Press Release – AICHR Official Visit to Switzerland, 30 September – 2 October 2023, Geneva & Berne, Switzerland
The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) held its Official Visit to Switzerland from 30 September to 2 October 2023 in Geneva and Berne, with Timor-Leste’s participation as an observer.
AICHR Representatives met with Officials of the Peace and Human Rights Division, the Asia and Pacific Division, and the Asia – Latin America and Caribbean Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland (FDFA) in Berne. Discussions between AICHR and FDFA focused on an exchange of recent developments, opportunities and challenges in the promotion and protection of human rights.
Based on the ASEAN-Switzerland Sectoral Dialogue Partnership: Practical Cooperation Areas (2022-2026), AICHR and Switzerland reviewed their work in the past year and explored opportunities to further cooperation on human rights through training programmes, regional dialogues and other capacity-building initiatives. AICHR and FDFA also discussed South East Asia Strategy 2023-2026, particularly on human rights cooperation.
During the Visit, AICHR Representatives also had a round table discussion with the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT). The constructive and substantive exchange with APT on a preventive approach to torture resonated with AICHR’s campaign for the implementation of Article 14 of the ASEAN Declaration on Human Rights, as well as AICHR’s effort toward realising Southeast Asia as a torture-free region.
The AICHR Official Visit to Switzerland contributed to the implementation of the ASEAN-Switzerland Sectoral Dialogue Partnership. It reaffirmed the importance of dialogue and cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights.
