Dr. Carolina Hernandez;
Dr. Colin Duerkop;
Dr. Ann Hsiao;
Dr. Noel Morada;
Distinguished participants and guests;
Friends:

Let me, at the outset, congratulate the ASEAN-ISIS and ISDS, and in particular AICOHR for this most noble and worthy project, the ASEAN ISIS Colloquium on Human Rights.

For ASEAN-ISIS and ISDS, 2006 marks the 13th year of the AICOHR.  In an age noted for a sea-world of change, to be able to maintain and sustain the relevance of such a forum is no mean feat.

We have heard what Dr. Hernandez has said at the beginning of this colloquium.  Her statement has encouraged us a lot.  But we know that there is still a lot to be done.

For ASEAN-ISIS, this is the 20th year of their Asia Pacific Roundtable for Confidence Building and Tension Reduction.  It is also the fifth time that they will be holding the ASEAN People’s Assembly.

The invitation to keynote this year’s AICOHR coincides with what is a particularly important series of events for both ASEAN and the Philippines, as well as for the ASEAN-ISIS and ISDS.  This year, the Eminent Persons Group for the ASEAN Charter will submit its report to the ASEAN Heads of State and Government.  Their report will focus mainly on the key elements of the ASEAN Charter, but the substance of their work will significantly contribute to shaping the future of ASEAN itself.

Whatever its final form, the ASEAN Charter will be a critical document in helping ensure the realization of the Bali Concord II’s envisioned ASEAN Community of three pillars:  the ASEAN Economic Community, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, and, of course, the theme of this meeting, the ASEAN Security Community.

2006 is also a special year for us in the Philippines as it is the year when we will assume the ASEAN Security Community Chair and host the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in December, along with other ASEAN and ASEAN-related regional activities, as well as the 2nd East-Asia Summit.

Aside from its commitments to ASEAN, the Philippines is also a responsible member of the United Nations, especially in the area of human rights. It has consistently sought to live up to the spirit of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and comply with its obligations as a signatory to seven major international human rights instruments, namely the:

1. Convention on Civil and Political Rights;
2. Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
3. Convention   on   the   Elimination   of   All   Forms   of   Racial Discrimination;
4. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;
5. Convention  Against Torture  and  Other Cruel,   Inhuman  or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
6. Convention on the Rights of the Child; and
7. Convention on the  Protection of the Rights of all  Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.

The country's 1987 Constitution embodies the Philippines commitment to human rights promotion, protection and observance. The Bill of Rights and other relevant constitutional provisions guarantee civil, political, social, and cultural rights for all Filipinos. It abolished the dyadic concept of "majority/minority" applied to our citizens, and instead myriad ethno-linguistic groups – over 85 of them – are seen as equal cultural communities.

In recognition of our substantial Muslim population, the 1987 Constitution provides for the establishment of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao. The people of five provinces chose to constitute this region to form a referendum.

To ensure peace and sustained development for the Southern Philippines, the government signed a peace agreement with the MNLF in 1996, is presently negotiating peace with the MILF, and has set up the Southern Philippines Peace and Development Council.

In the cases of both the MNLF and the MILF, ASEAN member-states have been instrumental in the peace process. Indonesia, together with the OIC member-countries, was a key partner in the negotiations with the MNLF. Malaysia is now the chief mediator between the Philippine government and the MILF. And in fact, the prospect looks good.  Hopefully this year, we will sign the peace accord with the MILF.

Consistent with human rights promotion and protection, and pursuant to the 1987 Constitution, the Philippines has set up the Philippine Commission on Human  Rights, one of the five constitutionally mandated bodies autonomous of the executive and legislative branches of government.

The Philippine Commission on Human  Rights is the only institution in the ASEAN region mandated to exercise oversight powers over the military.

No high-ranking military officer can be promoted without a certification from the PCHR that he or she has undergone training in human rights and international humanitarian law. Neither can the officer be promoted without a PCHR certification that no case of human rights violations was filed against the officer before the Commission. Both the military and the police also undergo training in human rights and international humanitarian law conducted by the PCHR.

The Philippine government has responded to the challenges of democratic consolidation by observing human rights within the framework of the rule of law and due process.

No society can survive under conditions of chaos and anarchy. While enjoying rights such as freedom of expression, assembly and the press, citizens also need to recognize and observe their limits; thus the prohibition against libel, slander, and other similar acts resulting in injury to others.

Rights are not synonymous to license. Only the responsible and judicious exercise of these rights can conduce to peace and stability - conditions so essential to the kind of environment hospitable to economic development and prosperity which we all desire.

The honor conferred upon the Philippines by the international community recently through its election into the newly-established United Nations Human Rights Council clearly bears out the goodwill and respect that the Philippines has earned, and the reputation it has gained internationally for its continuing work on the advancement of human rights. The Philippines joins 46 other members of the United Nations in a body whose primary purpose is human rights promotion and protection.

The Philippine membership in the Human Rights Council highlights its role as an exemplar for human rights in the region – more so as ASEAN moves towards the establishment of an ASEAN Security Community.

This concept is envisaged to bring the level of political and security cooperation in the ASEAN to a much higher plane. The overall vision behind it is a region of countries at peace with each other, and with the world at large, in the context of a just, democratic and harmonious environment.

All these ideas, however, are dependent on one crucial element: the commitment of each government to enact laws and policies that will promote this kind of environment. All this must necessarily include the protection and promotion of human rights in the region.

The Vientiane Action Program more specifically enumerates what our obligations are.  First of all, we must promote human rights and the obligation of states and governments towards human rights promotion and protection.

Then, we must

• strengthen   the   rule   of  law,   the  judiciary   and   our   legal, infrastructures;

• build collective responsibilities and adhere to norms of good conduct in a democratic, tolerant, participatory and open community;

• work towards the establishment of an ASEAN humanitarian crisis management/assistance center;

• raise the living standards of marginalized and disadvantaged groups by increasing government capacities in rural development and poverty alleviation;

• facilitate universal access to education;

• support programs that reduce social risks faced by children, women, the elderly and persons with disabilities;

• increase the effective participation of family, civil society and the private sector in tackling poverty and social welfare issues; and

• increase the participation of women and youth in the productive workforce.

AICOHR has always been about human rights promotion, actively engaged in general and specific issues relating to human rights norm building. AICOHR has been contributing and ontinues to contribute to the attainment of the objectives of the ASEAN Security Community.

The process of political change is making strides in ASEAN. The increasing role of civil society groups and peoples’ organizations in pushing for more people-oriented development in ASEAN, the increasing interaction between civil society groups within and outside the region, the increasing role of global mass media and information technology in educating people, the potential of a growing middle class in opening up greater political space, the impact of demographic change which sees the emergence of a more vocal and demanding younger generation of people with higher expectations of greater accountability from states and governments all point to this.

It is, however, through mechanisms such as the Colloquium that ideas that bring people together and create communities find their beginnings.

Friends, the work ahead of us is clear  – to promote human rights as an essential part of the ASEAN Security Community.   Consider this as no longer just a beginning, but a continuing process which we hope will, at the end, result in making human rights that is an essential part of our daily lives.

May you have a fruitful and productive meeting. Thank you and mabuhay to all of you.  END