ASEAN's Newest Body Makes Its Debut
Cha-Am Hua Hin, 23 October 2009
Marking an important step in ASEAN's evolution, the ASEAN Leaders today inaugurated the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).
To welcome the establishment of the Commission, the Leaders adopted the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Inauguration of the AICHR. The Declaration envisages the AICHR as the overarching institution responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in ASEAN as the region's cooperation on human rights itself continues to evolve and develop.
"AICHR is not an end in itself but an evolutionary process towards strengthening the human rights architecture within the region," said H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand, in his remarks at the Inaugural Ceremony of the AICHR at the 15th ASEAN Summit in Cha-am Hua Hin.
Prime Minister Abhisit also announced that the ASEAN Member States have committed themselves to provide USD 200,000 as seed money to support the activities of the Commission in its first year of operations.
The terms of reference of the AICHR will be reviewed every five years to further develop and strengthen the mandate and function of the body.
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