The Government of Sri Lanka will host a Commonwealth seminar next week to improve human rights in Asia by strengthening the role of parliamentarians and establishing a dedicated regional network.
The Parliament of Sri Lanka will host a Commonwealth regional seminar next week to improve the abilities of parliamentarians to promote and protect human rights in Asia.
The seminar will take place from 1 to 3 February in Colombo. Members of parliament, ministers, and human rights experts will attend from Sri Lanka and other Commonwealth Asia countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Maldives. Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will deliver the keynote address during the opening of the seminar.
Over three days, parliamentarians will discuss human rights challenges in the region and consider practical actions to improve the situation by using their remits of law making and oversight of the executive. They will consider their relationship with the international human rights system including the work of the Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodic Review mechanism.
“This regional seminar is part of our ongoing collaborative programme of work with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,” said Karen McKenzie, Head of Human Rights at the Commonwealth Secretariat.
“Parliamentarians’ awareness and understanding of the international human rights system and standards is necessary to strengthen their role in rights protection and promotion. On an issue such as child marriage Asia is one of the regions with high prevalence and so parliamentarians ought to reflect on how they become part of the movement to prevent and eradicate this harmful practice, going beyond only passing laws and ensuring the right of our children to go to school and have a protected childhood,” she added.
Parliamentarians are entrusted by the people to act as their legitimate representatives. They are in a unique position to act as a catalyst in the realisation of human rights at all levels by addressing the concerns of their constituencies and monitoring and influencing policies and budgets.
Asma Jahangir, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Deepika Udigama, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka are two of the human rights experts who will support this initiative.
Recognising the fundamental role of Parliament to promote and protect human rights, the Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association launched a series of regional seminars in 2013 aimed at strengthening the work of parliamentarians in improving their national human rights landscapes.
The Asia regional seminar in Sri Lanka will be the fourth in the series and seeks commitment to a practical set of actions set out in a declaration as well as support for the establishment of a regional network of parliamentarians dedicated to implementing the declaration.
The first seminar took place in Trinidad and Tobago in 2013 resulting in the establishment of the Commonwealth Caribbean Parliamentary Human Rights Group. The Africa regional seminar in Seychelles in March 2014 similarly resulted in the Commonwealth Africa Parliamentary Human Rights Group and the adoption of the Mahé Declaration. The Pacific regional seminar held in New Zealand in July 2015 produced the Pipitea Declaration and commitment by parliamentarians to support the establishment of a regional network of parliamentarians.
