Southeast Asian leaders launch human rights body

CHA-AM, THAILAND — Southeast Asian nations inaugurated their first regional human rights commission Friday, a watchdog immediately derided as toothless by activists who walked out of a meeting to protest being snubbed by five of the governments involved.

The annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations earlier began inauspiciously when half the bloc’s 10 leaders failed to show up at the opening of the three-day conference due to a tropical storm, domestic politics, a VIP visit and a possible illness.

One of the first orders of business was the inauguration of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights. Critics say the commission will do little to deter human rights violators because it focuses on promotion — rather than protection — of human rights and has no authority to impose punishments.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva defended the commission a “a significant milestone” — it is the first human rights watchdog in ASEAN’s 42-year history.

“The issue of human rights is not about condemnation, but about awareness,” Abhisit said, adding that improving human rights is an “evolutionary process.”

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