The ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened its first meeting under the Chairmanship of Singapore from 24 to 26 January 2018. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Ambassador Barry Desker, the Representative of Singapore to the AICHR.
Representative to the AICHR, H.E. Ambassador Barry Desker (Photo: ASEAN CSR)
During the transfer of the ASEAN Chairship from the Philippines to Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong accentuated the ASEAN tag-line for the year 2018: “resilience and innovation” as an engine to consolidate regional cooperation in a shifting global landscape.
During this three-day event, the delegations were informed of the ongoing Priority Programme and Activities at AICHR including but not limited to the AICHR Thematic Study on Women in Natural Disasters which was led by the previous Chair — AICHR Philippines.
On the issue of strengthening cooperation, the Meeting was briefed on the development of the ASEAN Enabling Master Plan on the Mainstreaming of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities within the ASEAN Community by 2025.
26th Meeting of the AICHR in Singapore (Photo: Facebook)
On the second day, the representatives of member states visited the Enabling Village, an initiative by Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development among others.
It presented social enterprises that balanced commercial success with moral imperatives trying to prove that people with disabilities can also make robust and significant contributions to their community at large.
The next meeting of the AICHR will take place in May 2018 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
By MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
