ASEAN Secretary General Garners Feedback from Civil Society for ASEAN Leaders

SIIA Chairman Simon Tay and ASEAN Secretary General Ong Keng Yong

At the 13th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit , Secretary General Ong Keng Yong will deliver a report on civil society views. His main points will be drawn from the ASEAN Civil Society Conference 2007, where he requested for a “practical, concise report that can be presented to (our) ASEAN leaders”. Mr. Simon Tay, as chairperson of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs ( SIIA) which convened the conference, will be submitting a Chairperson’s Statement to H.E. Ong Keng Yong.

The discussions in the conference focused heavily on the ASEAN Charter, which is set to be ratified by ASEAN leaders during the 13th ASEAN Summit in November. Participants welcomed the promise of a regional human rights body in the ASEAN Charter but were concerned that this will not be coming with a Terms of Reference (TOR) and a timeframe for completion. Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy, who represented the Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (Working Group) in the conference, said that a TOR and a timeframe for completion for the proposed human rights body must also be drawn as soon as the Charter is signed. “ASEAN civil society must push their leaders to adopt a TOR and time frame without delay so that the human rights body may be established soonest. Without this commitment, we will be aiming too high but achieve nothing,” he expressed.

Dato Param Cumaraswamy greets Singapore Solicitor-General Walter Woon, who was the lead discussant on the session on the ASEAN Charter.

Dato’ Param also asked ASEAN to give an update on the establishment of the Commission on ASEAN Women and Children, which is one of the human rights areas outlined in the Vientiane Action Programme (VAP). He recalled that the Working Group was tasked by ASEAN in 1995 to assist in implementing the four VAP human rights areas. The Working Group has since worked in tandem with Mahidol University of Thailand to produce a research paper on the readiness of Southeast Asia for such a Commission. Dato’ Param said that information on ASEAN’s efforts for the Commission will guide the Working Group in producing activities that will complement ASEAN’s.

The discussion on human rights in ASEAN also touched on the Myanmar situation. Participants called for ASEAN to assist in the exchange between civil society organizations and non-government organizations in Myanmar with counterparts in other ASEAN member states. Several civil society organizations expressed their willingness to help. Dato’ Param recounted that the Working Group requested the government of Myanmar for entry into the country and was allowed, even before the recent crackdowns on protesters. “Myanmar has recently permitted the United Nations agencies to step in to assist in national reconciliation efforts. Why not allow a task force from ASEAN, since Myanmar is part of the ASEAN community, to enter and help?” he asked.

The ASEAN Civil Society Conference 2007 was organized by the SIIA, a Singapore-based think tank focusing on foreign affairs, and endorsed by the ASEAN Secretariat. Among those represented in the activity were regional networks such as the ASEAN-Institutes of Strategic and International Studies, the Working Group, the Solidarity for Asian Peoples’ Advocacy, and the Southeast Asian Civil Society Environment Alliance.