KUALA LUMPUR – There is a need for Asean to strengthen its agencies responsible for advocating and enforcing human rights to counter rising intolerance and marginalisation in the region, said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).
Commissioner Jerald Joseph said agencies like the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights need to be empowered to conduct investigations into cases involving racial and religious discrimination.
“They need to be able to receive complaints and make recommendations, as well as conduct fact-finding missions on cross-border issues,” he told a webinar, titled “Racial and Religious Discrimination in Asean: A Need for a More Inclusive Asean”, organised by the Asean People’s Forum yesterday.
He said the region is culturally diverse, with each member nation having various ethnic groups, some of whom do not get fair treatment under majoritarian rule.
The bloc’s charter maps members’ direction on a host of issues, including the promotion and protection of human rights and humanitarian laws, he said.
“Individual countries tend to take a non-interventional approach when it comes to cross-border issues, when in fact, these issues need to be tackled because they concern our most basic human rights.”
He cited Myanmar’s purge of the Rohingya that led to hundreds of thousands of the persecuted Muslim minority seeking refuge in neighbouring countries, including Malaysia.
Most of them are now living at refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
“We need to find a long-lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis. They cannot be staying in Cox’s Bazar forever,” said Jerald.
He urged Asean nations to each have a human rights commission to address discrimination. – The Vibes, November 7, 2020
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