(All Photos: SRP Pennsylvania)
Vietnam and Cambodia on Thursday discussed an agreement to strengthen public security ties as well as an extradition treaty to deal with crimes along their border areas.
Police said border crimes have become more complex and serious than previous years. Since the beginning of last year, more than 1,890 smuggling cases were detected involving goods worth US$6.2 million.
Other crimes, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, have also thrived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, which stretches for nearly 1,200 kilometers.
Vietnam has 10 provinces bordering Cambodia with a total population of 12.65 million.
Police said border crimes have become more complex and serious than previous years. Since the beginning of last year, more than 1,890 smuggling cases were detected involving goods worth US$6.2 million.
Other crimes, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, have also thrived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, which stretches for nearly 1,200 kilometers.
Vietnam has 10 provinces bordering Cambodia with a total population of 12.65 million.
A demonstrator holds a banner with pictures of exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a rally outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok on October 27. (Photo: Reuters)The Thai government said this week it will send an official document to Prime Minister Hun Sen regarding ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, following a war of words between Phnom Penh and Bangkok over Cambodia’s right to refuse extradition.
Thaksin, who lives in exile, but not in Cambodia, faces a prison term on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.
Hun Sen angered the current Thai government earlier this month by hosting a Thaksin supporter of the opposition party, then declaring Thaksin welcome in Cambodia, despite an extradition treaty with Thailand.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it will outline the facts of Thaksin’s case for Hun Sen, who it said may have obtained incorrect information.
“We will receive the documents relating to Thaksin to read if the Bangkok government sends the documents to us,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. “It is no problem. We will have our legal experts examine the documents.”
Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, but he still enjoys wide support among Thais, and Hun Sen has called Thaksin a political victim and thereby outside extradition requirements.
Koy Kong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry had not yet received documentation from Bangkok, but relations otherwise continued as normal.
Thaksin, who lives in exile, but not in Cambodia, faces a prison term on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.
Hun Sen angered the current Thai government earlier this month by hosting a Thaksin supporter of the opposition party, then declaring Thaksin welcome in Cambodia, despite an extradition treaty with Thailand.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it will outline the facts of Thaksin’s case for Hun Sen, who it said may have obtained incorrect information.
“We will receive the documents relating to Thaksin to read if the Bangkok government sends the documents to us,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. “It is no problem. We will have our legal experts examine the documents.”
Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, but he still enjoys wide support among Thais, and Hun Sen has called Thaksin a political victim and thereby outside extradition requirements.
Koy Kong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry had not yet received documentation from Bangkok, but relations otherwise continued as normal.
Police in Kampong Thom province have blocked villagers from participating in a Buddhist ceremony at a remote pagoda on disputed land for the past two days, officials said Thursday.
Celebrants of the Kathen ceremony, in which the faithful bring offerings to sequestered monks, were stopped 15 kilometers outside the pagoda, in Santhouk district, which the provincial governor called “illegitimate.”
“We blocked them, but it does not mean we’re preventing people from holding the ceremony,” the governor, Chhun Choan, said. “That place is part of a land concession given to a company for the investment of rubber.”
Villagers from the provinces of Kandal and Kampong Cham had meant to travel to the Meakea Prachea Hema Voan pagoda, with gifts for monks who must remain on the premises for three months. The Katen ceremony ends Nov. 2.
“Yesterday, they blocked one convoy, and today another,” said Leng Chea, a monk’s assistant. “If they claim that the pagoda is illegal, they must wait until the ceremony is finished.”
The pagoda, located 100 kilometers from Kampong Thom town, was built by an association assisting debilitated soldiers. It is little more than a small house where two monks live.
Khun Sok Kea, head of the association, said he had acquired the land legally in 2004.
Celebrants of the Kathen ceremony, in which the faithful bring offerings to sequestered monks, were stopped 15 kilometers outside the pagoda, in Santhouk district, which the provincial governor called “illegitimate.”
“We blocked them, but it does not mean we’re preventing people from holding the ceremony,” the governor, Chhun Choan, said. “That place is part of a land concession given to a company for the investment of rubber.”
Villagers from the provinces of Kandal and Kampong Cham had meant to travel to the Meakea Prachea Hema Voan pagoda, with gifts for monks who must remain on the premises for three months. The Katen ceremony ends Nov. 2.
“Yesterday, they blocked one convoy, and today another,” said Leng Chea, a monk’s assistant. “If they claim that the pagoda is illegal, they must wait until the ceremony is finished.”
The pagoda, located 100 kilometers from Kampong Thom town, was built by an association assisting debilitated soldiers. It is little more than a small house where two monks live.
Khun Sok Kea, head of the association, said he had acquired the land legally in 2004.
A 51-year-old woman succumbed to the H1N1 virus, officials said Thursday, bringing the death toll to four, with the total amount of confirmed cases in the country at 239.
The death comes as Phnom Penh is preparing for the annual Water Festival, which draws millions of people to crowd the capital’s waterfront for three days.
Health officials worry the close proximity of revelers will lead to a rapid expansion of the disease. Following the festival last year, Cambodia reported a new case of bird flu.
The latest victim of the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, was a Phnom Penh resident who had suffered from liver disease and had been ill for “many years,” Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department, said.
Symptoms of the pandemic virus are much the same as seasonal influenza, including a high fever, coughing, sore throat, headache, muscle aches and lethargy, health experts say. It can be transmitted at least one day before symptoms appear, after which it is contagious for at least a week.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng encouraged people to cover their mouths and noses with tissue when coughing or sneezing and to deposit the tissue in a bin. Hand-washing with soap and water can also contain the spread of the disease, he said.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 340,000 cases of the disease worldwide have led to 4,100 deaths as of late September.
The death comes as Phnom Penh is preparing for the annual Water Festival, which draws millions of people to crowd the capital’s waterfront for three days.
Health officials worry the close proximity of revelers will lead to a rapid expansion of the disease. Following the festival last year, Cambodia reported a new case of bird flu.
The latest victim of the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, was a Phnom Penh resident who had suffered from liver disease and had been ill for “many years,” Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department, said.
Symptoms of the pandemic virus are much the same as seasonal influenza, including a high fever, coughing, sore throat, headache, muscle aches and lethargy, health experts say. It can be transmitted at least one day before symptoms appear, after which it is contagious for at least a week.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng encouraged people to cover their mouths and noses with tissue when coughing or sneezing and to deposit the tissue in a bin. Hand-washing with soap and water can also contain the spread of the disease, he said.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 340,000 cases of the disease worldwide have led to 4,100 deaths as of late September.
A 51-year-old woman succumbed to the H1N1 virus, officials said Thursday, bringing the death toll to four, with the total amount of confirmed cases in the country at 239.
The death comes as Phnom Penh is preparing for the annual Water Festival, which draws millions of people to crowd the capital’s waterfront for three days.
Health officials worry the close proximity of revelers will lead to a rapid expansion of the disease. Following the festival last year, Cambodia reported a new case of bird flu.
The latest victim of the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, was a Phnom Penh resident who had suffered from liver disease and had been ill for “many years,” Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department, said.
Symptoms of the pandemic virus are much the same as seasonal influenza, including a high fever, coughing, sore throat, headache, muscle aches and lethargy, health experts say. It can be transmitted at least one day before symptoms appear, after which it is contagious for at least a week.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng encouraged people to cover their mouths and noses with tissue when coughing or sneezing and to deposit the tissue in a bin. Hand-washing with soap and water can also contain the spread of the disease, he said.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 340,000 cases of the disease worldwide have led to 4,100 deaths as of late September.
The death comes as Phnom Penh is preparing for the annual Water Festival, which draws millions of people to crowd the capital’s waterfront for three days.
Health officials worry the close proximity of revelers will lead to a rapid expansion of the disease. Following the festival last year, Cambodia reported a new case of bird flu.
The latest victim of the H1N1 virus, sometimes called swine flu, was a Phnom Penh resident who had suffered from liver disease and had been ill for “many years,” Sok Touch, director of the Ministry of Health’s communicable disease department, said.
Symptoms of the pandemic virus are much the same as seasonal influenza, including a high fever, coughing, sore throat, headache, muscle aches and lethargy, health experts say. It can be transmitted at least one day before symptoms appear, after which it is contagious for at least a week.
Health Minister Mam Bunheng encouraged people to cover their mouths and noses with tissue when coughing or sneezing and to deposit the tissue in a bin. Hand-washing with soap and water can also contain the spread of the disease, he said.
The World Health Organization estimates more than 340,000 cases of the disease worldwide have led to 4,100 deaths as of late September.
Police in Kampong Thom province have blocked villagers from participating in a Buddhist ceremony at a remote pagoda on disputed land for the past two days, officials said Thursday.
Celebrants of the Kathen ceremony, in which the faithful bring offerings to sequestered monks, were stopped 15 kilometers outside the pagoda, in Santhouk district, which the provincial governor called “illegitimate.”
“We blocked them, but it does not mean we’re preventing people from holding the ceremony,” the governor, Chhun Choan, said. “That place is part of a land concession given to a company for the investment of rubber.”
Villagers from the provinces of Kandal and Kampong Cham had meant to travel to the Meakea Prachea Hema Voan pagoda, with gifts for monks who must remain on the premises for three months. The Katen ceremony ends Nov. 2.
“Yesterday, they blocked one convoy, and today another,” said Leng Chea, a monk’s assistant. “If they claim that the pagoda is illegal, they must wait until the ceremony is finished.”
The pagoda, located 100 kilometers from Kampong Thom town, was built by an association assisting debilitated soldiers. It is little more than a small house where two monks live.
Khun Sok Kea, head of the association, said he had acquired the land legally in 2004.
Celebrants of the Kathen ceremony, in which the faithful bring offerings to sequestered monks, were stopped 15 kilometers outside the pagoda, in Santhouk district, which the provincial governor called “illegitimate.”
“We blocked them, but it does not mean we’re preventing people from holding the ceremony,” the governor, Chhun Choan, said. “That place is part of a land concession given to a company for the investment of rubber.”
Villagers from the provinces of Kandal and Kampong Cham had meant to travel to the Meakea Prachea Hema Voan pagoda, with gifts for monks who must remain on the premises for three months. The Katen ceremony ends Nov. 2.
“Yesterday, they blocked one convoy, and today another,” said Leng Chea, a monk’s assistant. “If they claim that the pagoda is illegal, they must wait until the ceremony is finished.”
The pagoda, located 100 kilometers from Kampong Thom town, was built by an association assisting debilitated soldiers. It is little more than a small house where two monks live.
Khun Sok Kea, head of the association, said he had acquired the land legally in 2004.
A demonstrator holds a banner with pictures of exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a rally outside the Cambodian Embassy in Bangkok on October 27. (Photo: Reuters)The Thai government said this week it will send an official document to Prime Minister Hun Sen regarding ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, following a war of words between Phnom Penh and Bangkok over Cambodia’s right to refuse extradition.
Thaksin, who lives in exile, but not in Cambodia, faces a prison term on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.
Hun Sen angered the current Thai government earlier this month by hosting a Thaksin supporter of the opposition party, then declaring Thaksin welcome in Cambodia, despite an extradition treaty with Thailand.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it will outline the facts of Thaksin’s case for Hun Sen, who it said may have obtained incorrect information.
“We will receive the documents relating to Thaksin to read if the Bangkok government sends the documents to us,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. “It is no problem. We will have our legal experts examine the documents.”
Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, but he still enjoys wide support among Thais, and Hun Sen has called Thaksin a political victim and thereby outside extradition requirements.
Koy Kong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry had not yet received documentation from Bangkok, but relations otherwise continued as normal.
Thaksin, who lives in exile, but not in Cambodia, faces a prison term on corruption charges if he returns to Thailand.
Hun Sen angered the current Thai government earlier this month by hosting a Thaksin supporter of the opposition party, then declaring Thaksin welcome in Cambodia, despite an extradition treaty with Thailand.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday it will outline the facts of Thaksin’s case for Hun Sen, who it said may have obtained incorrect information.
“We will receive the documents relating to Thaksin to read if the Bangkok government sends the documents to us,” government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said. “It is no problem. We will have our legal experts examine the documents.”
Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in 2006, but he still enjoys wide support among Thais, and Hun Sen has called Thaksin a political victim and thereby outside extradition requirements.
Koy Kong, a spokesman for Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry had not yet received documentation from Bangkok, but relations otherwise continued as normal.
Vietnam and Cambodia on Thursday discussed an agreement to strengthen public security ties as well as an extradition treaty to deal with crimes along their border areas.
Police said border crimes have become more complex and serious than previous years. Since the beginning of last year, more than 1,890 smuggling cases were detected involving goods worth US$6.2 million.
Other crimes, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, have also thrived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, which stretches for nearly 1,200 kilometers.
Vietnam has 10 provinces bordering Cambodia with a total population of 12.65 million.
Police said border crimes have become more complex and serious than previous years. Since the beginning of last year, more than 1,890 smuggling cases were detected involving goods worth US$6.2 million.
Other crimes, including drugs, arms and human trafficking, have also thrived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, which stretches for nearly 1,200 kilometers.
Vietnam has 10 provinces bordering Cambodia with a total population of 12.65 million.
Parliamentarian Mu Sochua appeared in court on Wednesday as the judges rejected her appeal of a defamation conviction. (Photo by: Sovan Philong)Thursday, 29 October 2009
Meas Sokchea and Sebastian Strangio
The Phnom Penh Post
“Since [Mu Sochua] is among the most proactive women activists and lawmakers in Cambodia, I am disappointed she wasn’t given more respect” - Thida Keus, executive director of rights group Silaka and secretary general of the Committee to Promote Women in PoliticsTHE Court of Appeal has upheld the defamation conviction of opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua, an outcome the Sam Rainsy Party parliamentarian described as “politically motivated”.
In a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Seng Sivutha affirmed the ruling handed down by the Municipal Court in August, which found Mu Sochua guilty of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen and ordered her to pay a total of 16.5 million riels (US$3,963) in fines and compensation.
During the hearing, Mu Sochua was defiant, appearing in court without a defence attorney and refusing to answer any questions because of her lack of counsel, she said.
“I don’t want other lawyers to become victims like Kong Sam Onn,” she said, referring to her former defence lawyer, who resigned and defected to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party in July after he was also sued for defamation by the premier.
After the hearing, she rejected the court’s decision and pledged to take her appeal to the Supreme Court.
“I’m not going to pay the fine – I’ve said that before clearly,” she said. “I’m just giving the courts of Cambodia another chance to prove that they can do their job.”
In a statement released after the hearing, the SRP decried the outcome as a “mockery of justice” that merely mimicked the verdict handed down in August. “The Appeal Court, ignoring principles of fair trial, blindly affirmed the decision of the Municipal Court: The accused was denied her rights to be represented by a lawyer of her choice, and to be judged by an independent and impartial tribunal,” the party stated.
The prime minister sued Mu Sochua for defamation in April after she filed her own complaint, claiming he referred to her in a speech as a cheung klang – a Khmer term meaning “strong leg” but considered derogatory when used in relation to women. Her own lawsuit against Hun Sen was dismissed by the Appeal Court on October 14.
Hun Sen’s lawyer, Ky Tech, said during the hearing that Mu Sochua’s comments about her own lawyer were an attempt to politicise the issue, and that the wording of Mu Sochua’s lawsuit – in which she requested 500 riels in symbolic compensation – was clear evidence that she aimed to attack and insult the prime minister.
“She held a press conference to defame Samdech Hun Sen and said she would sue [him]. She demanded 500 riels, but this amount could not wash away the stain on her reputation if she had really been defamed by Hun Sen,” Ky Tech said.
“There was only one aim – to defame Samdech Hun Sen.”
Rights activists, however, said the verdict was a clear case of political manipulation.
“Poor people can’t make complaints against high-ranking people. This is the custom of Cambodia,” said Chan Soveth, a senior monitor at local rights group Adhoc.
The outcome of the appeal, he said, was a foregone conclusion from the moment the original verdict was delivered.
“The Phnom Penh court had made its decision already, [a] decision made not by the court but by high-ranking people. The Appeal Court could not make a new ruling,” he said.
Thida Keus, executive director of rights group Silaka and secretary general of the Committee to Promote Women in Politics, said she was disappointed the court did not conduct its own investigations into the case, adding that the verdict could discourage women from getting involved in politics.
“Since [Mu Sochua] is among the most proactive women activists and lawmakers in Cambodia, I am disappointed she wasn’t given more respect,” she said.
“I feel very sad that this has happened – not just for women, but also for the public and the international community who know the judicial system in Cambodia is not free.”
The ruling came a week after the Governing Council of the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union adopted a resolution expressing “deep concern” at the sentencing of Mu Sochua for making statements that “clearly fall within the limits of her freedom of expression”.
The resolution, adopted in Geneva on October 21, also decried the removal of Mu Sochua’s parliamentary immunity in June to pave the way for the defamation case, and said she “did not enjoy her right to legal counsel of her choice” following Kong Sam Onn’s resignation in July.
MEMBERS of a British teachers union expressed dismay at the low salaries of Cambodian teachers during a meeting Tuesday that was part of weeklong conference with the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA) set to conclude Friday, participants said.
The conference has brought together members of the Association
of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and 30 teachers from Phnom Penh and Kandal province.
Phuong Viphou, project coordinator at the British embassy and the organiser of the visit, said she was shocked at the discrepancy between teacher pay in the UK and in Cambodia.
“I hope that teachers’ situation will change in the future in terms of salary, and that the teaching profession will be more respected and recognised, too,” she said Tuesday.
CITA President Rong Chhun said teachers working in the UK earn about US$200 per day, whereas their Cambodian counterparts receive about $2 a day.
Phuong Viphou also said that the visiting ATL representatives might be able to push the government to improve teacher pay during their visit to Cambodia.
Asked to comment Wednesday, the British embassy said in a statement: “The UK is not involved in the education reforms of Cambodia. However, we share the government’s aspirations to raise public-sector pay particularly for teachers and health workers. Obviously, this has to be subject to affordability and aligned with public-sector reforms.”
Ngo Hongly, secretary general of the Council for Administrative Reforms at the Council of Ministers, said the government’s policy was to increase teacher pay each year, adding that average salaries had risen from $19.50 in 2001 to $81.50 this year.
The conference has brought together members of the Association
of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and 30 teachers from Phnom Penh and Kandal province.
Phuong Viphou, project coordinator at the British embassy and the organiser of the visit, said she was shocked at the discrepancy between teacher pay in the UK and in Cambodia.
“I hope that teachers’ situation will change in the future in terms of salary, and that the teaching profession will be more respected and recognised, too,” she said Tuesday.
CITA President Rong Chhun said teachers working in the UK earn about US$200 per day, whereas their Cambodian counterparts receive about $2 a day.
Phuong Viphou also said that the visiting ATL representatives might be able to push the government to improve teacher pay during their visit to Cambodia.
Asked to comment Wednesday, the British embassy said in a statement: “The UK is not involved in the education reforms of Cambodia. However, we share the government’s aspirations to raise public-sector pay particularly for teachers and health workers. Obviously, this has to be subject to affordability and aligned with public-sector reforms.”
Ngo Hongly, secretary general of the Council for Administrative Reforms at the Council of Ministers, said the government’s policy was to increase teacher pay each year, adding that average salaries had risen from $19.50 in 2001 to $81.50 this year.
Hong Kong, China — Last Friday, 10 civil society representatives learned the hard way what a new Asian regional human rights initiative is really all about.
The 10 had expected to meet leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, one representing each country in the grouping, for a chat prior to the launch of the Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.
But the night before, officials from the Foreign Ministry of Thailand – where the event was being held – said that only five would be allowed through the door. When the five arrived at the venue, officials told them that they could not open their mouths.
Welcome to human rights dialogue, ASEAN style.
In a statement, the spurned activists said that the move was “a rejection of both civil society and the democratic process” that “sabotages the credibility” of the new commission. Media reports cited other groups as “bashing” and “deriding” the body.
All this seems to be much ado about nothing.
It was obvious from the start that the purpose of the new ASEAN body is not to protect human rights. Its purpose is the exact opposite.
ASEAN has created the Intergovernmental Commission so that member governments and their own ineffectual rights institutions can push complaints of abuses outside their borders. There they can be professionally watered down and run through various “channels” and “mechanisms” until the original point is forgotten and frustrated complainants give up.
Although the commission is not intended to promote rights, it is aiming to promote members’ campaigns for seats on prestigious international bodies, like the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Thailand has already announced that it will bid for the peak U.N. rights body next year. Its current ambassador to the council was government spokesman when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration was enabling the murder of thousands of alleged drug dealers in 2003.
In his new improved role as ASEAN human rights defender, the ambassador has been working on the intergovernmental body, perhaps with the expectancy of a better seat at the big hall in Geneva.
That these governments are working hard on their human rights diplomacy for reasons other than human rights is unsurprising. That civil society groups have been suckered into the diplomacy agenda is unfortunate.
Not only has it proven to be a complete waste of time and money, but also it is damaging to the defense of human rights in Asia.
Human rights diplomacy causes groups to lose touch with the real work of human rights advocacy. Diplomacy obliges negotiation and compromise. It is the stuff of closed doors and secret handshakes. By contrast, advocacy means standing firm on principles. It is necessarily public and open.
Rights diplomats fear to speak out because they might step on officials’ toes or risk their status with fellow diplomats. They sacrifice their ability to communicate on critically important issues on the streets in order to keep their cherished places at the table.
This is why, for instance, some groups have failed to speak out against the use of the lèse majesté law to silence and imprison people in Thailand, when in principle they ought to have not even hesitated.
Rights diplomats may flatter themselves into thinking that they can make progress through quiet negotiating, as if they were concluding a trade agreement or making an arms deal, but the fact is that this method is inimical to the real work of defending human rights.
This is because the single most important purpose of human rights advocacy is to break open silences and challenge taboos that allow abuses to continue. The work of human rights is to end the censorship of debate on problems that cause violations to persist.
Censorship can only be broken through advocacy. Human rights diplomacy, by contrast, not only reinforces censorship but also forces its participants to engage in self-censorship.
Persons who engage in self-censorship on the pretence of dialogue should expect little sympathy later when they find that they have been made victims of their own attempts at diplomacy, and then cry out that they have been unfairly treated.
But hopefully they will have learned an important lesson, that human rights diplomacy and human rights advocacy are incompatible. Anyone opting to engage in the former can only do so at the cost of giving up on the latter. And to give up on the latter ultimately means to give up on human rights.
--
(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be read at http://ratchasima.net)
The 10 had expected to meet leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, one representing each country in the grouping, for a chat prior to the launch of the Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.
But the night before, officials from the Foreign Ministry of Thailand – where the event was being held – said that only five would be allowed through the door. When the five arrived at the venue, officials told them that they could not open their mouths.
Welcome to human rights dialogue, ASEAN style.
In a statement, the spurned activists said that the move was “a rejection of both civil society and the democratic process” that “sabotages the credibility” of the new commission. Media reports cited other groups as “bashing” and “deriding” the body.
All this seems to be much ado about nothing.
It was obvious from the start that the purpose of the new ASEAN body is not to protect human rights. Its purpose is the exact opposite.
ASEAN has created the Intergovernmental Commission so that member governments and their own ineffectual rights institutions can push complaints of abuses outside their borders. There they can be professionally watered down and run through various “channels” and “mechanisms” until the original point is forgotten and frustrated complainants give up.
Although the commission is not intended to promote rights, it is aiming to promote members’ campaigns for seats on prestigious international bodies, like the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Thailand has already announced that it will bid for the peak U.N. rights body next year. Its current ambassador to the council was government spokesman when former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration was enabling the murder of thousands of alleged drug dealers in 2003.
In his new improved role as ASEAN human rights defender, the ambassador has been working on the intergovernmental body, perhaps with the expectancy of a better seat at the big hall in Geneva.
That these governments are working hard on their human rights diplomacy for reasons other than human rights is unsurprising. That civil society groups have been suckered into the diplomacy agenda is unfortunate.
Not only has it proven to be a complete waste of time and money, but also it is damaging to the defense of human rights in Asia.
Human rights diplomacy causes groups to lose touch with the real work of human rights advocacy. Diplomacy obliges negotiation and compromise. It is the stuff of closed doors and secret handshakes. By contrast, advocacy means standing firm on principles. It is necessarily public and open.
Rights diplomats fear to speak out because they might step on officials’ toes or risk their status with fellow diplomats. They sacrifice their ability to communicate on critically important issues on the streets in order to keep their cherished places at the table.
This is why, for instance, some groups have failed to speak out against the use of the lèse majesté law to silence and imprison people in Thailand, when in principle they ought to have not even hesitated.
Rights diplomats may flatter themselves into thinking that they can make progress through quiet negotiating, as if they were concluding a trade agreement or making an arms deal, but the fact is that this method is inimical to the real work of defending human rights.
This is because the single most important purpose of human rights advocacy is to break open silences and challenge taboos that allow abuses to continue. The work of human rights is to end the censorship of debate on problems that cause violations to persist.
Censorship can only be broken through advocacy. Human rights diplomacy, by contrast, not only reinforces censorship but also forces its participants to engage in self-censorship.
Persons who engage in self-censorship on the pretence of dialogue should expect little sympathy later when they find that they have been made victims of their own attempts at diplomacy, and then cry out that they have been unfairly treated.
But hopefully they will have learned an important lesson, that human rights diplomacy and human rights advocacy are incompatible. Anyone opting to engage in the former can only do so at the cost of giving up on the latter. And to give up on the latter ultimately means to give up on human rights.
--
(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be read at http://ratchasima.net)