FOCUS ASIA-PACIFICAPRIL 2010 VOLUME 59

Focus
Asia-PacificNewsletter of the Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center (HURIGHTS OSAKA)

June 2014 Vol. 76

Contents
AICHR After Five Years: Progress, Challenges
and Opportunities
This article discusses both the achievement
and problems of the ASEAN
Intergovernmental Commission on Human
Rights (AICHR). The on-going review of
AICHR’s terms of reference should deal
with issues that affect the capacity of theinstitution to address to some extent thehuman rights problems in Southeast Asia.
- Yuyun Wahyuningrum
Page 2
Human Rights System for SAARC: Problems
and Perspectives
This essay examines the possibility of
establishing a human rights mechanism forSouth Asia through the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC). Unlike ASEAN, SAARC has notconsidered adopting a human rights charter
and/or a human rights mechanism. The
numerous problems within and across theborders of the SAARC member-states seemto pose a serious hurdle to having suchhuman rights mechanism.
- Gyan Basnet
Page 7
Merging Business and Human Rights in
China: Still A Long Way to Go
This is an excerpt of the report of the same
title included in the recent publication of
HURIGHTS OSAKA - Bridging Human
Rights Principles and Business Realities inNortheast Asia (2014). The article discusses
the legal support for the Chinesecompanies’ adherence to human rights
principles under international initiatives
such as the United Nations Global
Compact and ISO 26000, and the case ofPetroChina.
- Huang Zhong and Qian Cheng
Page 11
Human Rights Events in the Asia-PacificThis is information on important humanrights events in the region.
Page 15

Editorial

Subregional Human Rights Mechanism
An effective regional or subregional human rights mechanism
must satisfy several major criteria including having members
who have the experience and competence in the field of humanrights; mandate to promote human rights and investigate
complaints of human rights violations; and sufficient resources
to perform the tasks.
These criteria are also important in ensuring the independenceof a regional or subregional human rights mechanism.
The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights(AICHR) has been questioned for not being active enough inaddressing human rights issues in Southeast Asia. Indeed, AICHR
should have made a major impact in the subregion if it had
actively intervened in a variety of ways on the human rights
issues plaguing ASEAN member-states.
AICHR is a body consisting of government-appointed“Representatives” and has no mandate to hold accountable an
ASEAN member-state for human rights violations.
Yet, AICHR has the “Mandate and Functions” to assert its
important role in the subregion. It has the capacity to influence
governments to address the human rights issues existing in the
different countries. It has the capacity to mobilize existing
resources, including the non-governmental institutions, inpursuing its objectives.
There is more to expect from AICHR.

1FOCUS ASIA-PACIFC

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76

AICHR After Five Years: Progress, Challenges andOpportunities
Yuyun WahyuningrumT

he establishment of theASEAN Intergovernmental
Commission on Human Rights(AICHR) in 2009 was perceived
as part of the subregionalarchitecture that would address
subregional concerns andcement standards and practices
in support of national level
initiatives on developing am i n d s e t f avo ra b l e t o t h efulfillment of human rights.
AICHR adopted a five-year
work plan (2010-2015), which
included the study of priority
issues in the subregion such as
corporate social responsibility,
migration, human trafficking,child soldiers, women andchildren in conflict and natural
disaster situations, juvenile
justice, right to health, right toeducation, right to life and rightt o p e a c e . Th e r e p o r t o n
corporate social responsibility
was discussed in a subregional
consultation
withrepresentatives of AICHR, civilsociety and academe on 13-14
June 2014 in Singapore before
submission to the ASEAN
Ministerial Meeting (AMM). The
study on migration and humanrights is still ongoing, while
concept notes on other topics
have been adopted in previous
AICHR meetings in 2013.
Despite the fact that AICHR is
not mandated to address humanr i g h t s i s s u e s i n s p e c i fi ccountries, it held a retreat inMarch 2013 to discuss the caseof Sombath Somphone of Lao
PDR1 who has been missing
since December 2012 and theRohingya crisis in Myanmar.2 In
June 2013, the AICHR
Representatives participated in
the “Human Rights Dialogue”
organized by the Governmentof Indonesia to discuss thecountry’s human rights situation
report, the challenges involved
and possible cooperation withAICHR.3 This dialogue, inspiredby the United Nations’
Universal Periodic Review,received positive feedback fromAICHR Representatives.
AICHR Representatives,
together with law enforcement
officials 4 from ten ASEAN
countries, visited the Central
Women Correctional Institution
and the Criminal Court in
Thailand to gain first-hand
exposure and understanding of
human rights, and assess thetreatment of prisoners. This visit
was held during the five-day
A dva n c e d P r o g r a m m e o n
Human Rights: Training of the
Tr a i n e r s 5 i n B a n g k o k i n
November 2013.
At the national level, theIndonesian representative to the
AICHR introduced an annual
discussion forum on humanrights issues (called Jakarta
Human Rights Dialogue or
JHRD) in November 20126 thatbrought together all
stakeholders on human rights in2

t h e c o u n t r y. 7 T h e T h a i
Representative to the AICHR
decided to replicate thisinitiative by organizing the
Bangkok Human Rights
Dialogue in 2014 with access tojustice as the theme.
These initiatives reinforce thefact that despite its limitation,
AICHR has generated different
platforms for subregional debate
on human rights and clarified
the ASEAN dimension on
responses to human rights
issues. AICHR also generated
both bilateral and multilateral
human rights discussions
among ASEAN member-states
and with Dialogue Partners(such as the ASEAN and China
Strategic Partnership, 8 and
ASEAN-EU Partnership9).
The ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration (AHRD),10 adopted(along with the Phnom Penh
Statement) by the ASEAN Heads
of State/Government during the
21st ASEAN Summit on 18
November 2012 in Phnom
Penh, was criticized for having
its deliberation process“shrouded in secrecy.”11 The
United Nations Office of HighCommissioner on Human
Rights (OHCHR) opined that the
AHRD “retains language that is
not consistent with international
standards,”12 while the High
Representative of the European
Union for Foreign Affairs andSecurity Policy, Catherine

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC
Ashton, believed that the
adoption of the AHRD was an“important step towards
strengthening the protection ofhuman rights in Asia.” 13
Notwithstanding the
Declaration on the Eliminationof Violence Against Women andElimination of Violence Against
Children in ASEAN adopted
during the 23rd ASEAN Summit(October 2013) in Bandar Seri
Begawan, AICHR is considering
drafting an ASEAN Convention
on the Prevention andElimination of Violence against
Women and Violence against
Children (ACEVAWC). Civil
society organizations do notsupport the adoption of anotherhuman rights instrument by
ASEAN. I argue that having a
new human rights convention is
not an answer to the lack ofprotection of human rights inthe subregion.14 What is neededis the implementation ofcommitments under the existing
international human rights
conventions as well as ASEAN
human rights declarations. Why
should there be new women’s
rights standards wheninternational standards exist
such as the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination Against Women(CEDAW)?
A I C H R i s d e fi n i n g i t s
relationship with human rights
stakeholders (including civilsociety organizations, national
human rights institutions,academe and internationalorganizations) in the subregion
by considering the adoption of
Guidelines on the AICHR’s
Relations with Civil Society
Organizations. But differing
opinions among AICHRJUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
members hinder the adoption ofsuch Guidelines.
Nevertheless, AICHR hasorganized consultation withsectoral bodies, experts andcivil society organizations on
the ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration (AHRD) while it
was being drafted during the
2011-2012 period15 despite therefusal of ASEAN to makepublic the working draft of thedeclaration, and on theassessment and review of its
terms of reference (TOR) in
2014.16 Indicating a change ofview regarding relationship with
the national human rights
institutions (NHRIs) in thesubregion, the AICHR
Representatives held a longrequested meeting with the
NHRI representatives on 29
April 2014 during theConsultation with Stakeholders
on the Contribution to theR e v i e w o f t h e Te r m s o f
Reference (TOR) in Jakarta.
AICHR has received requests forhuman rights opinion/advise
regarding HIV/AIDS test for
migrant workers andundergraduate level humanrightscurriculum.
Unfortunately, to date, AICHR
has not issued its opinion onthese matters.
Challenges
As a consequence of the
adoption of the ASEAN Charterand the birth of human rights
bodies, ASEAN faces highexpectation of delivering on its
human rights commitments.
Those commitments are set
against the subregional context
of continued widespreadp o v e r t y, g r o w i n g i n c o m einequality, impacts of climate

3

change and greater subregional
i n t e g r a t i o n . Th e p o l i t i c a lstability in Southeast Asian
countries remains uncertain andeven volatile. National
turbulence can spill overborders and limit the ability ofSoutheast Asian countries or
ASEAN as an institution to
support human rights anddemocracy.
In 2013 the Southeast Asian
Press Alliance (SEAPA) reported
that freedom of expression wasdeteriorating in more Southeast
Asian countries 17 with theenactment or implementation of
restrictive laws, on-going or
intensified violence againstjournalists and human rights
defenders who offer dissenting
or critical views, andwidespread impunity for
perpetrators of violations of
freedom of expression.18 In
April 2014, Brunei Darussalam
introduced the death penalty forseveral offences19 in its sharia
penal code that created a
climate of fear. Singapore
required online news sites that
attract at least 50,000 visitors
per day to obtain an annual
license, and to remove content
considered objectionable by thestate within twenty-four hours.20
Furthermore, Internews Europe’s
study revealed that across the“region, the diminishing abilityof citizens to express
themselves openly and freely
without recrimination is analarming trend.”21
Alongside the low ratification
rate of key United Nations
human rights instruments,
Southeast Asian countries sufferfrom weak protection ofpolitical rights 22 and civil
liberties.23

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFC
During the last five years,
AICHR has failed to build its
capacity to adjust to thechanging context and structural
challenges to protecting humanrights. This is partly reflected in
AICHR’s work priorities, which
do not appear to be guided by
the need to strengthen thesubregional system but toshowcase its plans. Similarly,
since its inception, AICHR has
faced major problems regarding
capacity, independence, ability
to balance its role as a politicalbody and as a human rights
commission, ability to engage
its stakeholders, work prioritysetting and self-perception. It issignificant to note that the lackof technical and financial
support from ASEAN memberstates contributes to the slow
progress in the work of AICHR.
Beyond the institutionalizationof human rights, AICHR needs
to move toward genuine
protection and realization ofhuman rights within the bordersof ASEAN. AICHR should
address the problem with a proactive and robust system for
dealing with subregional crises
and advancing common
projects.
AICHR is currently
concentrating much on thereview of its TOR. At the firstregional consultation on 29
April 2014,24 the civil society
presented an assessment reporton the work of AICHR during
the last five years, stressing thefollowing main points:
a. The lack of protection
mandate and absence ofdedicated secretariat withhuman rights expertise are
the main hindrances to
A I C H R ’s
work.
Furthermore, AICHR has

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
not been able to perform its
functions regarding thepar with the international
standards;

1. E s t a b l i s h m e n t o finstitutionalized
relationship withstakeholders including
the civil society and
NHRIs (Art. 4.8, and
4.9),
2. C o l l e c t i o nofinformation on the
promotion
andprotection of humanrights by ASEANm e m b e r- s t a t e s ( A r t .
4.10),
3. E n c o u r a g e m e n t o f
ASEAN member-stateso n r a t i fi c a t i o n o raccessiontointernational humanrights instruments (Art.
4.5),
4. Full implementation of
the ASEAN humanri g ht s-related
instruments (Art. 4.6),
5. Advisory and technicalassistance to ASEAN
sectoral bodies (Art. 4.7),and
6. D e v e l o p m e n t o fcommon approaches
and position on humanrights (Art. 4.11);

c. There are gaps in theunderstanding of the role ofregional human rights
mechanisms in ASEAN due
to lack of access to AICHR
at the national andsubregional levels;b. Th e r e i s c o n t ra d i c t i o nbetween the international
definition of rule of law,good governance, respect
for fundamental freedoms,
sovereignty and the noninterference doctrine, on
the one hand, and theirformulation in ASEAN
documents on the otherhand. The continuing lackof respect for human rights
and impunity in thesubregion undermine theeffort to make the ASEAN
human rights standards at

4

d. T h e r e i s l a c k o ftransparency in the work of
AICHR;
e. T h e d o m i n a n c e o f
representatives selected bygovernments, rather thanthose preferred by the local
human rights stakeholders,
contributes to the lack of
independence of AICHR.
The
civil
society
recommendations to the AICHR
are as follows:a. M a k e t h e r i g h t s o fvulnerable groups
prominent in its programs;
b. Give more attention tointer-generational rights
regarding sustainable
development;c. Make its website accessible
to persons with disabilities
and migrant workers;
d. Raise the human rights
awareness of the people in
ASEAN and have moretraining activities involving
stakeholders;e. Engage civil society more
actively in the decisionmaking process, and open
space for stakeholder
participation at the nationaland subregional levels;
f. L o b b y f o r p r o t e c t i o nmandate that includes
undertaking precautionary
measures, creation ofmonitoring and complaintFOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC
mechanisms, country visits,
country peer-reviews; andadopting communication
strategy and alliance withthe media;g. Adopt creative ways ofovercoming the difficulty ofmaking decision byconsensus;
h. Strengthen the provision on
institutionalized platform ofcooperation with NHRIs
and other national actors in
the revised TOR;
i. Provide adequate support to
the AICHR secretariat andnational boards;
j. Include in the revised TOR
a provision on theaccountability of ASEAN
member-states for failure tofulfill international humanrights obligations under
ratified or acceded tointernational human rights
instruments. AICHR may
provide appropriate
assistance to fulfil thoseobligations.
Opportunities
ASEAN is drafting its post-2015
Community Blueprints while
preparing to launch the ASEAN
Community Integration in 2015.
This situation provides anopportunity for developing aroad map in Southeast Asia on
integrating human rights in the
ASEAN community pillars.
Despite the many references to“people-oriented” and “people
participation” in various ASEAN
instruments, there is no
mechanism that facilitates therepresentation of people’sinterests and voices in the
structure of ASEAN. People inSoutheast Asia should be able tosee the importance of ASEAN,

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
and thus be able also to monitor
and assess or evaluate it.
Aside from the current review of
its TOR, AICHR has the chance
to move in a different direction
with a new set ofRepresentatives by 2016. The
current AICHR Representatives
from Indonesia, Brunei
Darussalam, Malaysia,
Myanmar and the Philippines
will end their term by October
2015. There is an opportunity
for AICHR to have all future
Representatives who are
independent-minded and haveexpertise in human rights.
The AICHR should be able towork with the Southeast Asia
Network for National Human
Rights Institutions (SEANF),
whose six member-NHRIs 25
have agreed to adopt a common
plan of action on cross-borderissues such as anti-terrorism,
realization of economic, socialand cultural rights, human rights
education, human trafficking
and migrant workers.26 The workof SEANF member-NHRIs on
receiving and investigatingcomplaints from victims ofhuman rights violations,monitoring human rights
program implementation,
investigating situations, carryingout field visits and offering
remedies can support the workof AICHR at the subregional
level.
S i m i l a r l y, A I C H R h a s t h eopportunity to work withmembers of parliament inSoutheast Asia through theirorganizations such as theASEAN Parliamentarians for
Human Rights (APHR).
F i n a l l y, A I C H R s h o u l dmaximize the existence of civil

5society groups in mostSoutheast Asian countries bygiving them the opportunity to
be involved in subregional
activities, enhance theircapacity to work on subregional
issues and develop subregional
advocacy strategy.
A Final Note
The creation of AICHR is one of
the landmarks of a changing
ASEAN in the sense that“development” in this subregion
is no longer only about
economic growth. An imperfectAICHR has been anticipated,
the precise reason behind thereview provision in its TOR. The
review facilitates a gradualcorrection of the weaknesses of
AICHR. Furthermore, close
collaboration among
stakeholders that maximizes
every possible opportunity ofm a k i n g A I C H R f u l fi l l i t s
mandate ensures that thestrengthening of human rights
protection within ASEAN
becomes an irreversible
process.
Yuyun Wahyuningrum is the
Senior Advisor on ASEAN and
Human Rights of the Human
Rights Working Group (HRWG)
Indonesia.
For further information, pleasecontact: Yuyun Wahyuningrum,
Human Rights Working Group(HRWG) Indonesia, Lobby
floor, Jiwasraya Building, Jl. R.P.
Soeroso No 41 Gongdanggia,
Menteng, Jakarta 10350
Indonesia; ph (6221)
314-3015; fax (6221)
314-3058;
e-mail:wahyuningrum@gmail.com;
www.hrwg.org.

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFC
Endnotes
1 Sombath Somphone is a
Laotian activist, believed tohave been abducted byp o l i c e o f fi c e r s o n 1 5
December 2012.
2 Based on discussion with an
AICHR Representative.
3 “A S E A N H u m a n R i g h t s
Dialogue with theGovernment of Indonesia,”
25 June 2013, http://aichr.org/news/asean-humanrights-dialogue-with-thegovernment-of-indonesia/.
4 Th e p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r eofficials from the national
police, Attorney General
Office/Chamber, Supreme
Pe o p l e ’s C o u r t , H u m a n
Rights Committee, Prime
Minister’s Office, Ministry of
Law/Justice, Ministry ofHome Affairs, Ministry ofForeign Affairs and university
educators.
5 AICHR Advanced Programmeon Human Rights: Training of
the Trainers, 24 November
2013, http://aichr.org/news/
aichr-advanced-programmeon-human-rights-training-ofthe-trainers/.
6 B u i l d i n g a To r t u r e - Fr e e
ASEAN Community, 7
November 2013, http://aichr.org/report/building-atorture-free-aseancommunity/.
7 Th e 2 0 1 2 I n d o n e s i a ndialogue focused on ASEAN
Charter review and its
implication to human rights
architecture.
8 The full text of the Plan of
Action is available atwww.asean.org/news/item/
plan-of-action-to-implementthe-joint-declaration-onasean-china-strategicpartnership-for-peace-andprosperity.
9 For the full text of the Bandar
Seri Begawan Plan of Action
to Strengthen the ASEAN-EU

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
E n h a n c e d Pa r t n e r s h i p(2013-2017) please see
www.consilium.europa.eu/
uedocs/cms_Data/docs/
pressdata/EN/foraff/
129884.pdf.
10 The full text of the AHRD isavailable at http://aichr.org/
documents/.
11 Solidarity for Asian Peoples’
Advocacies (SAPA) Task Forceon ASEAN and Human Rights
and the Asian Forum for
Human Rights andDevelopment (FORUMASIA), A Commission
Shrouded in Secrecy(Bangkok, 2012).
12 “Pillay encourages ASEAN toensure Human Rights
Declaration is implemented
in accordance withinternational obligations,” 19
November
2012,
w w w. o h ch r. o r g / e n /N e w s E v e n t s / Pa g e s /DisplayNews.aspx?
NewsID=12809&LangID=E.
13 S t a t e m e n t b y H i g h
Representative Catherine
Ashton on the adoption of
the ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration, 22 November
2
0
1
2
,
www.consilium.europa.eu/
uedocs/cms_Data/docs/
pressdata/EN/foraff/
133682.pdf.
14 Yuyun Wahyuningrum, “It is
not the time for ASEAN todraft a human rights
convention,” The Jakarta
Post, 6 May 2013,
www.thejakartapost.com/
news/2013/05/06/it-not-timeasean-draft-a-human-rightsconvention.html.
15 T h e S e c o n d R e g i o n a l
Consultation of the ASEAN
Intergovernmental
Commission on Human
Rights (AICHR) with Civil
Society Organisations(CSOs), and the Ninth
Meeting of AICHR on the6

ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration (AHRD), 17
September
2012,
www.asean.org/news/aseansecretariat-news/item/thesecond-regionalconsultation-of-the-aseanintergovernmentalcommission-on-humanr i g h t s - a i c h r- w i t h - c i v i l society-organisations-csosand-the-ninth-meeting-ofaichr-on-the-asean-humanrights-declaration-ahrd.
16 First Regional Consultationon the Review of the TOR of
AICHR, 28 April 2014,www.asean.org/news/aseansecretariat-news/item/thesecond-regionalconsultation-of-the-aseanintergovernmentalcommission-on-humanr i g h t s - a i c h r- w i t h - c i v i l society-organisations-csosand-the-ninth-meeting-ofaichr-on-the-asean-humanrights-declaration-ahrd.
17 S E A PA , Wo r k i n g w i t h i nbounds: Southeast Asia's
Press Freedom Challenges for
2013, 2 May 2013,www.seapa.org/?p=4048.
18 Ibid.
19 These crimes include rape,a d u l t e r y, s o d o m y,
extramarital sexual relationsfor Muslims, but also othercrimes such as robbery andmurder.
20 ‘Singapore Clamps Down onNews Web Sites,’ AssociatedPress, 9 June 2013,w w w. ny t i m e s . c o m /2013/06/10/business/global/
singapore-clamps-down-onnews-web-sites.html.
21 Internews Europe, Freedomof Expression and Right toInformation in Asean
Countries: A Regional
Analysis of Challenges,(Continued on page 14)

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76

Human Rights System for SAARC:
Problems and Perspectives
Gyan BasnetThe South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation(SAARC) was established in1985 with the great hope of
promoting subregional
cooperation among the South
Asian countries. Today, witho n e - fi f t h o f t h e w o r l d ’s
population, the countries ofSouth Asia face formidable
ch a l l e n g e s r e s u l t i n g f r o mpoverty, under-development,
and conflict within and among
themselves. Their low economic
production, unemployment andpopulation pressure are nothelped by historic exploitation
and by other adverse legacies.
In addition, deep-rooted
d iv i s i o n s a n d a n i m o s i t i e sthroughout the subregion makeany commonality across nations
impossible, and the wholesubregion has to grapple withgross violations of human rights.
Consequently, governments inthe subregion lack effective
initiative and politicalcommitment needed to meettheir obligations to respect,
protect and fulfill human rights
and fundamental freedoms.
Internal conflicts, civil strife,
poverty and so-called anti-terror
legislation and measures haveresulted in violations of the civil
liberties of the people. The
subregion is one of the world's
most militarized areas withstates needing to protect
themselves against their own
neighbors. Its prospect is grim.

There is no deep commitment
to human rights, and none of
the states is willing to
acknowledge that any solution
to their problems might befound subregionally.

distinct regional identity. One
exampleofsuch
conceptualization could well be
the establishment of a SAARC
human rights mechanism.
Setting up a Mechanism

Many questions need to beconsidered today. Has SAARC
achieved anything in nearly
three decades of existence?
Why, compared to others, does
the subregion remain so
backward in terms ofeverything? While human rights
mechanisms
exist in otherregions or subregions of theworld: why have the SAARC
countries home to a fifth of the
wo r l d ’s p o p u l a t i o n n e v e r
thought of having one? Can a
subregion that is so politically,socially and economically
volatile afford to go on ignoring
this issue? Does subregional
integration have any future in
South Asia? What mightenhance its chances? Is there
any hope for SAARC itself? Is it
not time for it to redefine itself
with a more dynamic pace ofprogress and evolution? Thevery diversity of South Asia
demands a gradual
implementation of conceptual
steps that could build towards a

7

Why might a separate charteron human rights be soimportant for SAARC? What
wo u l d i t a d d t o e x i s t i n gpractices? SAARC memberstates have already signed
several conventions on
narcotics, trafficking in womenand children for prostitution,and the promotion of childwelfare. There have also been
several agreements on foodsecurity and various social
issues. However, there has been
no convention focusing
specifically on human rights
and fundamental freedoms. A
subregional instrument could be
regarded as an appropriate
complement to the humanrights instruments of the United
Nations. Regional human rights
mechanisms are alreadyestablished in the Americas,
Europe, Africa and mostrecently in the Arab States. But
South Asia, one of theremaining major geographic
areas in the world, has no
human rights mechanism of its
own. The 2004 Arab Charteron Human Rights of the Councilof the League of Arab States has
been in force since 2008. The
Charter contains a number ofFOCUS ASIA-PACIFC
human rights and fundamental
freedoms of the people, andprovides for the election of aseven-person Committee ofExperts on Human Rights toconsider states’ reports and tomonitor states’ compliance with
the Charter.
Numerous common problems
affect most SAARC memberstates, e.g., torture, humant r a f fi c k i n g , i n t e r n a ldisplacement owing to conflict,refugees, rights over resources,
urban shelter and demolition,
domestic violence against
women, the death penalty,
extra-judicial detention, andforced disappearances. A few
countries in the subregion havenational human rights
institutions. All have, or in thecase of Nepal should soon
have, a written constitution
under which human rights arerecognized as being
fundamental. Despite theseprovisions, however, there is adeteriorating human rights
situation throughout thesubregion due to the antiterrorism measures adopted bysome of the countries, internal
political crises and civil strife
and the hostility of governments
towards human rights despite
their claims to be democratic.
The subregion has suffered fromthe absence of rule of law andconstitutionalism and from aculture of impunity. Is there notthen an urgent need toformulate a SAARC humanrights mechanism?
Majority of SAARC memberstates have still to ratify the
optional protocols to theInternational Convention on
Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR) and the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
Discrimination against Women(CEDAW). Bhutan, moreover,has still to ratify the ICCPR, theInternational Convention on
Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), and theConvention against Torture(CAT). Even where treaties havebeen ratified, implementation
has been limited by reservations
on the part of some countries
that apply a narrowinterpretation to treaties relating
to civil and political rights, andby a restricted politicalcommitment to implement any
economic, social and culturalrights. An effective human rights
mechanism would ensure theprotection and promotion ofhuman rights throughout thesubregion. It could coverespecially such common issues
as the rights of migrant workers,
human trafficking, minority
rights, and the right todevelopment. Most importantly,
it could challenge the existing
culture of impunity andlawlessness. Such a mechanism
might also provide redress,
alternative to existing
international processes andprocedures, in less costly, moreaccessible and more effective
manner.
The prospect of ideologicalhomogeneity across thesubregion would seem to be
anything other than bright. With
over 60 per cent of the
population still forced to survive
below the poverty line, how
could the subregion even claim
to be democratic? South Asia
faces serious challenges in
consolidating democracy andstrengthening and promoting
the human rights and thefundamental freedoms of its
people. It should now seriously
consider establishing its own

8

h u m a n r i g h t s m e ch a n i s msimilar to those of the InterAmerican or European systems.
The mechanism would certainly
h e l p s t a t e s t o e f f e c t ive l ypromote and protect humanrights and fundamental
freedoms within theirjurisdiction. It can support thepromotion and respect forinternational human rights laws
throughout South Asia, andfacilitatecommonunderstanding of universal
human rights issues, norms,
values and perspectives among
citizens of SAARC countries.
B y w ay o f e x a m p l e , t h eOrganization of American
States has a human rights
protection system in theAmericas that allows both statesa n d i n d i v i d u a l s t o fi l ecomplaints. Under theAmerican Convention on
Human Rights, two bodies
protect, promote and monitor
h u m a n r i g h t s . Th e I n t e rAmerican Commission on
Human Rights has the primaryfunction of raising complaints
against an American state foundto have violated human rights,
and the Inter-American Human
Rights Court has jurisdiction
over contentious cases mostly
forwarded by the Commission.
Under the Inter-Americansystem, both the Commission
and the Court have made amajor contribution torecognizing human rights,
developing human rights
jurisprudence and protecting
human rights in the Americas.
Elsewhere, the Council ofEurope drafted a European
Convention on Human Rights
after the Second World War in
response to a call by Europeansfrom all walks of life for such
instrument. The Convention was

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC
designed to incorporate a
traditional civil liberties
approach to securing effective
p o l i t i c a l d e m o c r a cy. Th e
Convention created theEuropean Court of Human
Rights in Strasbourg, and any
person who feels that a stateparty has violated his or her
rights under the Convention,
can take his or her case to the
Court. Judgments confirming
violations are binding on all.
To b e b o t h c r e d i b l e a n dpractically effective in meeting
both its promotion andprotection requirements, afuture SAARC human rights
mechanism, based on a humanrights charter, would require aminimum set of characteristics.
These would include the power
to receive and decide uponi n d iv i d u a l a n d i n t e r- s t a t ecomplaints of human rights
violations by a state party. Itshould have the potential todevelop additional mechanisms
such as special procedures andsubsidiary bodies on thematic
issues, working groups, etc. It
can consist of a SAARC Human
Rights Commission with broad
powers to investigate, make site
visits for fact finding, receive
reports and complaints by statesand individuals, and a SAARC
Human Rights Court,
empowered to make binding
decisions on human rights
issues and grant reparations forvictims of human rights
violations by states. The humanrights mechanism, as with otherregional practices, would be
able to cooperate withinternational human rights
m e c h a n i s m s . Th i s w o u l dstrengthen the existing humanrights framework and help toovercome procedural andinstitutional weaknesses in both

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
domestic jurisdictions and in
the international system itself.
This would make up for any
lack of expertise or experiencein human rights jurisprudence
and help to ensure the effective
implementation andenforcement of human rights
norms and standards. A future
SAARC charter on humanrights, similar to that of theInter-American system would bea great breakthrough for SouthAsia.
The United Nations HighComm iss i o n er f o r H u m a n
Rights (Navi Pillay) reminded
SAARC member-states in 2011about the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
adopted by the World
Conference on Human Rights in
1993, that "recognised the valueof intergovernmental systems topromote and protect humanrights at the regional and subregional level, and [that] theirdevelopment has been
continuously encouraged by theGeneral Assembly and Human
Rights Council." The HighCommissioner noted that whilea regional human rights
mechanism for the whole AsiaPacific has not progressed forthe past twenty years, theestablishment of subregional
mechanism has made aheadway as shown by the
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) whose humanrights mechanism's "mandateand composition...have several
weaknesses, [yet] they provide
an important source ofinspiration and lessons learned
for SAARC countries inembarking on a similar
j o u r n e y. " Th e H i g hCommissioner asked: So will
SAARC prove ready to rise tothis challenge?1

9

Human Rights Culture andChallenges
So far South Asian countries
have been reluctant to advancethe subregional project, and thep r ov i s i o n s o f t h e S A A R C
Charter 2 have largely been
ignored. Subregional
cooperation is still at a very
rudimentary stage, and there islittle evidence of any real desire
to act on a subregional basis bybuilding trust and avoiding
force. A proper subregional
human rights mechanism mightjust provide a real opportunity
to establish a favorable politicalenvironment leading to a
restructuring of the subregion
p o l i t i c a l l y, s o c i a l l y a n deconomically.
Why should human rights not
be the guiding force for South
Asian politics and for the future
development of its democratic
processes? Human rights values
are above partisan politics andabove the narrow interests of
one or two countries. They
could provide a path tocommon goals and agendas.
Establishing the proposed
subregional institution tom o n i t o r, p r o m o t e a n dconsolidate human rights would
bring the SAARC member-states
together in order to achievecommon aims and ambitions
towards peace and prosperity. A
subregional human rights body
could become a common forum
and a milestone in bringing
South Asian society together asa single body of humanity
despite its religious, political,
cultural or ideologicaldifferences.
Of course, there would beenormous challenges inestablishing such a subregional

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFC
human rights mechanism inSouth Asia because of the legal
and geo-political hurdles. The
politics of the subregion
continue to be affected heavily
by continuing tensions in IndoPakistani relations. There arehighly contentious issues, too,in South Asia – water, migrant
workers, human trafficking,minority and indigenous
communities, refugees, borderdisputes, etc. These would need
to be settled through bilateraland multi-lateral mechanisms. If
the SAARC member-states fail toaddress these matters the very
future of the region will be
bleak indeed. Political transborder commitments are
essential. Now, indeed, is thetime to create a SAARC Charteron Human Rights in treaty form.
This would be a consensus
document, and it would be theprimary focus of all SAARC
member-states. This is essential.
The present-day diversity ofSouth Asia demands that it
shows great determination in
searching for an identity basedon parallel visions.
To besuccessful, it will have to relyon political logic and not on
sentimentalism and rhetoric.
Effective cooperation between
all stakeholders, including nongovernmental organizations andcivil society, is essential. The
latter may loudly call for thepromotion and protection ofhuman rights, but how far havetheir calls succeeded inachieving cooperation andintegration? Subregional cooperation over human rights
needs to be backed by strong
political will and commitment
by SAARC member-states as
they seek to develop a strong
South Asian identity.

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
Finally, SAARC lacks not only
political democracy but also thedemocratization of social
relations - indeed, a democratic
culture itself. The roots ofdemocracy in South Asia lack
depth. Where is the politicalsincerity? Where is thecommitment? Where is thepolitical culture? Where is theculture of human rights? Most
importantly, in South Asianpolitics all resources, including
the economy, have for centuries
been controlled by a few
political elites (or dynasties)
leaving the grassroots bereft offeelings for government or state.
Abject poverty, malnutrition,
illiteracy and gender inequality
sadly ravage the lives of vast
numbers of the people. In theabsence of the right politicalatmosphere no economic,
political or social integration is
feasible. This is why the basic
norms and values of humanrights, guaranteed byinternational human rights
covenants and national
constitutions, have to be a
guiding force for economic,
social, developmental andpolitical cooperation.
A single human rights
mechanism for South Asia could
eventually create the dynamic
for pulling the whole subregion
together.
The process could
provide a great opportunity toshape a new subregional
identity. Since human rights
violations occur often at a very
local level, e.g., at a local
police station, within local
industry, and even at the
kitchen table, the impetus forchange must come internallyfrom within the population.
However, questions remain.
Can South Asia really gear itself
for effective subregional human10

rights cooperation? Can
political interests become
sufficiently harmonized in orderto promote cooperative trusta n d m u t u a l c o n fi d e n c ethroughout the region? Are
politicians ready to change theirattitude? Establishing asubregional human rights
mechanism should be viewed
as a vital departure point for all
SAARC agendas; indeed, itneeds urgently to become thealpha and omega of all SAARC’s
future plans, programs andcooperation.
Gyan Basnet, who holds a PhD
and LLM degree in International
Human Rights Law at Lancaster
University, U.K., is a Columnist,L e c t u r e r & R e s e a rch e r i n
International Human Rights Law
and a Human Rights andConstitutional Law Lawyer in
the Supreme Court andSubordinate Court of Nepal.
E-mail: gyanbasnet@aol.com.

Endnote1 "The case for a SAARC regional
human rights mechanism":Statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, United Nations
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/
Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsI
D=11639&LangID=E.
2 The full text of the SAARC Charter is available at
http://saarc-sec.org/saarc-charte
r/5/.

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76

Merging Business and Human Rights in China:
Still A Long Way to Go
Huang Zhong and Qian Cheng

R

espect for human rights by
Chinese businesscompanies is a new conceptthat has to be incorporated into
the Chinese corporate culture
amidst the continuing highs p e e d g r ow t h o f C h i n e s eindustries. Ironically, the imageof Chinese corporate
irresponsibility may become themain driver for Chinese
business to link its operations tohuman rights.
Legal Policy
The 2004 amendments to theConstitution of the People’s
Republic of China include
guarantees regarding private
property1 and human rights.
Article 33 of the chapter on
fundamental rights and duties of
the Constitution provides: “Thestate respects and guarantees
human rights.”2
The Chinese government sees
these new constitutional
provisions as a step towards
Chinese democracy and a signof recognition by theCommunist Party of China(CPC) of the need for change inview of the rise of upper andmiddle classes, who want
protection of their property.
However, constitutional rights
in China are not bases for legal
action since constitutional court
and judicial review mechanism
do not yet exist. This situation isdeemed to be the greatest
defect of the Chinese legal
system, showing gap between
legal rhetoric and judicial
practice. Nevertheless, theconstitutional provisions on
private property and humanrights stipulate that the Chinese
government shall endeavor torespect and promote theproperty and human rights of
the individual. They form astrong constitutional basis
supporting the development oflink between business andhuman rights.
The Chinese government during
the 2005 National People’s
Congress, adopted the “Socialist
Harmonious Society” approachthat officially changed China's
focus from economic growth tooverall societal balance andharmony. The idea is clearlyvisible in banners all over
China.3 As a result, companies
were pressured to consider
corporate social responsibility
in order to fulfill the new
government approach.
In 2012, the Chinese
government adopted its second
National Human Rights Action
Plan (2012-2015) and explained
that[Th]e formulation of the
National Human Rights
Action Plan is an importantmeasure taken by the Chinese
government to ensure the11

implementation of theconstitutional principle ofrespecting and safeguarding
human rights. It is of greatsignificance to promoting
scientific development ands o c i a l h a r m o ny, a n d t oachieving the great objectiveof building a moderately
prosperous society in an allround way.4

The National Human Rights
Action Plan has become a basis
for assessing the work being
done by the Chinese
government on human rights.
Corporate Social Responsibility
In January 2008, the StateOwned Assets Supervision and
Administration Commission of
the State Council (SASAC)
published the Guide Opinion
on Social Responsibility
Implementation for State-owned
Enterprises Controlled by theCentral Government (Guide
Opinion).5 The Guide Opinion
is regarded as an important
legal document since it
explicitly expresses its purposeof comprehensively
implementing the “spirit of the
17th CPC National Congress
and the Scientific Outlook on
Development, and [giving]
impetus to state-owned
enterprises (SOEs) directly
under the central government(CSOEs) to earnestly fulfill
corporate social responsibilities,

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFC
so as to realize coordinated andsustainable development ofenterprises, society andenvironment in all respects.”6
SASAC’s explanation on the
background of the Guide
Opinion clearly shows that the
Guide Opinion is meant tomeet the new global trend,
namely, the proliferation of
corporate social responsibility(CSR) initiatives including theUnited Nations (UN) Global
Compact, ISO 26000, andmultinational companies' codesof conduct and sustainabilityr e p o r t . H o w e v e r, a s t h espokesman of the SASAC stated,
the CSR principles for the
CSOEs should not only be inline with the international trend
but also be consistent with thenational and organizational
reality in China.7
Grievance Mechanisms
China has laws on judicial
grievance mechanisms. The
Criminal Procedure Law aims to“... protect the citizen’s personal
rights; their property rights,
democratic rights and otherrights…”
However, the court system in
China has various problems thathinder ordinary people’s accessto justice. Financial and humanresources supporting theoperation of the courts are not
evenly available in urban andrural areas; with the urban areas
receiving more resources. The
court system also suffers fromseveral problems that required
the CPC Central Committee toissue a communiqué tooverhaul the judicial system inorder to “uphold theconstitution and laws, deepen
reforms in administrative law

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
enforcement and ensure
independence and fairness inprosecuting bodies and courts,
as well as to improve judicial
practice and protection ofhuman rights.”8Since the court system could
not successfully resolve therising number of conflicts andmeet public expectation, people
with grievances may seek
justice through other means,such as filing petitions togovernment authorities (Xinfang)in Beijing. In practice, petitions
that bypass local authorities
have been viewed as a sourceof unrest. Regulations issued in2005 attempted to compel local
officials to improve their systemof assisting petitioners and thus
reduce the number of
petitioners seeking help in thecapital.
While the Labor Law, the Law
on Employment Contracts, thea d m i n i s t ra t ive r e g u l a t i o n senacted by the State Council,
the ministerial rules, and the
judicial explanations of theSupreme People's Court havecontributed to the protection oflabor rights, the real situation in
the factories regarding labor
protection is still grim. Workers
are normally not properly
informed about the details of
the labor contract before
signing, which can cause theinvalidation of the contract. In
many cases, workers have labor
contract with labor dispatch
agencies. As a result, thefactories may arbitrarily refuse
to accept the workers, leadingt o l o s s o f j o b s e c u r i t y. 9
Considering that the All China
Federation of Trade Unions(ACFTU) does not function as
the legitimate agency
representing all workers,

12

especially rural migrant
workers, many workers faceserious obstacles in settling theirgrievances.
Response to International
Initiatives
Since its launch in 2002, theGlobal Compact Local Network
China has continuously beendeveloping and expanding. In
recent years, a large number ofboth state-owned and privatecompanies have joined theinitiative; so far, the total
number of Chinese participantsof the UN Global Compact hasb e e n ove r t h r e e h u n d r e dcompanies.
Transnational corporations are
typically under pressure fromtheir stakeholders to adopt
specific CSR principles andpolicies. As a result,incorporating CSR into suppliersourcing decisions are practices
that would diffuse CSR policies
throughout Chinese companies.
For example, major automotive
manufacturers for years haverequired Chinese suppliers tohave ISO 14001 environmental
management system standards.
A new ISO business standard,
ISO 26000, introduced in 2010,provides guidelines for social
responsibility.
Issues Involving Companies
Chinese companies have been
involved in several issues
affecting the environment,
health of people in thec o m m u n i t y, w o r k e r s a n d
consumers. Industrial pollution
caused the daily pollution index
in major cities to rise atdangerous level, and led to therise of “cancer villages” where
the number of residents with

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC
cancer is disproportionately
high. Among the labor issues,
the lack of independent labor
union is a major concern. For
consumers, the recent spate offood safety issues (tainted milkfor example) have involved big
companies and raised alarm on
the safety of Chinese goods ingeneral.
Case Study
PetroChina Company Limited(PetroChina) is a CSOE that has
become one of the leading oil
companies in the world. The
controlling shareholder of thePetroChina is the state-owned
enterprise China National
Petroleum Company (CNPC).10
PetroChina has expanded its
business in many countries andregions of the world, incooperation with other leadingenergy companies.
PetroChina has no specificdepartment dealing with humanrights affairs; however it has
human rights initiatives, andtries to address human rights
issues under its “sustainable
development,” “people oriented
approach,” and corporate social
responsibility programs. It
established the Health, Safety
and Environment Committee
under its Board of Directors tomake policies related toenvironmental rights, laborrights, and indigenous people’s
rights.
Although PetroChina does notoperate in Sudan, it has beenaccused of complicity with thehuman rights violationscommitted by the Sudanese
government against the people
in southern Sudan during theso-called Darfur crisis. Its major
shareholder, CNPC, has been

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76
implementing oil projects insouthern Sudan for many years
including during the time of the
Darfur crisis.
NGOs filed in 2008 a formal
complaint with the UN Global
Compact Board against
PetroChina for the alleged actsof CNPC that violate humanrights in Sudan. The UN Global
Compact Office responded thatsince CNPC is not a signatory, it
could not be subject to themeasures available under theterms of the UN Global
Compact. The Vice-Chair of the
UN Global Compact also statesthat “companies have to maketheir own decisions based onwhether they feel able tooperate in line with theprinciple they subscribe to as
well as any advice or sanction
from their home governmentand of course whether there are
United Nations sanctions
involved.”11This case opens a debate on theextent of liability of a company
for the human rights abuse, orcomplicity in human rights
violations, attributed to anothercompany which is its major
shareholder. The complaint of
the NGOs is based on thepremise that PetroChina has
close financial engagement withits major shareholder (CNPC) in
the Sudan oil projects and thus
should be made responsible forthe human rights violationscommitted by the Sudanese
government, a partner in the oil
projects.
Additionally, the case provided
an opportunity for the UN
Global Compact to explain how
its Integrity Measures system
works.

13

Final Note
It is necessary for thecompanies to develop their own
internal systems based onhuman rights-based approach toaccess to justice principles inorder to uphold the objectivess e t by b o t h t h e C h i n e s egovernment and theinternational community on theproper role of business inserving justice.
Huang Zhong is the Program
Manager of the Wuhan
University Public Interest andDevelopment Law Institute(PIDLI), while Qian Cheng is a
PhD candidate at Wuhan
University School of Law, and a
Greater China Researcher at
Business and Human Rights
Resource Centre.
For further information, pleasecontact: Huang Zhong, Wuhan
University Public Interest andDevelopment Law Institute( P I D L I ) , Wu h a n U n ive r s i t y
School of Law, Mailbox 214,
Wuhan, Hubei 430072 China;
ph (86 27) 6875 3729; fax (8627) 6875 3624; e-mail:office@pidli.org; www.pidli.cn/.
∗ This article is an excerpt of thereport of the same title preparedby the authors included in
Bridging Human Rights
Principles and Business Realities
i n N o r t h e a s t A s i a ( Ku a l a
Lumpur/Osaka: HURIGHTSOSAKA and SIRD, 2014).

Endnotes
1 Article 13 of the Constitution
states: “The lawful private
property of citizens is
inviolable.”FOCUS ASIA-PACIFC

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76

2 The full text of the Constitution
is available at http://
english.gov.cn/2005-08/05/
content_20813.htm.
3 "China's Party Leadership
Declares New Priority:'Harmonious Society,'" The
Washington Post, 12 October
2006, available atwww.washingtonpost.com/
wp-dyn/content/article/
2 0 0 6 / 1 0 / 1 1 /AR2006101101610.html.
4 The National Human Rights
Action Plan of China(2012-2015), http://
news.xinhuanet.com/english/
china/2012-06/11/
c_131645029.htm.
5 SASAC, Guanyu Zhongyang
Qiye Lvxing Shehui zeren de
Zhidao Yijian [The Guide
Opinion on Social
Responsibility Implementationfor State-owned Enterprises
Controlled by the Central

Government], available atwww.sasac.gov.cn/nl 180/n i 5 6 6 / n 2 5 9 7 6 0 /n264851/3621925.html.
6 Ibid.
7 See SASAC, Press Release,
Q&A between the SASAC
Official and News Reporters,
available
atwww.sasac.gov.cn/n1180/
n 1 5 6 6 / n 2 5 9 7 6 0 /n264866/3621552.html, lastvisited 4 March 2014.
8 Xinhua, “China to overhaul
judicial
system:communiqué,” 12 November
2
0
1
3
,
w w w. c h i n a d a i l y. c o m . c n /china/2013cpctps/2013-11/12/
content_17100078.htm. See
also Wong Kai Shing, CHINA:
Reforming China’s Judiciary,w w w. h r s o l i d a r i t y. n e t /m a i n fi l e . p h p /2000vol10no06/555/, lastvisited 11 April 2014.

9 Tragedies of Globalization: The
Truth Behind Electronics
Sweatshops,
seewww.chinalaborwatch.org/
pro/proshow-164.html, lastvisited 28 April 2014.
10 Annual Report 2011, page 14.
11 “UN Global Compact Office
responds to NGO Letter,”
United Nations Global
C o m p a c t , Ja n u a r y 2 0 0 9 ,www.unglobalcompact.org/
N e w s A n d E v e n t s /n e w s _ a r c h i v e s /2009_01_12b.html.

AICHR After Five Years

freedoms of expression andbelief, associational andorganizational rights, rule oflaw, and personal autonomy
without interference from thestate.” Freedom House,w w w. f r e e d o m h o u s e . o r g /report/freedom-world-2012/
methodology.
23 Freedom House rates most of
the ASEAN countries as “notfree,” 2014 Freedom in theWorld,
http://
freedomhouse.org/reporttypes/freedom-world.
24 First Regional Consultationon the Review of the TOR of
AICHR, 28 April 2014, http://aichr.org/news/first-regionalconsultation-on-the-reviewof-the-tor-of-aichr/.
25 These are the NHRIs in
Indonesia, Malaysia,
M y a n m a r, P h i l i p p i n e s ,Thailand and Timor Leste.

26 South East Asia NHRI Forum,
http://seanf.asia/index.php/
about-us/89-south-east-asianhri-forum. SEANF adopted
the 2007 Declaration of
Cooperation that provides form e m b e r- N H R I s t o “ d owhatever possible to carryout jointly, either on bilateralor multilateral basis,
programmes and activities inareas of human rights
identified and agreed upon at
the meetings,” and graduallydevelop regional strategies
for “human rights promotion
and protection.”(Continued from page 6)

Threats and Opportunities,
March 2014, page 5,
w w w. i n t e r n e w s . e u / d o c s /P u b l i c a t i o n s /InternewsEU_ASEAN_FoE_an
d_RTI_Study_2014.pdf.
22 Freedom House states that“[P]olitical rights enablepeople to participate freely inthe political process,including the right to votefreely for distinct alternatives
in legitimate elections,compete for public office,join political parties andorganizations, and electrepresentatives who have adecisive impact on public
policies and are accountable
to the electorate. Civil
liberties allow for the14

FOCUS ASIA-PACIFIC

JUNE 2014 VOLUME 76

Human Rights Events in the Asia-Pacific
Mekong Workshop on Global
Citizenship Education
The Sub-regional Workshop in
Mekong Cluster - EIU: Global
Citizenship Education for a
Culture of Peace andSustainability held on 17-19
June 2014 in Yangon introduced
the new United Nations projecton Global Citizenship
Education (GCE). The new
project aims to promote
education that equips learners
to be creative and responsible
global citizens. This represents
an emerging perspective on
education on empowering
students to enable them toassume active roles in resolving
global challenges. Educatorsfrom Mekong countries(Cambodia, Burma/Myanmar,
Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam)
and Singapore attended thesubregional workshop. They
discussed how GCE could be
integrated into the curriculumof teacher education institutions
as well as into the school
system as a whole. The keynote
speech was given by the
Chairperson of the Myanmar
National Human Rights
Commission, U Wim Mra.
Human rights were discussed inrelation to GCE values andpractice.
The workshop was jointly
organized by the UNESCO
A s i a - Pa c i fi c B u r e a u f o r
Education (UNESCO Bangkok)
and the Asia-Pacific Centre of
Education for International
Understanding (APCEIU).
For further information, pleasecontact: Asia-Pacific Centre of
Education for International
Understanding (APCEIU), 120,
Saemal-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul,
Republic of Korea 152-050; ph(82-2) 774-3933; fax (82-2)
774-3958;
e-mail:info@unescoapceiu.org;
www.unescoapceiu.org.
2014 Asian Symposium on
Human Rights Education
A three-day 2014 Asian
Symposium on Human Rights
Education will be held toprovide an interdisciplinary
platform for academics,
researchers, policy makers,
human rights advocates,
students and professionals. Withthe theme “Human Rights: The
R o a d t o R e f o r m ,” t h e
symposium will promote agreater understanding andaccess to human rights and help
to equalize the process ofglobalization. The symposium
will deal with problems that arewidespread and complex,
challenging customs andprejudices that are deeply
ingrained in the social fabric ofa s o c i e t y. S y s t e m a t i c
discrimination and inequality
affecting women, indigenous
people, and minorities, to namea few, in many parts of theworld, that result in varying
degrees of abuse, violence,
inadequate wages, forced labor,
suppression of speech, andoverall disempowerment will be
discussed.
The symposium will be held in
Hiroshima city on 2-4 August
2014 and is being organized by
Presda Foundation.
For further information, pleasec o n t a c t : O f fi c e o f t h e
Secretariat, Presda Foundation;
e
m
a
i
l
:
secretariat@presdafoundation.org; www.presdafoundation.org.

15

2014 Asian Girl Human Rights
Award
The Garden of Hope Foundation(GOH) has launched the 2014
Asian Girl Human Rights Award.
Nominees have to have thefollowing qualifications: 1)
Demonstrated outstandingachievement in the area of Asian
girls' human rights andcommunity development; 2)
Inspiring survivors of trafficking,a b u s e , t ra u m a , d i s a b i l i t y,violation of human rights, orother tragedies; 3) Commitment
to the values of gender-equity
and ability to raise social
awareness on the issue; 4)
Leadership experience or desire
to contribute to and improve theleadership potential of the civilsociety sector, particularly forgirls' rights; 5) Innovation in thearena of policy development andapplication; 6) Eagerness to leaddebates and discussions during
the Exchange Program of GOH;
7) Commitment to follow-up
activities; 8) 18 years old or
younger; and 9) Ability tointeract in the English language.
Nomination can be sent until 9am (Taiwan time) on 31 August
2014, visit https://
docs.google.com/a/goh.org.tw/
spreadsheet/viewform?
usp=drive_web&formkey=dG0x
Ui1fYlE2RFVfWUJjZTNhdncteFE
6MQ#gid=0.
For more information, pleasecontact: Lilian Yap, Asian Girl
Campaign Coordinator, The
Garden of Hope Foundation,
1F, No. 2-1, Shun-an St.,
Xindian District, New Taipei City
23143 Taiwan; ph (886-2)
8911-8595;
e-mail:goh1014@goh.org.tw; http://
girlday.org/.

HURIGHTS OSAKA Calendar

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The most recent publication of HURIGHTS OSAKA, Bridging Human Rights Principles and BusinessRealities in Northeast Asia (2014), can now be purchased through the online bookshop (http://
bookshop.gerakbudaya.com/) of GB Gerakbudaya Enterprise Sdn Bhd.

JAPON

TAXE PERCUEPRINTED MATTERAIR MAIL

May be opened for inspection by the postal service.

HURIGHTS OSAKA, inspired by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, formally opened in December 1994. lt has the following goals: 1) to promote human rights
in the Asia- Pacific region; 2) to convey Asia-Pacific perspectives on human rights to the international
community; 3) to ensure inclusion of human rights principles in Japanese international cooperative activities; and 4) to raise human rights awareness among the people in Japan in meeting its growing internationalization. In order to achieve these goals, HURIGHTS OSAKA has activities such as Information Handling, Research and Study, Education and Training, Publications, and Consultancy Services.
FOCUS Asia-Pacific is designed to highlight significant issues and activities relating to human rights in
the Asia-Pacific. Relevant information and articles can be sent to HURIGHTS OSAKA for inclusion in thenext editions of the newsletter.
FOCUS Asia-Pacific is edited by Osamu Shiraishi, Director of HURIGHTS OSAKA.
Sender: HURIGHTS OSAKA(Asia-Pacific Human Rights Information Center)
8F, CE Nishihonmachi Bldg., 1-7-7 Nishihonmachi, Nishi-ku, Osaka 550-0005
Japan
Phone: (816) 6543-7002
Fax: (816) 6543-7004
E-mail: webmail@hurights.or.jp Website: http://www.hurights.or.jp

HURIGHTS OSAKA