The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Saturday lauded foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members for agreeing to the terms of reference (TOR) for the establishment of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

In an official statement, the CHR said "with the approval and official release of the 'Terms of Reference' (TOR) on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), the peoples of ASEAN now have a glimpse of the form and shape of the future ASEAN human rights body, with an explicit mandate to protect and promote human rights."

The CHR said that it had worked for the approval of the TOR, saying the Philippine representative to the High Level Panel involved in its drafting articulated a "progressive view of human rights."

"For more than a decade, the commission, in solidarity with other stakeholders, had campaigned long and hard for a platform on which human rights will be given the prominence it rightfully deserves in the ASEAN community. Along with the other national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in the region, CHR envisioned an effective human rights body clothed with sufficient powers and functions to protect and promote human rights in the sub-region," it added.

"But as set out in its TOR, the mandate of the AICHR is focused mainly on the promotion of human rights. While this is a far cry from the expectations of the NHRIs and other stakeholders, the commission nevertheless will look at the entry points in the TOR where the future leadership of the AICHR can creatively interpret to give flesh to the primary purpose of this human rights mechanism to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of the peoples of ASEAN. Indeed, as any foundling institution, the AICHR is still very much a work in progress, which all stakeholders are responsible for its full development," CHR noted.

AICHR will be launched in October as "only the first concrete step towards building greater consensus and raising consciousness among ASEAN member states of the importance of human rights in the region. Even as it welcomes this milestone event, the commission is concerned about the inherent weaknesses of this inter-governmental consultative body."

The CHR said it calls on the Philippine government "to appoint an independent-minded representative with an extensive human rights experience and expertise, and who can act will impartiality and integrity.”

At the same time, it said all representatives to this body shall adopt rules of procedure and processes that will flesh out the consultative nature of the body's work.

"We also call on the other stakeholders -- civil society organizations --to join ranks in handholding the birthing of this body and support it as it takes the crucial steps towards its own development in an evolutionary process," it stressed.

"We urge the future leadership of the AICHR to be as dynamic as possible to be able to keep in step with the international developments in human rights standards, norms and practices," it said. "We welcome Item 4, in which the AICHR is mandated 'to consult with national, regional and international institutions and entities concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights,' the commission envisages a collaborative and cooperative working relationship and necessarily, a mechanism for regular consultation and dialogue with NHRIs, commissions for vulnerable sectors, and other stakeholders must be established," CHR said.

"Consultation and dialogue should cover areas where AICHR and NHRIs can launch cooperative and collaborative efforts in both promotion and protection activities, including technical assistance. It is in such partnership arrangements where the AICHR and the NHRIs will be most effective as they reinforce each other in the promotion and protection of human rights," the statement said.