Citizens of ASEAN states appear to be increasingly involved, through Information Communication Technologies (ICTs), in pushing for greater openness and accountability of their political leaders and public institutions. In particular, ICTs afford citizens of ASEAN States and like-minded counterparts around the world in the human rights community to push for greater accountability of ASEAN’s human rights institutions. With the adoption of the ASEAN Charter in 2007, ASEAN states embarked on a process of crafting a regional ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), eighteen years after the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria. While the World Conference had reaffirmed the universality of human rights, ASEAN states have moved grudgingly and gradually, egged on by greater global concern for human rights and by the pressures of globalization, towards the protection of human rights. The Terms of Reference (TORs) of the AICHR, adopted in July 2009 and favouring promotion rather than protection of human rights did not provide for an institutionalised role for the media. Subsequent drafting by AICHR of a proposed ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) has excluded mainstream news media and civil society organizations (CSOs) from the process. In the absence of reporting and substantive reporting by most mainstream media in the region civil society, most importantly the new ICT based media, has played a vital role in seeking to advance the protection of human rights. This includes scrutiny of the specific rights that will be included in the forthcoming AHRD to ensure that international human rights standards are upheld and that ASEAN states honour their existing commitments under international instruments. The new media-environment provides a platform for a multitude of actors to disseminate human rights related information, to document human rights abuses and thereby enhance the protection of human rights in the region.

中文翻译：

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东盟问题政府间人权委员会：新媒体在加强保护人权方面的作用

东盟国家的公民似乎通过信息通信技术（ICT）越来越多地参与推动其政治领导人和公共机构的更大开放性和问责制。尤其是，信息通信技术使东盟国家的公民和人权社区中世界志同道合的同行能够为东盟的人权机构承担更大的责任。随着2007年《东盟宪章》的通过，在奥地利维也纳召开世界人权会议18年之后，东盟各国开始着手建立区域性东盟政府间人权委员会（AICHR）。尽管世界会议重申了人权的普遍性，但东盟国家逐渐采取了循序渐进的行动，全球对人权的日益关注以及全球化对保护人权的压力加剧了这一威胁。2009年7月通过的AICHR职权范围（TORs）并未提倡媒体化，而是主张促进而不是保护人权。AICHR随后起草了一份拟议的《东盟人权宣言》（AHRD），将主流新闻媒体和民间社会组织（CSO）排除在了程序之外。在该区域大多数主流媒体缺乏报道和实质性报道的情况下，民间社会，最重要的是新的基于信息通信技术的媒体，在寻求促进保护人权方面发挥了至关重要的作用。这包括对即将到来的AHRD中将包括的具体权利的审查，以确保维护国际人权标准，并确保东盟国家兑现其根据国际文书所作的现有承诺。新的媒体环境为众多行为者提供了一个平台，以传播与人权有关的信息，记录侵犯人权行为，从而加强对该地区的人权保护。