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Background Briefing:ASEAN and Its HumanRights CommissionCarlyle A. ThayerOctober 25, 2009
[client name deleted]1. Do you think that ASEAN wants take the initiative on this issue, instead of passivelyreacting to attacks by the US and the EU?ANSWER: ASEAN reached consensus in 2007 to establish a human rights body but onlybecause the details were left to be decided. Now ASEAN has established an ASEANIntergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) staffed by one commissioner fromeach country. The powers of this body are not as extensive and intrusive as some countriesand civil society organizations would have liked. Indeed, civil society organizations were givenshort shrift when a meeting they were supposed to have with ASEAN officials had to becancelled due to a boycott by some states.The bottom line is ASEAN is divided about the scope and powers of the AICHR for themoment. If we take a longer view, ASEAN has the potential to make the AICHR moreeffective as time goes by. ASEAN civil society organizations will organize and create moreeffective networks. ASEAN’s democratically inclined members will use every opportunity topush the human rights envelope a bit further. ASEAN has to decide whether to police itself orto continue and let outside powers, such as the US and EU, step up their hectoring.2. Judging by the recent developments in the region, does ASEAN want to take softmeasures to align more closely to the US and EU in order to avoid greater dependence onChina? For instance, one of the obstacles for the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between theEU and ASEAN is the human rights issue in Myanmar.ANSWER: The impetus to develop the AICHR can be explained by domestic pressures innewly democratizing countries in ASEAN, such as Indonesia, and by external pressures toconform to international norms regarding human rights. Singapore, which is aligned towardsthe United States, took a hard line against civil society organizations recently. The Chinafactor cannot explain Singapore’s stance.Many of the old ASEAN members would like to get the Myanmar issue off their backs so theydo not suffer collateral damage in their dealings with the EU. But there is a limit to how farthey can go. Individual ASEAN states have attempted to influence Myanmar to open up andpursue a path of national reconciliation. At the same time, ASEAN has stood firm and insistedthat Myanmar be seated at the table in negotiations with the European countries such as atthe Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) summits.3. Do you expect Vietnam, as the next ASEAN Chair, to promote the operations of theASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights?ANSWER: Vietnam, through statements by President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime MinisterNguyen Tan Dung, has surprised most observers in this year by promoting dialogue – underguidelines – between ASEAN and civil society organizations. AS ASEAN Chair Vietnam willhave the responsibility of getting the AICHR’s terms of reference into operation. It will bedifficult to obtain consensus because ASEAN is divided and each decision on the AICHR will
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