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Indonesia calls for stronger role of ASEAN rights body
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Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi (fourth right) and Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto (second left) speak with Laos Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith (third left), Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and delegations of ASEAN countries after signing the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
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ndonesia has called for Southeast Asian leaders to strengthen their roles in the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission for Human Rights (AICHR) to improve the protection of human rights for people living in the region, a top minister said.
Speaking at an ASEAN Political-Security Community Council meeting in the ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, Laos, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto said AICHR must be more progressive to stay relevant for the Southeast Asian people by promoting human rights principles amid rising transnational threats. Groups requiring specific attention include women, children and migrant workers.
"ASEAN member states should be able to implement a stronger approach to overcome transnational issues such as irregular migrants and their root causes, while at the same time upholding the protection for human rights," Wiranto said in a press statement sent by his office on Tuesday.
Human rights is the cornerstone of the ASEAN Community, he said, adding that AICHR should also give more concern in protecting the rights of migrant workers in the region. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of support by the AICHR to related agencies within ASEAN to conclude the regional instrument on Protection and Promotion of Migrant Workers' Rights.
In the event, Indonesia also called for ASEAN leaders to effectively implement the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP), even though there were only three countries in the region that had ratified it. Indonesia is currently in the process of ratifying ACTIP, Wiranto added. (rin)
