ASEAN People’s Assembly Calls for Greater Participation as ASEAN Turns 40

Secretary General Carlos Medina Jr. of the Working Group leads the discussion on an ASEAN human rights body.

Representatives from Southeast Asian civil society groups, think tanks, and the academe called for stronger civil society involvement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) as a response to recent developments in the region during its 40th year. Movements in the ASEAN Charter, the Myanmar situation, and human rights were among those actively discussed during the 6th ASEAN People’s Assembly (APA), held in Manila, the Philippines last October 24-25, 2007.

Concerns over implications on the proposed regional human rights body in the ASEAN Charter due to the Myanmar situation were expressed. The Charter, which was drafted by a high level task force appointed by ASEAN, will be submitted to ASEAN leaders in Singapore for signing during the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007. Dr. Termsak Chalermpalanupap, special assistant to the ASEAN secretary general and representative of the ASEAN Secretariat during APA, said that it was unlikely for Myanmar to stall on ratifying the Charter or oppose the human rights body, as it has always had representation during the drafting of the Charter, where this was discussed.

Solidarity for the monks of Myanmar: conference kits were in saffron, orange, and maroon to mimic the robes of Buddhist monks.

Participants also strongly expressed that the ASEAN Charter should be an “open door” which civil society can use for greater participation in ASEAN processes. Dr. Carolina Hernandez, co-chair of APA, said that the proposed inclusion of a regional human rights body in the Charter draft was itself a product of a successful civil society organization engagement with ASEAN. She noted that the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism’s (Working Group) step-by-step, consultative process brought ASEAN to committing further to human rights. Coming from a period where human rights was barely on the regional agenda, the Working Group now formally assists ASEAN in accomplishing the human rights areas of its Vientiane Action Programme and annually meets with ASEAN Senior Officials to discuss human rights issues on the occasion of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.

The APA is an initiative by the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS) that aims to bring together think tanks and the academe with civil society organizations to promote people-centered development in the process of ASEAN community building.

The 6th APA, entitled ASEAN at 40: Realizing the People's Expectations, was held in celebration of the 40th founding anniversary of ASEAN and in preparation for the 13th ASEAN Summit.