FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

13 September 2010

Press inquiries:

Rully Sandra, +62-815-912-7075

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Website: http://www.hrrca.org

Marzuki Darusman Appointed as

Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA) Founding Director

Jakarta, Aug. 24 – The Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA) appointed a veteran Indonesian human rights campaigner, Mr. Marzuki Darusman, as its founding Chairman/Director.

Mr. Darusman will oversee the HRRCA’s agenda to provide research, education, and training on human rights issues in the ASEAN region, including rule of law, judicial independence, women and children’s issues, indigenous peoples, migrant labor rights, regulatory environments for human rights, and law enforcement approaches.

Darusman, a former Attorney General and past Chairman of Indonesia’s National Human Rights Commission, has deep knowledge of and practical experience in the ASEAN region’s legal and regulatory systems.  Over the past 20 years he has earned a reputation as a leading regional human rights advocate through his leadership of the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism that ultimately resulted in the formation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. He was recently appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea, and is also Chair of the UN Secretary General's Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka.

The HRRCA, headquartered at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, is a network of academic and civil society institutions that seek to complement and support the work of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and provide a strong regional focus on human rights research, capacity building, training and teaching.  Current partner institutions include the University of Indonesia, Ateneo University School of Law (Philippines), the University of Malaya (Malaysia), and the Law School of the National University of Singapore. The Islamic University of Indonesia, which has a strong interest in human rights training, is the HRRCA’s first affiliate institution.

Through collaboration with these partner and affiliated university-based institutions across ASEAN, the HRRCA’s research, training, and capacity building projects will contribute to the development of human rights throughout the region.

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HRRCA Board Chair Ong Keng Yong presiding over the grant signing between SEARCH and newly-appointed HRRCA director Marzuki.

PRESS RELEASE

Regional Study of Human Rights and the Rule of Law Launched

Jakarta, Sept. 20 – The Human Rights Resource Centre for ASEAN (HRRCA) has launched a study to analyze the legal framework supporting human rights in ASEAN.  The study will include country reports on all ten ASEAN Member States and is the Centre’s first research project. Researchers from at least eight of the ten ASEAN Member States will contribute to the study.

Adherence to good governance and rule of law as well as the promotion and protection of human rights are core principles contained in the ASEAN Charter.  The HRRCA’s study will survey key issues associated with the rule of law and good governance as they relate to the protection and promotion of human rights in ASEAN member states.  As a first step, researchers will gather in early October to finalize the survey to be used to develop the country reports.  The country reports will be finalized in early 2011 and a regional summary will be prepared thereafter.  The complete report will be presented at an ASEAN-wide human rights conference planned for March 2011.

The lead author of the complete report will be Mahdev Mohan, Assistant Professor of Law of the Singapore Management University, and Associate Fellow of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.  Program oversight is provided by Marzuki Darusman, former Attorney General of the Republic of Indonesia and founding Chairman/Director of the HRRCA.

“Strengthening rule of law is vital to the further development of human rights in ASEAN. Assisting ASEAN Member States in identifying potential gaps in their implementation of the rule of law is critical for establishing systems for protecting and promoting human rights,” said Marzuki Darusman.

“With the benefit of expert researchers who understand each ASEAN country’s human rights framework, this study seeks to identify paths towards achieving greater coherence regarding the commitment in the ASEAN Charter to promote and protect human rights,” added Mahdev Mohan.

The HRRCA, headquartered at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, is an independent network of academic and civil society institutions that seek to complement and support the work of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and provide a strong regional focus on human rights research, capacity building, training and teaching.  The current partner institutions of the HRRCA are the University of Indonesia, Ateneo University School of Law (Philippines), the University of Malaya (Malaysia), and the Law School of the National University of Singapore. The Islamic University of Indonesia, which has a strong interest in human rights training, is the HRRCA’s first affiliate institution.

Through its network of partner and affiliated university-based institutions across ASEAN, the HRRCA is supporting the development of human rights in ASEAN through research, training, and capacity building.

The HRRCA will hold its official launch in Jakarta on October 19.  Senior officials from Indonesia, ASEAN, the United States and Canada are scheduled to attend.

The human rights and rule of law study being supported at the HRRCA’s request by the U.S. Government-supported ASEAN-US Technical Assistance and Training Facility (www.advanceiqc.com/facility) and the Canadian International Development Agency-supported Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation in Human Development Project (www.searchproject.ca).

Contact

If you have any queries regarding this study, please feel free to contact Rully Sandra at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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The Governing Board of the HRRCA, Jakarta, 2010.