Aichr Eyes Binding Human Rights Conventions In Five Year Plan

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 Commission chair Edmund Bon says the plan is intended to address Asean’s long-standing inability to adopt binding human rights commitments.
AICHR’s five-year work plan was submitted to the Asean foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. (ASEAN Facebook pic)PETALING JAYA: The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is set to propose that Asean adopt legally binding human rights instruments across Southeast Asia within the next five years
AICHR chair Edmund Bon, Malaysia’s representative to the commission, said the move aims to address the absence of enforceable regional agreements comparable to the UN’s international human rights conventions.
“We only have non-binding (conventions) at the moment. This year, for example, we’ll be launching non-binding instruments on environmental rights and the rights to development and peace.
“AICHR has been deliberating for some years now to look into binding human rights conventions on key issues regarding women, children and people with disabilities,” he told FMT.
Its five-year work plan (2026–2030), submitted to Asean foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month, details a series of dialogues, consultations and workshops with sectoral bodies aimed at making progress on key human rights issues.
The commission aims to make Southeast Asia a torture-free zone, provide remedies to victims of rights violations, and safeguard human rights defenders across the region.
Another priority area for the AICHR, Bon said, was to introduce a formal protection mechanism that would allow the commission to issue statements on human rights violations and urge member states to stop or mitigate abuses.
“We see a lot of criticism towards Asean’s stance on human rights, but we haven’t really put forward our position on these issues as a regional bloc. An Asean Human Rights Report will help us do that,” he said.
Bon added that the commission also hopes to act as a mediator in regional conflicts and foster peace pathways, including for Myanmar, Southern Thailand and West Papua.
“If the idea is approved, (the commission) will listen to the conflicting stakeholders and consider recommendations on how the disputes can be mediated.
“We will not take sides. Instead we will guide what human rights positions should be followed,” he said. - FMT

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