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CHR Conference Room
Quezon City , Philippines
16 March 2009
delivered by
LEILA M. DE LIMA
Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
Albert Einstein had been quoted thus, “It has become apparent that our technology has surpassed our humanity.” The context of this statement is the blistering pace by which new technologies advanced in the 1900s, the steepest curve that mankind had ever seen. While science had pushed forward to meet the needs of industrialization, science became the impetus for creating an impossibly complex world. In the middle of all the progress of science and technology, Einstein posited that our humanity had been left behind. This was true until the impetus for advancing science led the world into the shambles of a second world war. Only when the world had reached a flashpoint of inhumanity, evidenced by the decade of the 1940s, did the advancement of human rights thought reach a consolidation in the form of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Yet, technology did not cease. Now, in the age of globalization and the dissipation of transnational boundaries, the progress of international commerce and the transmission of information had reached its pinnacle in the history of human civilization, spurred also by the advancement of technology. This is the new context which the rapid scientific development of Einstein’s generation had given birth to.
However, as the internationalization of the vastness of human endeavor progresses, it cannot be helped that this development is inequitably distributed. While the creation of wealth and the advancement of technology presses forward at a feverish pace, other endeavors, such as the protection of human rights, do not enjoy the same advancement as that of trade and technology. But, different from several generations ago, the technology we now have, especially the technology to disseminate information across the vastness of the planet, provides us with the potential to keep humanity at pace with trade and the creation of wealth.
The lack of a regional human rights mechanism in Asia had spurred thoughtful and foreboding insight many years ago in human rights circles. The spread of human rights debate and discussion in a region so large, encompassing a majority of the human population, a monopoly of natural resources and a lion’s share of economic growth, is the underutilized potential that our technology provides to our humanity.
The creation of the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism is an incredibly hopeful endeavor to place into concrete action the potential globalization of human rights protection and promotion. The ASEAN Region had long been seen as an enclave of tremendous potential for economic growth. The time to place the development of the field of human rights at par with years of economic development is now.
The creation of the ASEAN NHRI Forum is a compelling prelude to the ASEAN Human Rights Body. The four existing NHRIs in the region, namely, that of Indonesia , Malaysia , the Philippines and Thailand , have institutionalized a collaborative mechanism through the ASEAN NHRI Forum. It is in this Forum that the vision of cooperation as embodied by the Bali Declaration of Cooperation is expressed and realized. The contributions of the Forum to the penultimate goal of establishing the ASEAN Human Rights Body are found in a host of organized workshops on the establishment of the Regional Human Rights Body, continuing advocacies, contributions to the drafting of the Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Human Rights Body and engagement with the High Level Panel on the creation of the AHRB.
Beyond the existing NHRIs, the forum has supported the establishment of an independent NHRI in other ASEAN countries, such as Cambodia .
There is much more work to be done at the level of the Forum. Common challenges in addressing issues of terrorism, human trafficking, migration, human rights education and protecting economic, social and cultural rights remain at the forefront of the ASEAN human rights theater. Thus, the joint projects on thematic issues target such outputs as policy papers, declaration, protocol and model programs, which the ASEAN NHRI Forum can submit to the AHRB once established. These joint projects on thematic issues are:
Specifically on the creation of the AHRB, the formulation of Terms of Reference must enable the proposed body to be effective. On this score, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines had released a statement covering the following:
The AHRB and NHRIs have complimentary roles in the promotion and protection of human rights in the region. It is thus important to define the relationship between them, as follows:
In member states where there are existing national human rights institutions, the AHRB should work in partnership with such NHRIs, particularly in monitoring human rights situations and treaty compliance at the national level. In addition, the AHRB should coordinate with and involve the NHRIs in its activities at the national level.
The AHRB cannot confine its work within the region but should operate within the framework of the UN human rights system.
The AHRB shall cooperate with the various human rights bodies and organs of the United Nations, in particular, the Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the treaty monitoring bodies, the Special Rapporteurs and other special human rights mechanisms.
Let me also briefly point out at this point the challenges in project management and corresponding recommendations.
The European Union, specifically, the European Commission, our staunchest ally in the push for the development of human rights, is a model for the potential regional mechanism we hope to employ here in the ASEAN. The EU Human Rights Court, for example, covers a jurisdiction of dozens of EU member countries. The vastness of the human rights collaboration in the European Union is something we aspire for among the ten nations of the ASEAN.
The time to galvanize international collaboration in human rights that is specific to the needs and concerns of the ASEAN Region is upon us and it is indeed, very exciting times for human rights professionals throughout the region, and for our partners from around the world. With the launch of the Forum website, we have yet another technological tool through which common issues and concerns and the best practices between ASEAN governments and NHRIs can be shared. It is very hopeful times for the people of South East Asia and I am very pleased and thankful to all of you who have supported this endeavor every step of the way, and I look forward to your continued support until the fulfillment of our goal of establishing the ASEAN Human Rights Body.
Maraming salamat at mabuhay kayong lahat!