Regional HR mechanism for South Asia urgent
Workshop told
Saarc does not have a comprehensive programme to address human rights, so there is an urgent need to formulate a regional human rights mechanism for South Asia, said speakers at a two-day workshop yesterday.
They argued that civil society institutions and people's movements in the region can take the lead, in the absence of meaningful regional cooperation from states, in positing a regional framework for upholding human rights.
The workshop, “National Consultation on South Asian Human Rights Mechanismâ€, was held at National Academy for Planning and Development in the capital.
Regional Initiative for South Asian Human Rights Mechanism, a network of organisations and individuals working to create an environment conducive to the framework's establishment, organised the workshop.
Chairing the workshop, Ain o Salish Kendra Executive Director Sultana Kamal said it was unfortunate that there was so little regional cooperation among the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries on key issues.
However, different regions around the world have made tremendous progress in working together to establish regional interests, justice, peace and human rights, she said.
Sultana Kamal pointed out that in Saarc, no decision could be reached if one country vetoes while a state cannot be challenged on an issue that it deemed “sensitiveâ€.
In addition, issues that are of bilateral nature, such as border killings, are also left out of Saarc discussions, stated speakers at the workshop.
“Human rights should be elevated to a supranational level, whereby human rights will take precedence over individual states,†said National Human Rights Commission Chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman while addressing as the guest of honour.
He also argued that the intractable positions of certain Saarc states pose a serious constraint to meaningful regional discussions and actions.
“If civil society bodies and ordinary people can find commonalities and a common language, why can not the governments?†he asked.
Another guest of honour, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, said each state must decide how it would envision state sovereignty and how much freedom it would give to citizens.
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