A civil society platform, People’s SAARC, has urged the eight leaders of South Asia to pay more attention to greater regional connectivity and easing visa to promote people to people easy contacts across South Asia, home to 150 crore people.
‘South Asian leaders should work more on enhancing connectivity of the common people by building mutual trust and easing visa regime that ensure free mobility of people across South
Asia,’ read a press release of the Forum circulated
at the Equatorial Convention Centre, venue of the 17th SAARC Summit on Friday.
The Kathmandu-based Forum also said the SAARC process should be more pro-people and committed to eradication of poverty and injustices through
regional development that it must be based on reduced military budget and mutual cooperation in economic and social fronts.
It said the aspiration for superior military power, which prompts scale up defence budget, would divert resources away from development goals.
‘We do underline the need for the SAARC to expand its ambit to cover all areas of political, environmental, economic, social and human rights, peace and justice spheres of the South Asia region,’ said the press release adding the potentials of the region should be harnessed through equitable share of natural resources.
It said the forum wanted an immediate action to protect the rights of migrant workers and their families as well as refugees through ratification of relevant international instruments and regional mechanisms, a demand which goes
with Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s recommendation in the SAARC summit that ended Friday.
The forum also demanded establishment of regional human rights commission, climate commission and a monitoring body to oversee democratic governance in the member states under the SAARC Democracy Charter.
It also strongly pleaded for ensuring zero tolerance to violence against women.
People’s SAARC is a focal point and platform for sharing, forging and strengthening solidarity linkages among the like-minded action groups, resources agencies and progressive individuals
to build people’s resistance against the forces of globalisation across the
nations of South Asia, which encompasses eight nations — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Source: New Age
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