MANILA, Philippines – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) does not have the political will and capacity to create a human rights court in the region because there are member states that are still getting acquainted with the real meaning of human rights and are just beginning to manage and internalize it in their own society.
Philippine Representative to the High Level Panel on the ASEAN Human Rights Body Ambassador Rosario Manalo said prosecution in human rights cases and the creation of the court similar to Europe is not seen in the near future.
This development came as former senator and Secretary of National Defense Orlando Mercado presented his Letter of Credence as the Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia last March.
“No. We do not see it, but do not close that possibility,” Manalo said.
“For the moment, not only is there no political will but there is also no capacity of the member-states to do it. There is no capacity in the region to create a court of human rights in Southeast Asia,” she said.
The creation of the ASEAN Human Rights Body (AHRB) under the ASEAN Charter ratified by the member-countries is a policy-formulation body for the region with limited scope.
The regional human rights watchdog, which should be launched in October, will not have the power to investigate human rights violations in the ASEAN.
Even in the absence of investigative power, Manalo, one of the drafters of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the AHRB, said the strongest power of the body for the moment involves access to information, education and training that are instruments to provide capacity and understand what human rights really mean.
Meantime, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Permanent Representative Orlando Mercado was accompanied by Philippine embassy officials and Administrative Officer of the Philippine Mission to ASEAN Yusuf Usudan when he presented his Letter of Credence at the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia last March 20.–Pia Lee-Brago,Philippine Star
March –
IT’S WOMEN’S MONTH!
“Respect and support women
every day of the year/s!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry
against serious violations of protocols of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association.
Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week;
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and “
Made-in-the-Philippines Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
March 4: Employee Appreciation Day
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
March 18: Global Recycling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
March 23: International Day for the Right to the Truth
Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
March 27: Earth Hour
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
