Session III: Cooperation between United Nations and Regional Human Rights Mechanisms (RHRMs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders (HRDs)
Human Rights Workshop
This Workshop will be held over 1 day (29 August 2016) and is being co-organised by Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), Bridges Across Borders South East Asia Community Legal Education Initiative (BABSEACLE) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). These sessions will address current and pressing human rights issues and involve in depth discussions on steps to moving forward to improve the current human rights situation in the region. Each of the three areas to be covered in the workshop relates to one of AJAR’s core programs, focused on addressing mass human rights violations in contexts of transitions to democracy in the Asia Pacific region.
This session will provide an overview of the UN and RHRMs and how CSOs and HRDs can cooperate with them, a specific focus on how lawyers could assist victims accessing the human rights system in relation to prevailing human rights challenges in the region. Participants will share best practices, challenges, lessons learnt and identify new forms of cooperation.
Introductory statement OHCHR (5mins)
- Ms. Heisoo Shin, Member, UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
Overview of the UN treaty body system , and how CSOs and HRDs could engage with it, specific focus on the CESCR committee, cooperation with UN treaty bodies and Regional organisations in Asia(12mins)
- Ms. Nahla Haidar, Member, UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
How CSOs and HRDs could engage with CEDAW committee and CEDAW cooperation with Asian regional organisations (10mins)
- Mr. Tae-Ung Baik, Expert,UN Working Group on Enforced and involuntary Disappearances (WGED)
Overview of theUN Special Procedures Mechanisms functions, and how CSOs and HRDs could engage with them, with specific focus on the WGED , how the WGED can engage with regional organisations in Asia(12mins)
- Ms. Vicky Tauli –Corpuz, UN Special Rapporteur on Indigenous people
How CSOs and HRDs could engage with the Special Rapporteur (10 mins)
- Ms. Liza Sekaggya, OHCHR
The UN Human Rights Council and UPR process and the Role of CSOs and HRDs (12mins)
- Ms. Leena Ghosh, ASEAN secretariat
Overview of the ASEAN mechanisms, cooperation of CSO and HRDs with the ASEAN mechanisms, ASEAN cooperation with UN mechanisms (12 mins) (TBC)
Discussion- Participants can ask questions, share experiences etc.