A Milestone for Human Rights Here

I'm indignant that detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is treated this way. She is supposed to be the Prime Minister of Myanmar. Her party, the National League of Democracy, won by a landslide victory in the 1990 general elections. Fair & square.

But she was never allowed to assume that role. The military junta ignored the results and put her under house arrest without trial. Right now, just as the elections are around the corner, she's again put on trial and on the verge of being sentenced to prison.

Where is the justice in all this? How can the Burmese people & the world put up with what the military junta is doing in Myanmar? It's ridiculous.

But we learnt today that the whole process of restoring justice, of promoting & protecting rights, is not a straightforward one. The international community can't just step in and take over. The sovereignty of a nation has to be respected, and non-interference in the internal affairs of the state is still the way to go.

But I'm glad for one thing, and this is a historic milestone for Southeast Asia. At the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Phuket last month, we took a step closer to regional cooperation on human rights. The 10 members states agreed to certain terms of reference and established the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

This is a move that took 16 years in the making. The wheels of change were set in motion back in 1993, according to our guests today: Braema Mathi and Peter Low, both founding members of MARUAH (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism).

Shedding light on ASEAN's new human rights Commission:

Peter Low & Braema Mathi.

Braema was a former Nominated Member of Parliament & former President of AWARE. Peter is a lawyer & former President of the Law Society. They gave precious insights on the likely role of this new Commission and how it will impact citizens in the region.

Right now, a national representative for each member state is being selected - in time for the ASEAN Summit in October. The danger is that if these representatives are not properly selected, if they are not strong advocates of human rights, then this Commission becomes nothing but a white elephant.

We all need to play a part, seriously. My suggestion is to find out all you can about this Commission, and to have a say in the selection process. Whether we like it or not, it will affect all of us. For more information, visit the ASEAN Secretariat website here. Or better yet, participate in the upcoming consultation workshop by MARUAH:

CONSULTATION WORKSHOP

ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights

22 Aug (Sat)

8.30am - 3.45pm

Novotel @ Clark Quay

To register, click here.

My hope is that this Commission will be a force to be reckoned with - that it will be that united voice of conscience for all levels of government, and truly stand for human rights advancement here.

In a fragile region like ours (with Myanmar being part of ASEAN, and Cambodia, Thailand & Indonesia, where child-sex trafficking is so rampant), this is so, so needed.