Transcript here - Asia Democracy Network

FUTURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND
DEMOCRACY IN ASIA
EVELYN BALAIS SERRANO
Executive Director
FORUM-ASIA
OUTLINE
• FUTURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY –
PROCESS
• REFLECTION ON THE PAST DECADES – KEY
MOMENTS AND MILESTONES
• EMERGING CHALLENGES
• OPPORTUNITIES
• SOME LESSONS LEARNED
PROCESS
• As part of FORUM-ASIA’s commemoration of
25th Anniversary having been founded in 1991
• A joint initiative with Asia Democracy Network
(ADN) to develop an Asian Compact for
Human Rights and Democracy which is
expected to be adopted in 2018 at the 70th
Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR)
AIMS
• To reflect on past decades on some of the key
moments/milestones in our human rights and
democracy struggles
• To identify emerging challenges and come up
with a collective vision on human rights and
democracy and explore more effective ways to
create synergetic impact of the civil society
movement in the future
KEY MOMENTS/MILESTONES
• First multi-party, free and fair elections held
1990-Burma
-Mongolia
1991-Bangladesh
Nepal
2004- Malaysia
Asia’s voice highlighted in world fora
• 1993-Vienna - World Conference on Human
Rights
• 1995-Beijing – 4th World Conference on Women
• 1996-Copenhagen- World Summit on Social
Development
• 1998-Paris - World Summit of Human Rights
Defenders
• 1998- Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court
• 2015 – UN Climate Change Conference
CSO Parallel Initiatives
• 1993-Bangkok NGO Human Rights Declaration
• 1996-1st Peoples’ SAARC
• 2005-1st ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) held in
Malaysia
• 2006-Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA)
• 2007-Working Group on Regional Initiative for South
Asia Human Rights Mechanism (RI-SAHRM)
• FORUM-ASIA Geneva and Jakarta offices were opened
to raise Asian voice vis-à-vis UN and ASEAN
• 2015 –FORUM-ASIA Kathmandu office vis-à-vis SAARC
Creation of Human Rights Offices and
Mechanisms
• 1993-UN Office of High Commissioner on Human
Rights
• 1993 – UN Guidelines on NHRIs (Paris Principles)
• 2006-Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
• 2009- ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on
Human Rights
• 2010 – ASEAN Commission on Women and
Children
• 2012-ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
MAJOR HUMAN RIGHTS
SITUATIONS/CASES
• 2002-Gujarat carnage-India
• 2004-Murder of Munir-Indonesia
-Disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit- Thailand
• 2009-Murder of Pattani Razeek-Sri Lanka
• 2010-Violent crackdown of demonstrators in Thailand
• 2009-Maguindanao Massacre in Mindanao-Philippines
• 2012-Disappearance of Sombath Somphone-Laos
• 2015-Rohingya crisis
End of conflicts
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•
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1999 – Independence vote in Timor Leste
2005 - Aceh – Indonesia
2010 –Political reforms in Burma
2014- Bangsa Moro, Mindanao, Philippines
EMERGING CHALLENGES
• Shrinking civic space, persecution of HRDs
• Migration, Human Trafficking, Refugees
• Economic, social and cultural rights
-inequality, poverty, land grabbing
-role of business
-rise of religious/intolerance
• Climate change/climate justice
• Ending impunity, accountability
• War, armed conflicts
• Death penalty
OPPORTUNITIES
• Increase in people’s participation/initiatives
• Increased interest and use of social media
• Establishment of NHRIs and other human rights
mechanisms
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Participation of youth, women, SOGIE, PWD,
indigenous peoples and other marginalized groups
• Increase in human rights awareness among various
sectors of society, including police and military
SOME LESSONS LEARNED
• Need to strengthen links from grassroots to
national, regional, global and back to local
• Need to engage with all stakeholders, including
business, judiciaries, parliaments, donors
• Need to involve the youth, women and other
marginalized sectors in society
• Need for regional/international solidarity
• Power of coalitions/people movement