean

67. International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)

68. JATAM, Jakarta, Indonesia

69. Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand (KWAT), Burma

70. Karen Youth Organization (KYO), Burma

71. Kayan New Generation Youth (KNGY), Burma

72. Khmer Ahimsa Organisation, Cambodia

73. KIARA (Jakarta, Indonesia)

74. KontraS (National Office, Jakarta, Indonesia)

75. Kuki Students Democratic Front (KSDF), Burma

76. Lahu Women’s Organization, Burma

77. Lao Movement for Human Rights (MLDH)

78. LPSHAM (Palu, Indonesia)

79. M Plus Foundation, Thailand

80. Messenger Band (MB), Cambodia

81. Migrant Forum in Asia

82. Migrante International, Philippines

83. Mon Youth Progressive Organization (MYPO), Burma

84. My Village Organization (MVi), Cambodia

85. Naga Youth Organization (NYO), Burma

86. National League for Democracy-Liberated Area (Youth), Burma

87. Network for Democracy and Development (NDD), Burma

88. Network for Human Rights Documentation in Burma

89. Network of Eastern Democracy, Thailand

90. NGO Coordinating Committee on Development (NGO-COD), Thailand

91. Northern Development Foundation, Thailand

92. One-2-One, Cambodia

93. Pa O Youth Organization (PYO), Burma

94. Palaung Women's Organization, Burma

95. People’s Action for Change (PAC), Cambodia

96. People’s Defense Force (Burma)

97. People’s Empowerment Foundation

98. Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan (PERMAS), Malaysia

99. Pokja 30 (Samarinda, Indonesia)

100. Project for Ecological Awareness Building (EAB), Thailand

101. Pro Rights Foundation, Thailand

102. Pusat Komunikasi Masyarakat (PUSAT KOMAS), Malaysia

103. Quê Me: Action for Democracy in Vietnam

104. Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK), Cambodia

105. Sahakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Cambodia

106. Sex Workers Organization, Thailand

107. Shwe Gas movement

108. SILAKA, Cambodia

109. Social Action for Change (SAC), Cambodia

110. Social Agenda Working Group, Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn, University, Thailand

111. Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP), Philippines

112. South East Asia Working Group/ Asia-Pacific Refugee Rights Network

113. South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)

114. Southeast Asia Coalition to stop Child Soldiers

115. Southeast Asia Popular Communications Programme (SEAPCP), (Jakarta-based)

116. Students and Youth Congress of Burma

117. Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)

118. Sustainable Agriculture Foundation, Thailand

119. Sustainable Development Foundation, Thailand

120. Ta'ang Students and Youth Organization (TSYO), Burma

121. Tavoy Youth Organization (TYO), Burma

122. Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation

123. Thai Working Group for Climate Justice (TCJ)

124. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights

125. The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)

126. The Northeastern Women’s Network, Thailand

127. Think Centre, Singapore

128. Union for Civil Liberty (UCL), Thailand

129. United Lahu Youth Organization, Burma

130. Vietnam Committee on Human Rights

131. Volunteers for Sustainable Development (VSD), Cambodia

132. Women and Children Protection Foundation, Thailand

133. Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR)

134. YLBHI, Indonesia

135. Yoma3 News Service, Burma

136. Youth for Social Change, Myanmar

137. Zomi Students and Youth Organization (ZSYO), Burma