ASEAN lawmakers push regional extradition pact for high profile crimes

02-Jun-11
Lira Dalangin-Fernandez, InterAksyon.com

MANILA, Philippines – Parliamentarians from Association of Southeast Asian Nations member-countries who met in a caucus here have agreed to propose to their respective governments a multilateral extradition treaty for high profile crime cases.

At the same time, the ASEAN lawmakers also raised the possibility of common legislation to protect the rights and welfare of children and women, fight drug trafficking and minimize risks of disasters brought about by climate change.

The participants to the third caucus of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) signed during closing ceremonies Thursday an agreement on the areas for possible common legislation that they will bring to the AIPA assembly in Cambodia this September.

ASEAN counts Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

“We are calling on the executive departments to enter into a multilateral extradition treaty … What we want is for these 10 countries to have a multilateral extradition treaty so that wanted criminals who flee and hide in the other countries can be brought back to where they committed their crimes,” Former Cebu Representative Antonio Cuenco, secretary general of the 3rd AIPA caucus, said.

Caucus chairman La Union Representative Victor Ortega said the ASEAN lawmakers agreed on the need for common legislation on concerns shared by all countries in the regional bloc, among these, climate change, the trafficking of women and children, and drug trafficking.

“We discussed among ourselves, if possible, to have uniformity of laws applicable to so many issues common to all … because we have common problems. It’s similar laws toward the same end,” he said.

Ortega noted that the Philippines does not have the death penalty unlike other ASEAN countries, which impose capital punishment for crimes such as drug trafficking. “In our case, we can have life imprisonment without parole, so that will have the same effect,” he said.

While there are thousands of laws covering the rights and welfare of children, Cuenco said the problem lies in their implementation.

The representative of Brunei said there is no problem implementing children’s laws in their country since they have been allocated a budget of 149 million BND (Brunei Dollars) for children’s welfare.

The representative of Cambodia said if parliamentarians want ASEAN to be a strong community, then they should work on laws that will take care of children “educationally and health-wise.”

Cambodia has defined two main priorities and directions for its efforts to safeguard children, namely adopting non-institutionalized care as the best alternative for caring for children at risk, and ensuring a minimum standard of shelter.

According to the representative of Indonesia, they have a Special Ministry for Women Empowerment and Child Protection that oversees the implementation of children’s laws.

Indonesia stressed the importance of the promotion and protection of children’s rights through national policies, and relevant laws for the protection and development of children.

The representative of Malaysia said there should be an understanding on how to handle stateless children.

She said in Sabah, there are many stateless children, mostly second-generation offspring who have been abandoned by their parents, for whom Malaysia has started an early childhood education program.

She added that Malaysia has numerous socio-economic policies and plans which seek to create a conducive and enabling environment sensitive to the needs of children.