News Desk
The Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) has written an open letter to all governments of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, to request for a possibility of establishing a human rights mechanism in South Asia.
There is no regional mechanism on Human Rights in South Asia such as in Europe, America, Africa and recent as in Southeast Asia except SAARC ‘Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’ of the people of the region.A regional mechanism can help address this problem to ensure that all SAARC member states adhere to international human rights standards; to provide a common platform where SAARC member states, being socio-politically different from each other, can articulate their human rights-related concerns; and to cooperate to address violations and collectively show its stand on human rights-related issues.
The establishment of the regional human rights body can play fundamental role in protecting and promoting international human rights standards by helping to address shortcomings in national frameworks and complement existing international human rights mechanisms.INSEC and Forum Asia urged SAARC to promote the increased and institutionalized role of civil society groups to encourage their full integration in the process of the establishment and development of the SAARC human rights body, to create a “people-oriented SAARC”. “Engaging civil society and deriving international experience through it would be valuable process to internalize SAARC with the people of the region.”
Text of the letter is as follows:
Open letter on possibility for SAARC Human Rights Instruments
Dear All Governments of SAARC and Secretary General of SAARC,
Greetings from PVCHR.
There is no regional mechanism on Human Rights in South Asia such as in Europe, America, Africa and recent as in Southeast Asia except SAARC ‘Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms’ of the people of the region.A regional mechanism can help address this problem to ensure that all SAARC member states adhere to international human rights standards; to provide a common platform where SAARC member states, being socio-politically different from each other, can articulate their human rights-related concerns; and to cooperate to address violations and collectively show its stand on human rights-related issues.
The establishment of the regional human rights body can play fundamental role in protecting and promoting international human rights standards by helping to address shortcomings in national frameworks and complement existing international human rights mechanisms.
INSEC and Forum Asia urged SAARC to promote the increased and institutionalized role of civil society groups to encourage their full integration in the process of the establishment and development of the SAARC human rights body, to create a “people-oriented SAARC”. “Engaging civil society and deriving international experience through it would be valuable process to internalize SAARC with the people of the region.”
Please see :
http://www.inseconline.org/index.php?type=news&id=6485&lang=en
http://www.inseconline.org/index.php?type=news&id=6488&lang=en
http://www.indigenousportal.com/Human-Rights/SAARC-It-s-time-to-establish-human-rights-body.html
PVCHR supports the Colombo statement off SAARC on Children ,but it is high and right time to establish the South Asian human Rights mechanism.Please see my presentation on p
ossibility for SAARC Human Rights Instruments:
Human Rights commission of Pakistan, LOKOJ (Bangladesh), People’s forum for Human Rights (Bhutan), Wiros Lokh Institute (Sri Lanka), PVCHR (India) and INSEC (Nepal) organized the South Asina Peoples’ Forum for establishment of Peoples’ SAARC by SAARC.Please the details:http://www.pvchr.org/sapf.htm
Please do needful for establishment of SAARC Human Rights mechanism and Peoples’ SAARC for rule of law and peace in South Asia.
With Kind Regars,
Dr. Lenin
2007 Gwanju Human Rights Awardee
Executive Director-PVCHR
Mobile:+91-9935599333
