Special Meeting 2/2021 of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

Special Meeting 2/2021 of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights Special Meeting 2/2021 of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened its Special Meeting 2/2021 on 23-24 November 2021 via videoconference. The Meeting was chaired by H.E Hajah Nor Hashimah Haji Mohammed Taib, Representative of Brunei Darussalam to AICHR, and was attended by Representatives/Alternate Representatives of AICHR, and the ASEAN Secretariat.

The Meeting deliberated on progress of the implementation of the AICHR Priority Programmes/Activities of 2021, especially the ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue and some thematic areas, such as rights of the child, rights of persons with disabilities, human rights and migration, human rights and the environment, and trafficking in persons. Institutional matters were discussed, including the development of the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework of the AICHR Five-Year Work Plan 2021-2025, and the transition between the AICHR Representatives of 2019-2021 and the incoming AICHR Representatives of 2022-2024.

The Meeting took note of the information submitted by the civil society organisations (CSOs) having consultative relationship with AICHR, as well as of the handling of letters of correspondence to AICHR by the ASEAN Secretariat. The Meeting was also updated on recent developments and initiatives on human rights by the AICHR Representatives of Indonesia and the Philippines in their respective countries.

At this meeting, AICHR met with Australian Mission to ASEAN and the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), as well as with the Southeast Asia National Human Rights Institution Forum (SEANF) and discussed future cooperation in the areas of mutual interests under the framework of the Five-Year Work Plan of the AICHR 2021-2025 and the Priority Programmes/Activities of AICHR 2022.

The Meeting concluded with a handover ceremony from Brunei Darussalam as the Chair of AICHR to Cambodia. The Meeting expressed its appreciation to H.E. Hajah Nor Hashimah Haji Mohammed Taib and the Secretariat for excellent arrangements as the Chair of AICHR, and welcomed Cambodia as the Chair of AICHR 2022.