Press Release – AICHR Workshop on Best Practice Approaches for implementing accepted UPR Recommendations
LUANG PRABANG, 12 December 2024 – The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened the AICHR Workshop on Best Practice Approaches for Implementing Accepted UPR Recommendations on 11-12 December 2024 in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR.
The event brought together over 60 participants, including representatives of AICHR; ASEAN Member States, including relevant line-ministries of the Lao PDR, Ministry of Justice of Thailand, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (International Organisations Department) of Viet Nam and Malaysia; ASEAN Secretariat; Timor-Leste; civil society organisations; Regional Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in South-East Asia (OHCHR); Australian Embassy to the Lao PDR, Australian Human Rights Commission, and Australian Attorney General’s Department.
This workshop is part of AICHR’s Five-Year Work Plan 2021-2025 to strengthen the implementation of international human rights treaty obligations by ASEAN Member States. It provided a platform for government officials, civil society organisations, and external partners to exchange experiences, lessons learned, and best practices on implementing accepted Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations. The workshop sought to enhance understanding of the UPR process and its value in promoting and protecting human rights; exchange best practices and experiences for implementing UPR recommendations; and strengthen collaboration among ASEAN Member States and external partners.
During the opening session, Ambassador Yong Changthalangsy, Lao PDR’s Representative to AICHR, AICHR Chair emphasised that this workshop marks the initiation to a series of capacity-building activities aiming at enhancing national mechanisms of reporting which requires knowledge and understanding of international obligations under international human rights treaties and commitments through the UPR. He also iterated that this workshop serves as a platform for ASEAN Member States to share best practices, lessons learned, and experiences in tracking and implementing accepted UPR recommendations. He highlighted Lao PDR’s 3rd UPR cycle experiences, where 160 out of 226 recommendations were accepted. He also underscored the importance of collaboration among stakeholders to implement the Plan of Action (POA) and prepare for the upcoming 4th UPR cycle.
Echoing this sentiment, Ms. Elizabeth Adler, representative of the Australian Embassy to the Lao PDR highlighted the unique value of the UPR lying in the fact that this mechanism is an inclusive and periodic review for all 193 UN member states that builds a good constructive dialogue for all kinds of human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights
The workshop was organised by AICHR Lao PDR with funding support from the Australian Embassy to the Lao PDR and Australian Human Rights Commission.
