25 Mar 2019
The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) conducted a Workshop on Transition (“the Workshop”) between the AICHR Representatives 2016-2018 and the AICHR Representatives 2019-2021 on 19th March 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Transition Workshop was opened by Dr. Suriya Chindawongse, Director General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. In his remarks, Dr. Suriya underlined the AICHR’s significant work on human rights in the region. In his opening remarks, Dr. Seree Nonthasoot, Thailand’s Representative to the AICHR 2013-2015 and 2016-2018, highlighted the significant milestones of the AICHR in the past decade including addressing the issues of business and human rights and the rights of persons with disabilities.
The Workshop aimed to facilitate the transition of the work already undertaken and to ensure the continuity of the institutional arrangements of the AICHR. Highlights of the discussion included an overview of the institutional and operational framework of the AICHR, the progress of the implementation of AICHR Five Year Work Plan 2016-2020, and challenges facing the AICHR.
Concluding the Workshop, H.E. Prof. Dr. Amara Pongsapich, Thailand’s Representative to the AICHR 2019-2021 and Chair of the AICHR, thanked the outgoing Representatives and emphasized the importance of the AICHR in building momentum from the past, and in considering future initiatives that are sustainable and robust.