President Benigno Aquino 3rd, on Sunday Nov. 18 signed with his fellow leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the long-discussed declaration that aims to protect and promote the human rights of citizens in Asean members states.

The President and the other nine Asean heads of state and/or government gathered at the Peace Palace in Cambodia following the plenary session of the 21st Asean Summit and Related Summits to sign the “Phnom Penh Statement on the Adoption of the Asean Human Rights Declaration.”

But critics immediately zapped the declaration, saying it allowed too many loopholes for Asean governments. Asean groups countries with a diverse range of political systems, from authoritarian regimes in Laos and Vietnam to freewheeling and corrupt democracies such as the Philippines.

“Our worst fears in this process have now come to pass,” said Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson.

In a press conference after the signing, Asean Secretary-General, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan said there was a development Saturday during the crafting of the declaration when the Asean foreign ministers added one important paragraph in the operational phrase. This addition says the signatories “to commit ourselves to the universal declarations and instruments of human rights.”

The Asean is then supposed to commit to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights in addition to its own declaration and instruments, the secretary general said.

HR advocates were pleased that the commitment to the UN Universal Declaration was stated. All member countries of the UN are supposed to be committed to the UN Universal Declaration (of which the Philippines is one of the authors) but it is well-known that governments of communist and other countries ruled by dictatorships ignore the UN Declaration.

The Asean declaration binds countries of the regional bloc to not only pursue the protection and promotion of human rights but also maintain the highest human rights standard expressed in various instruments and declarations of the international community.

“I think that is a major, major development and member states feel quite ready to endorse. And this morning before lunch the leaders have just signed that into a declaration, committing themselves—every government, every country to the highest standards existing and available, and this can be used to monitor the practice, the protection, the promotion of human rights in the Asean countries,” Pitsuwan said.

64 Asean civil society organizations rejects declaration

Because they consider the Asean HR declaration a flawed document, 64 civil society oganizations—including two in the Philippines— rejected the copy of the final draft they saw before it was signed and the Philippine addition was made.

On November 15, Thursday, the 64 grassroots, national, regional, and international civil society groups issued a statement “calling upon Asean Member States to postpone the adoption of the Asean Human Rights Declaration, which is not worthy of its name.

“The organizations vow to reject the Declaration if it is adopted with its current text. Instead, they urge Asean Member States to send the draft back to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) with instruction to revise it so that it accords with international human rights law.

“The Declaration as it stands now unquestionably fails to meet existing international human rights standards, let alone add value to them. It flies in the face of the international consensus on human rights principles that have been in place for more than six decades. Of utmost concern are specific provisions in the Declaration’s General Principles, which tear at the heart of long accepted human rights precepts. Under these provisions, the enjoyment of the rights provided in the Declaration is to be ‘balanced with the performance of duties’ (GP 6), subjected to ‘national and regional contexts’ and to considerations of ‘different cultural, religious and historical backgrounds’ (GP 7). Moreover, all of the rights provided in the Declaration would be subject to restriction on a wide array of grounds including ‘national security’ and ‘public morality’ (GP 8).

“No other universal or regional instrument applies a ‘balance’ between the enjoyment of rights and freedoms against duties and responsibilities. On the contrary, these instruments are founded upon the idea that human rights are the birthright of all persons, not some kind of commodity that must be earned. International law and practice do not permit such broad restrictions that could, in effect, serve to excuse the violation of the rights guaranteed elsewhere in the Declaration. Finally, international law imposes on all Asean Member States the duty, regardless of their ‘national and regional contexts,’ to respect and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

“Civil society groups have repeatedly expressed grave concerns over both the drafting process and the substance of the Declaration since the initiative began. The AICHR met with regional civil society only towards the very end of the process and ignored most of their recommendations. Some individual AICHR representatives held consultations with civil society groups nationally, but such meetings were mostly ineffective. In some countries, no consultations were held at all. Most of the drafting process was conducted in secret and texts were rarely shared and never publicized.

“For the Government of Cambodia, the adoption of this fundamentally flawed Declaration during the 21st Asean Summit in Phnom Penh will reflect negatively on its role and legacy in building the region’s human rights system.

“The AICHR should also conduct a drafting exercise in a transparent manner and invite grassroots, national, regional, and international civil society to participate meaningfully in the process.

“If the Asean Member States decline to continue the drafting process and proceed with the adoption of the Declaration in its current form, the organizations will reject the Declaration and condemn its adoption. The people of the region and the international human rights community and stakeholders will continue to rely primarily upon existing international instruments for human rights protection in the Asean.”

The statement carries the endorsement of

1. Asean Watch, Thailand
2. ALTSEAN-Burma
3. ARTICLE 19
4. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
5. Asean LGBTIQ Caucus
6. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)
7. Asosiasi Kewirausahaan Sosial Indonesia (AKSI)
8. Amnesty International
9. Asean Disability Forum (ADF)
10. Bank Information Centre (BIC)
11. Boat People S.O.S.
12. Burma Issues
13. Burma Partnership (BP)
14. Cambodian Food and Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)
15. The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)
16. The Cambodia Youth Indigenous Association (CIYA)
17. Civil Rights Defenders
18. Coalition to Abolish Modern-day Slavery in Asia
19. Community Management Centre (CMC)
20. DEMA Malaysia
21. Dignity International
22. ELSAM Papua
23. Focus on the Global South
24. FONGTIL – The NGO Forum of Timor-Leste
25. Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF)
26. Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
27. Human Rights Watch
28. IMPARSIAL- The Indonesian Human Rights Monitor
29. Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA)
30. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
31. Indigenous Peoples Task Force (IPTF)
32. Indonesia for Humans
33. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
34. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
35. Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Indonesia
36. Knowledge and Rights with Young People through Safer Spaces (KRYSS)
37. Land Reform Chiang Mai
38. Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Yogyakarta
39. Migrant Forum in Asia
40. Nationalities Youth Forum
41. Palaung Women’s Organization
42. Peace Way Foundation
43. People’s Empowerment Foundation
44. People Like Us (PLU)
45. Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
46. Philwomen on Asean
47. Protection International
48. PT Foundation
49. Rainbow Rights Project Inc.
50. SAMIN Indonesia
51. Sayoni
52. Seksualiti Merdeka
53. Shwe Gas Movement
54. Southeast Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)
55. Solidaritas Perempuan
56. Southeast Asia Women’s Caucus on Asean
57. Task Force Detainees Philippines (TFDP)
58. Taxi Network Thailand
59. Thai Transgender Alliance
60. The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
61. Towards Ecological Recovery and Regional Alliance (TERRA)
62. Disabled Persons International (Asia-Pacific)
63. Peace and Conflict Studies Center (National University of Timor-Leste)
64. Urban Community Mission Jakarta