The 4th Informal ASEM Seminar on Human Rights in Bali, Indonesia from 12th-13th July, 2001 was sponsored by France, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (Sweden) and the Asia-Europe Foundation with the support of the European Commission Trust Fund.
This series of four seminars was aimed at bringing together researchers, non-governmental activists and practitioners as well as officials together to dialogue in an informal setting, critical human rights issues affecting both Asia and Europe. The first seminar was held in Lund (1997), the second in Beijing (1999) and the third in Paris (2000). Each of these seminars addressed a variety of different topics.
Following the format of the previous seminars, this 4th seminar dealt with the following three issues:
- Freedom of Conscience and Religion
- Democratisation, Conflict Resolution and Human Rights
- Rights and Obligations in the Promotion of Social Welfare
Approximately seventy people participated in this meeting. Of special mention was the participation of Mr Gilbert Guillaume, President of the International Court of Justice in the Hague. He gave a presentation on The International Court of Justice and Human Rights on the first day and also made a few closing remarks at the end of the meeting.
Also of special mention was the participation of the then newly appointed Minister for Cabinet Affairs for Indonesia, Mr Marzuki Darusman. He delivered a paper in Session II entitled, Human Rights and Democratic Transition.