Regional Groups Call for Asian Solidarity

Around 50 representatives belonging to the Solidarity for Asian Peoples’ Advocacies (SAPA) call on greater interaction and solidarity among regional groups to address common concerns. In a public forum on “The Asian Challenge: Forging Solidarity, Building Alternatives” on March 26 in the Everest Hotel, SAPA members discussed the multiple crises experienced in Asia – in the economy; in the environment and the climate; and in peace, democracy, human rights and self-determination […]

ASEAN Human Rights Commission Must Address Crimes Against Humanity in Burma

The Task Force on ASEAN and Burma (TFAB) calls on the newly formed ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to make systematic human rights violations and crimes against humanity in Burma a priority.

On 15 March, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, told the UN Human Rights Council that human rights violations in Burma “are the result of a State policy, originating from decisions by authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels.” […]

APWLD Celebrates a New Human Rights Mechanism for Women and Children in Southeast Asia

March 16, 2010  •  By Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development  •  Tags: ACWC, ASEAN, Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development  •  Read more ➤

ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is outraged by the election laws recently announced by the military government of Myanmar

Repeated calls for assurances that the upcoming elections will be free and inclusive have gone unheeded as the new laws make clear the regime’s absolute lack of commitment to democratic principles to ensure free, fair and inclusive elections.

Under the new election laws all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, are excluded from forming or participating in political parties and from contesting seats in the national and state assemblies. Certain provisions of the new laws appear to specifically target Aung San Suu Kyi, forcing her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD) which overwhelmingly won in the previous 1990 elections, to expel her should it wish to register with the new Election Commission and contest the upcoming elections.[…]

ASEAN to Accelerate Aid Delivery to Cylone-Nargis Affected Population

ASEAN will accelerate aid delivery to Myanmar’s Cyclone-Nargis affected population and hand over the coordination structure for post-Nargis recovery efforts to the Government of Myanmar as it prepares to complete its humanitarian operations in the country in July 2010. The decision was made at the 7th Meeting of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF) held in Ha Noi today. […]

Women Celebrate ASEAN’s Progress on International Women’s Day

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) welcomes ASEAN’s new human rights mechanisms and invites ASEAN countries to mark this day by committing to an open and transparent selection process for the representatives of the Commission on Women and Children.

On the 99th anniversary of International Women’s Day, APWLD urges the international community to become involved in what has the potential to be Southeast Asia’s most powerful tool for the protection and promotion of women’s human rights. […]

56 groups issue open letter demanding justice for workers on strike in Burma

Fifty-six groups issued an open letter to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of ASEAN, calling on the regional body and its member countries to closely monitor the current situation at the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone in Rangoon, and ensure that workers’ rights are recognized and respected. The letter also calls on ASEAN and ASEAN member […]

Myanmar cyclone survivors haunted by lack of work and shelter

Almost two years after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta, killing nearly 140,000 and leaving 2.4 million destitute, survivors are still struggling to recover their livelihoods and many are living without adequate shelter, a report released on Tuesday in Yangon said. The region may face a second crisis unless people’s livelihoods improve, warned the Tripartite Core […]

AICHR: ASEAN’s journey to human rights

Jakarta Post The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights’ (AICHR)  was established at a time when the human rights situation in Southeast Asia has deteriorated, with the recent attacks on churches in Indonesia and Malaysia, the killing of journalists in the Philippines and the jailing of political activists and bloggers in countries such as Myanmar […]

Introduction to ASEAN

A Powerpoint presentation that gives an introduction to ASEAN’s history and purpose. Download the Powerpoint