Window closing on AHRD: NGOs
Time is running out to rid the proposed ASEAN Human Rights Declaration of clauses that would restrict peoples’ rights rather than protect and enhance them, civil society groups said yesterday. Nay Vanda, deputy head of the monitoring section of rights group Adhoc, said civil society groups needed more opportunities to consult with leaders on the wording of the declaration, which senior ministers are expected to introduce during the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh from November 18 to 20. … Yuyun Wahyuningrum, senior adviser on ASEAN and human rights for Indonesian NGO coalition Human Rights Working Group, said a number of articles in the draft suggested the declaration had become too much about negotiating the national interests of various ASEAN states rather than improving human rights.
