URGENT–Please sign up to the letter for Amb Manalo of AICHR until June 11 at 3pm only

Dear Friends,

I am sure most of you are already aware of the invitation by the Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Mechanism and Ambassador Rosario Manalo for the 2nd Consultation on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) on 15 June 2012, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 am at the Veritas Room, 4/F Ateneo Professional Schools Building, 20 Rockwell Drive, Rockwell Center, Makati City. (letter of Senator Tanda below)

I asked Kris for the copy of the draft AHRD but she said she does not have it.

I think that to be able to make substantive comments and inputs, we should have the draft AHRD before the meeting. I drafted a letter for Amb Manalo of AICHR – requesting for a copy of the draft ASEAN HR declaration before the June 15 consultation and to have more consultations. I thought that it is better if many CSos will sign it.

Please inform me if you want to sign to this letter ASAP and also please send to your network so we have a significant number of signatories. We should send this by June 11 Monday by 4pm – thus all signatories should be sent to me by 3pm June 11.

Letter below.

Thanks.

Aurora Corazon A. Parong
Director
Amnesty International Philippines

18-A Marunong Street, Barangay Central
Quezon City 1100, Philippines
Telephone: +632-4338100

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Draft letter: You can add or send comments to letter and I will integrate it before sending.
June 7, 2012

Hon. Ambassador ROSARIO G. MANALO

Philippine Representative to the ASEAN

Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

Dear Ambassador MANALO,

We welcome the invitation to participate in the 2nd Consultation on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) on 15 June 2012 organized by the Philippine Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism together with the Philippine Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).

We have long awaited for this consultation. As you wrote, “the consultation aims to inform participants about the progress on the AHRD and to elicit further inputs and comments on current draft.”

We would like to request for a copy of the current draft of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) in order to be able to be able to intelligently give inputs and comments during the meeting.

Further, we hope that nationwide consultations, in the Visayas, Mindanao and other Luzon areas, be done in order to gather various inputs into the Declaration. We also request that the draft AHRD be publicized and translated into our major languages so that a broader section of the Filipinos can meaningfully participate in the drafting process.

We earnestly urge your office to consider our requests which we believe will help in the efforts to create a people-centered Philippines and ASEAN.

The significance of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration cannot be overstated. Not only does it have the potential to affect the people of the region profoundly, it could also form the foundation for further human rights instruments within ASEAN and the rest of Asia.

Respectfully,

For signatories, we can put the names of organizations only

Amnesty International Philippines

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