'Asean declaration falls short on human rights'

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, yesterday said drafts of the Asean Declaration of Human Rights may not meet international human rights standards.
Pillay said the Declaration should be postponed, because of the inadequate involvement of civil society and other stakeholders in the drafting of the Declaration.
She said the document places restrictions in the name of "regional and national particularities", and creates requirements such as the balancing of rights and duties.
"They have to adhere to the universal standards adopted by all states under the UN charter," Pillay told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific at the close of the Bali Democracy Forum.
Pillay also said she met with Burma's Deputy Foreign Minister at the Forum to discuss the human rights situation in Rakhine state.
"[I] urged that Myanmar should show more concern for the suffering and loss of life in the communities impacted by the violence there," she said.
"If the communal violence is not resolved it can undermine the reform process in Myanmar.
"One of the underlying causes of the violence since June between communities in Rakhine state is the endemic discrimination against the 800,000 Rohingya."