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III.7 Minority protection under SAARC
Bangladesh pioneered efforts for bringing South Asian nations together, leading to
the adoption of SAARC Charter. Ridden with constant communal tensions, having
political/territorial conflicts and harbouring mistrust, it was no easy task to form a
regional association for friendship and cooperation. The 7 nations signed the Charter
in 1985 at the Dhaka Summit of South Asian leaders. Afghanistan was added later in
2007 as 8 th member. The formation of SAARC was a momentous occasion in the
history of the region. The event generated tremendous euphoria and inspired many
individuals who thought that the Association would become a catalyst for change, in
establishing peace and ushering in an era of mutual trust and cooperation.
The SAARC Charter aims at achieving the goals of economic growth and social
justice through good neighborly relations and mutual understanding among the
high contracting parties. The principles underlying the functioning of SAARC are
stated to be, sovereign equality, territorial integrity, national independence and
non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. The Charter reaffirms the
aspirations of the peoples to unite for joint action and enhance cooperation for
promoting the welfare of the people and improving their quality of life. The
Charter spells out the specific objectives of the Association, the prominent ones
being: promoting the welfare of the people and improving their quality of life;
accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development to
provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and realise their full
potential; shaping collective self reliance, collaboration and mutual assistance in
the economic, social, cultural, scientific fields and strengthening cooperation
among themselves in international forum for making an effective impact on
regional and international issues.
The document provides for a framework and mechanism to achieving the goals.
Such framework includes periodic meetings of the heads of state/government at
the summit level and the Council of Ministers consisting of foreign Ministers of
member states. A Standing Committee comprising their foreign Secretaries is
constituted together with various Technical Committees comprising
representative of the member states for the implementation and monitoring the
programmes in different areas of cooperation. The Standing Committee can also
set up Action Committees for implementation of projects in individual states.
A significant step towards moving in the direction of human rights protection was the
signing of SAARC Social Charter in 2004, which seeks to promote the welfare of the
people and to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural
development. In 2002 two other instruments have been also approved: SAARC
Convention on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion of Child Welfare in South
Asia; and SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and
Children for Prostitution. Regrettably though, the progress so far has been marginal.
A major stumbling block is the inability of SAARC to fully involve the civil society in
having people-to-people contact to achieve the stipulated objectives. SAARC
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