AICHR hosts the ASEAN Forum on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
BANTEN, 26 July 2024– The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) conducted an ASEAN Forum on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly to promote the implementation of Article 24 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) on 15-16 July 2024 in Banten, Indonesia.
The purposes of the Forum were to provide a platform for sharing measures and building the capacity of relevant actors on the implementation of Article 24 of AHRD on the right to peaceful assembly. The Forum also aimed to establish a platform to improve the skills and knowledge of the practitioners in implementing Article 24 of AHRD.
During the Forum, the Representative of Indonesia to AICHR, Wahyuningrum, emphasised the importance of ensuring the protection of the right to peaceful assembly, whether in various settings including; outdoors, indoors, online; in public and private spaces; or a combination thereof. She further emphasised that the right to peaceful assembly cannot be fully secured unless other rights, such as freedom of expression, association, and participation, are also protected.
Ambassador Chilman Arisman from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia underscored that the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly are very central components of ASEAN as a people-centred community, to express their aspirations, as part of the fulfilment of their rights towards equitable social progress.
The Forum was attended by more than 60 participants who participated in both online and in-person formats. Participants shared best practices and challenges in upholding the right to freedom of assembly in ASEAN member states and discussed challenges in exercising such rights in different contexts such as in their work of countering violent extremism, trafficking in persons, promoting the rights of migrant workers and refugees, children, women and persons with disabilities as well as in promoting freedom of expression, religion and belief.
Participants also discussed some restrictions and procedural issues on the implementation of the right to freedom of assembly and came up with some recommendations for AICHR:
· to raise awareness on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and facilitate a regular dialogue among policymakers and practitioners to exchange experiences as well as best practices in managing freedom of peaceful assembly.
· to consider developing guidelines on how to tackle unrest situations/rallies for law enforcement officers.
· to encourage ASEAN member states to apply a human rights-based approach in policing assemblies.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, Gina Paola Romero, gave a specific session on the Practical Toolkit for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests in the Forum.
AICHR Indonesia and Thailand organised the Forum with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, demonstrating a collective commitment to advancing human rights with the ASEAN Region.
