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October 22, 2009 18:47 PM
Muhammad Shafee To Represent Malaysia In Asean Human Rights Body
HUA HIN, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner, Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, has been appointed Malaysia's representative to the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (Aichr).
Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman said the prominent lawyer's appointment was approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak after being proposed by Wisma Putra.
He said Muhammad Shafee was nominated as Malaysia needed a man of integrity and who had the knowledge and passion for human rights
"He (Muhammad Shafee) should be able to represent Malaysia well and defend allegations unfairly labelled against us. We have a prominent lawyer as our representative to show how serious we are, and of course it's not a political motive," he told the media after arriving here to attend the 15th Asean Summit and Related Summits.
Aichr, the first regional human rights body in the Asia-Pacific region and aimed at promoting and protecting human rights in the grouping, will be launched by the 10 Asean leaders, here, Friday.
The terms of reference for Aichr were approved during the 42nd Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phuket last July. Each representative will serve a three-year term.
On the criticism by civil society groups that Aichr would be toothless as it cannot interfere in member country's domestic affairs, Anifah said it was not a perfect body.
"There must be a starting point to set human rights standards. You can't just tell everybody has to conform to a certain kind of standard. Everybody has different priorities in terms of human rights," he said.
Homayoun Alizadeh, regional representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said there were much hope and expectations surrounding the launching of Aichr, as it represented an important commitment by the members to move beyond mere words and towards the implementation of their human rights commitment on the ground.
"As Asean pursues its Asean Vision 2020, now moved forward to 2015, to create a 'community of caring societies', Aichr will have to work hard to establish itself as a credible regional mechanism and help close the gap between human rights rhetoric and the reality on the ground," he said in a statement.
-- BERNAMA
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