MAINTAINING SOVEREIGN DECISION MAKING IN THE FACE OF

MAINTAINING SOVEREIGN DECISION MAKING IN THE FACE OF INTERNATIONAL MISJUDGMENT Seri Atikah Haji Junaidi Deputy Senior Counsel, International Affairs Division Attorney General’s Chambers of Brunei

Outline Has Sovereignty changed in this 21 st century? Recent Issue encountered Brunei Experience - 3 rd Universal Periodic Review Conclusion

Has sovereignty changed in the 21 st century? What does it mean to be a Sovereign State? Ø defined as “is the full right and power of a governing body over itself, without any interference from outside sources or bodies” ØDefinition of Sovereignty over the past two centuries is a grinding mix of dissolution in colonial powers, legacy of world war politics and rival of cold war ideologies

Right of internal governance of Sovereign State v. Absolute right to governance? ØCreation of its own laws, without external influence ØLaws are created for the purposes of protecting fundamental rights of its people as well as to protect the public against crime and maintain public order

Brunei laws: Past and Present Past: rarely attracted much negative comments, except our security laws which are usually by state entities 21 st century - Growth in communications brought by advanced technology changes modality of interaction v. State sanctioned views and traditional media displaced by technology with instant or “live” commentary

v. Access to information is available globally regardless of content, accuracy or common sense v. New “modus operandi” embraced by the highest level of government v. This environment is of course ripe for the hatching of misinformation and misjudgment

Recent issue encountered: Implementation of the Syariah Penal Code Order (SPCO) v. Entered full implementation on 1 st April 2019 v. Criminalisation of certain acts and imposition of punishment including death penalty v. It is not a new law – Already exist and enforce in the civil law v. Limited in the 19 th century under the British colonization - it is a directive by the Head of State, but also done to fulfill a religious obligation v. Aims to maintain peace and to create society where religion, life, intellect, property and lineage are preserved and protected

Death penalty v. Now, the death penalty is considered by some to be a violation of the fundamental human right to life under Art 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as under Art 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights v. Moratorium vs Abolition v. Currently there is a de facto moratorium on the death penalty which extends to Syariah offences - last execution was in 1996 “There is no place for death penalty in the 21 st century”. Ban Ki Moon during the World Day Against Death Penalty on 10 th October 2016

World before and world now v. Shifts and evolution of what constitutes human rights norms and practices v rise of one large movement that has strongly pushed for changes – Rise of the LGBTs v. Condemnation – How it was before and now using the advance agenda

Brunei Experience 3 rd Universal Periodic Review

Pressure from international community heightened

Pressure from foreign governments Statement made by states – condemnation without full understanding of the criticized State’s requirements according to their own culture, tradition and religion

Lobbying by entities International/private human rights bodies and groups (OCHR, CEDAW, CRC)

Social Media Celebrities

v Detracting purpose of UPR which involves a review of the country of its human rights records and provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations v Can easily be dragged into certain groups narrative

• Preparation of report more challenging • Engagements & consultations • UPR Report – objective and focus on the highlights of achievements • Presevere

Conclusion Maintaining sovereign decision making – strength of belief of our nation’s principles and values at it core Patience in the face of misjudgment coming from all directions and forms of guise particularly of today’s technology and social media culture Brunei Darussalam - most important is the welfare of our citizens

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