Rights Beautiful Collection of Professor Saneh Chamarik Asian Positive Regionalism* Saneh Chamarik Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of Thailand We have gone through the two-day deliberations on one most crucial problem of our time, i.e. Natural Resource Management and Cooperation Mechanism in the Mekong Region. A fairly wide range of topics have been touched upon, starting from the issue of development in general to those concerning energy development and the rights and liberties of the grass-root people and communities. As well comes along the immediate problems arising from the controversial Upper Mekong Navigation Improvement Project (UMNP), providing for a comprehensive dredging and blasting of the hindering rapids and shoals along the way. It is indeed this shared sense of concern and urgency that prompted our gathering here. As we all know, this UMNP was initiated by China, and soon after agreed upon by the three participating nations: Myanmar, Lao PDR, and Thailand. The whole rationale for China is to serve as a means to improve the capability of commercial vessels to navigate from Yunnan Province into Laos and Southeast Asia along the Lancang and Mekong Rivers. As for the other three junior parties, it is looked upon as a great opportunity to benefit from potential economic growth in neighbouring * Opening Address, 18th November 2004, International Conference on Natural Resource Management and Cooperation Mechanism in the Mekong Region, 16th-18th November 2004, United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok, Thailand OFFICE OF THE NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF THAILAND 15