Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, Asia Centre and Professor Jau-hwa Chen, Director, Chang Fo Chuan, Centre for the Study of Human Rights, Soochow University, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 12 May 2019, in Taipei, Taiwan.
The MOU signing stems from Asia Centre’s participation in previous activities at Soochow University. For instance in November 2018, Dr. Gomez presented at a roundtable discussion the findings from the Centre’s book “The UPR of Southeast Asia: Civil Society Perspectives”.
In March 2019, Dr. Gomez visited the Chang Fo Chuan, Centre for the Study of Human Rights at Soochow University to discuss Asia Centre’s participation in two meetings entitled, “Workshop on Advocacy of Asian Human Rights Court”.
These workshops planned for May and July 2019 in Taiwan aim to explore the establishment of a Asian Human Rights Court or mechanism to seek redress for human rights violations. During this visit an initial discussion was also held to sign an MOU between the two Centres to facilitate further cooperation.
The partnership was signed following the successful completion of the first Workshop of Advocacy for Asian Human Rights Court from 9-12 May 2019 in which Dr. James Gomez and Yawee Butrkrawee from Asia Centre participated.
The second Workshop of Advocacy for Asian Human Rights Court will take place from 11 to 14 July 2019 and will focus on business and human rights, especially women’s rights, in the context of APEC.
The 5 year MOU between the two Centres will cover collaborations in research, events, trainings and internships. The MOU signing forms part of Asia Centre’s strategy to engage externally and build more partnerships globally.
