Transcript of the Reply by Foreign Minister George Yeo to Questions in Parliament on ASEAN, 9 April 2007

Professor Thio Li-Ann: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) if he will provide an update on plans to establish an ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children under the Vientiane Action Programme and what form will such a Commission take in terms of supervisory or monitoring powers; (b) whether Singapore supports an ASEAN mechanism for protecting human rights in general; and (c) whether the ASEAN Charter will incorporate provisions to promote and protect human rights and to adopt measures to realise this objective.

REPLY:

Discussions within ASEAN on the establishment of an ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children are on-going. ASEAN officials are looking at possible modalities. Track II discussions on this issue, organised by the Working Group on an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism, are also concurrently ongoing among civil society, academia and government agencies. There have been two consultations conducted to date, with the last one taking place last week in Bangkok.

I believe that Professor Thio attended the first Track II consultation on the Commission in November last year, and I thank her for taking an interest in this issue. I understand that some preliminary proposals on the modalities of the Commission will be submitted to the ASEAN Senior Officials later this year. We look forward to receiving them.

As for the question on whether Singapore supports an ASEAN mechanism for protecting human rights in general, there is a growing consensus of the need to protect and promote human rights as we step up our community building efforts. The fact that measures such as human rights education, the rights of women and children, and the rights of migrant workers have been inscribed in ASEAN's own action plan reflects its growing importance. Singapore supports the moves within ASEAN to raise the general level of awareness of human rights, including the rule of law and good governance, as they are all inter-related.

At the same time, we should respect the diversity within ASEAN. ASEAN members are at different stages of development, each with its own history, culture and heritage. Any regional mechanism for human rights has to take this diversity into account.

Human rights are best protected when they are underpinned by strong economic, cultural and social foundations. Sound national policies that promote economic growth, raise living standards and provide basic social welfare are more important than any regional mechanism.

Drafting of the ASEAN Charter is on-going. There is a clear consensus within ASEAN that the Charter will contain a strong affirmation of the respect for human rights, as one of the basic principles of ASEAN. We have still not decided whether to have a Human Rights Commission. Being a Constitution, the Charter cannot go into details like a specific action plan. Instead, it should allow for the introduction of specific measures as and when the Leaders agree on them.

Supplementary Question

Professor Thio Li-Ann: I would like to ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs a supplementary question. I would like to ask, whether in his opinion, he discerns a shift among ASEAN member states in our willingness to raise human rights concerns with each other, and whether this is a qualification to the principle of non-intervention in internal affairs. And also, Singapore as a responsible member of the international community, do we have any concerns about the human rights practices of other ASEAN members, and are we going to raise these with them? Or do human rights issues remain within the OB markers for international affairs?

Reply:

Mr Speaker Sir, I assure Professor Thio that among Foreign Ministers, and among the Leaders and Ministers of ASEAN, that there is growing interest in this field -- a growing acceptance that we are interdependent, we live together in one global community. Therefore there should be minimum human standards which govern our behaviour. But as to what specific steps we should take, these are issues that we have got to think over and compromise on. Should Singapore be telling what our neighbours should do? I don't think we should do that, because to begin with, why should they accept what we tell them? The best that we can do is to achieve high standards in Singapore, and then set an example which others would naturally want to study. And if we lead, let's lead by example.

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