ASIA: Human rights body’s shaky beginnings – IRIN
October 26th, 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86745
HUA HIN, 26 October 2009 (IRIN) – After only a few days Southeast Asia’s inter-governmental human rights body is
Kraisak Choonhavan speaking at the AIPMC press conference, Hua Hin (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
already being criticized over its terms of reference as well as its ability to have any impact on human rights in Myanmar.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched its Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on 23 October with the signing of the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration at the 15th ASEAN summit held in Hua Hin, Thailand, over the weekend.
Thailand’s Prime Minister and ASEAN chairman Abhisit Vejjajiva said it “showed the commitment of ASEAN member-states to realize the historic quest of the people of Southeast Asia for freedom”.
But critics say its mandate is limited and that its undertaking to “promote human rights within the regional context, bearing in mind national and regional particularities and mutual respect for different historical, cultural and religious backgrounds” does not go far enough, given that Myanmar continues to be cited by human rights watchdogs as one of the world’s worst violators.
Kraisak Choonhavan, chairman of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, said the country’s military government had yet to demonstrate a willingness to adhere to principles of democratic governance under the ASEAN charter.
And ASEAN’s long-held assertion that Myanmar’s political and human rights issues were internal affairs was no longer applicable, particularly since such problems had affected other countries in the region, he said. (more…)
Burmese migrants struggle in Malaysia – IRINnews
October 14th, 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86574
Burmese workers on the job at the new pagoda under construction at the Burmese Buddhist temple in Penang. (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
PENANG, 14 October 2009 (IRIN) – In the tourist city of Penang in northern Malaysia, the Buddhist temple has become the locus of social and economic support for migrants from Myanmar.
“l was a contractor at home, but left Burma [Myanmar] 19 years ago, arriving in Malaysia after crossing from Thailand,” said Aung Tin, a foreman on the construction site of a new pagoda.
Penang is one of Malaysia’s main economic and industrial centres, and the Burmese Buddhist temple provides social and religious support for the Burmese community.
At the construction site, all 14 staff supervised by Aung Tin – who would only talk to IRIN using a pseudonym – are Burmese migrants.
“I left as soon as I could after the 1990 elections,” said Aung Tin. “The economic situation in the country was bad for years before then, and I had not been able to generate enough work. When I saw that the army was going to keep things the same, it became clear that I could not make a living,”
In 1990, Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last election held in Myanmar, but the military rulers overturned the result, and have run the country since.
Aung Tin left behind a wife and two sons, whom he has not seen since. His boys are now grown up, and like their father, want to leave their home country.
When Cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar in 2008, his family’s home was one of more than three million destroyed. “All my money was sent home to help repair my house,” he said. (more…)
TIMOR-LESTE: Grappling with youth unemployment – Irinnews
July 16th, 2009
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=85299
DILI, 16 July 2009 (IRIN) – A decade after voting to end Indonesia’s 24-year occupation, Timor-Leste is struggling with one of its thorniest socio-economic problems: half the men aged between 20 and 24 in Dili, the country’s largest city, are unemployed.
AILEU, T-L. Getting young people back to work is seen as a key challenge for the recently independent nation. (Simon Roughneen/IRIN)city, are unemployed.
Various government and non-government initiatives are in place to address this problem, but in the absence of foreign investment or a dynamic local private sector, much more is needed, say analysts.
An estimated 20 percent of the country’s 1.1 million inhabitants are unemployed.
About 90 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture, though this is largely seasonal, subsistence work, leaving an estimated 40 percent of this cohort effectively underemployed.
According to the UN Development Programme, 50 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line of US$0.88 per day, despite oil-based GDP per capita of $4,500 for 2008.
The country ranks 158th out of 179 countries in the UNDP Human Development Index, making it the least developed country in Asia.
“Job creation is vital to economic and political stability. With a median age of 21.8 years, creating jobs for the youth is integral to any employment programme in this country,” Fernando Encarnacao, a youth employment and community empowerment specialist for the International Labour Organization, told IRIN. (more…)
