CHRC chair Keo Remy during the 35th Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) meeting on June 21. - CHRC
PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/Asia News Network): The Cambodian Human Rights Committee, as chair of the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) 2022, is hosting a three-day conference to review and approve a number of documents related to promoting human rights in the region.
The 35th meeting of AICHR will run from June 21-23 via video conference. Keo Remy, chairman of both the Cambodian committee and AICHR 2022, will chair the meeting, with representatives of all Asean member states and the Asean Secretariat participating.
AICHR said in a June 21 press statement that the meeting will review, consult and approve meeting notes and documents related to its activities.
It would also review the progress of implemented past programmes and review the concept documents of AICHR priority programmes or activities which are scheduled for implementation this year.
The meeting will focus on preparing three documents for the annual meeting of the Asean Foreign Ministers’ in early of August. These include the AICHR 2022 annual report, the AICHR chairman’s statement to the foreign ministers and the AICHR priority programmes and activities for 2023.
Committee vice-president Chin Malin, who attended the first day of meetings, told The Post that the key documents should be ready for the foreign ministers meeting, which would be chaired by Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn.
“The meeting discussed plans to prepare for 2023, and AICHR’s plans to report to the Asean Foreign Ministers on Aug 2, in Cambodia,” Malin said.
Malin said the current conference would also discuss regional general human rights’ updates. It would not focus on any specific country, but on current human rights developments, improvement and challenges.
AICHR’s core work focused on education and promoting human rights. This included women and children’s rights, the rights of people with disabilities, the prevention of torture, freedom of religion, freedom of expression, access to clean water and sanitation, access to health care and the right to citizenship, he said.
“These rights are promoted via education, promotion, and awareness-raising by all stakeholders. This is the core work of AICHR – promoting human rights in the region,” he added.
