(Friends and colleagues--as the postponed 12th ASEAN Summit starts in Cebu City
Philippines, a broad regional forum of civil society org who came together in
the ACSCII, is releasing its statement from last December's successful
conference.
A longer version, with contributions from all workshops--including our
Communication Rights session, is available. Please contact us offlist if you
would like to receive a copy.)
-----------
ASEAN for the People
Statement of the 2nd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC II) (short version)
10-12 December 2006
Cebu City, Philippines
1. We are more than 300 participants from countries in the ASEAN region who
gathered for the 2nd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC II) organized by the
Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN and its
partners, in Cebu City, Philippines on 10-12 December 2006. We are joined by
guests and partners from outside the ASEAN region, including the rest of Asia
and Pacific, Australia, Europe, Southern Africa, and South America. Together, we
deliberated on the theme "Creating a Caring and Sharing Community - Enhancing
People's Participation in Governance and Development".
2. We come from various community-based organizations, civil society groups,
NGOs, social movements, people's organizations and trade unions that work on
critical social, political and economic issues in the ASEAN region.
3. The ACSC II is a continuation of the 1st ACSC held in Shah Alam, Malaysia on
7-9 December 2005 whose outcome was officially presented to the ASEAN Heads of
State, and the culmination of the series of national civil society consultation
meetings initiated by the SAPA Working Group on ASEAN in cooperation with the
Southeast Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA) for Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The ACSC II consolidates our inputs
and proposals to the ASEAN processes including the ASEAN Charter process.
Equally important, the ACSC II is an expression of our collective aspirations
and commitment for the ASEAN region.
REGIONAL TRENDS AND CHALLENGES
4. Based on our work and experience in the region, and deliberations during the
ACSC II, we identified the following key issues that pose the greatest challenge
to the ASEAN peoples, and that require the immediate attention of ASEAN Members
individually as well as ASEAN regionally.
Contraction of Democracies and a Volatile Peace
5. The contraction of democracy and the persistence of internal conflicts put
the region in a situation of volatile peace, which the ASEAN itself is unable to
effectively address because of its commitment to political non-intervention, and
its refusal to create regionally viable mechanisms to find acceptable solutions
to what are clearly regional concerns.
6. We call on ASEAN to actively enrich and deepen democracy by critically
examining its cultural base; by extending citizenship to and promoting mutual
respect among all persons within its regional borders; and by guaranteeing free
and honest elections, participatory governance, basic liberties, and a free and
plural media.
7. We challenge the ASEAN principle of non-intervention. Not only is there an
immediate need to address the human rights concerns in conflict areas, but
conflict prevention mechanisms that prioritize dialogue and cooperation also
need to be institutionalized for the building of a lasting peace in ASEAN.
8. In the specific case of Burma, we demand that ASEAN leaders call on the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma to immediately and unconditionally
release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, and to enter into
dialogue with the democratic opposition led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and ethnic
nationalities.
Human Rights: Violation and Impunity without Redress
9. In recent years, human rights have been rolled back in many ASEAN countries.
Indigenous peoples are among the most marginalized in Southeast Asia.
10. We call on ASEAN to put an immediate remedy to the grave human rights
situation in the region, and to create a regional human rights body.
11. We call on ASEAN to promote the communication rights of peoples and
communities by ensuring citizens' access to information, upholding freedom of
expression and keeping all forms of media free and plural.
Economic Integration: Negative Impacts of Integration and Neo-liberal
Globalization
12. The integration in ASEAN is limited to that which can create markets and
benefit organized business corporations the most, but is not clear and proactive
when it comes to basic producers, indigenous production systems, the negative
impacts of integration and globalization, and the impact the sustainability of
the regional environment.
13. The lack of transparency in negotiations, poor access to timely information,
and the absence of systematic public or parliamentary scrutiny of multilateral,
regional and bilateral trade and economic partnership agreements (FTAs and EPAs)
undermine the interests of peoples by precluding their effective participation.
It is in this context that we reject the revival of the Doha round in the WTO,
and reject FTAs in their present form and process. We call on Governments to
review existing FTAs and, to postpone for further examination FTAs currently
being negotiated or proposed.
14. The ASEAN region is composed primarily of men and women small farmers,
producers, fisherfolk and indigenous peoples, whose lives are threatened by
unfair global trade. To support them, ASEAN should rethink the abolition of
tariffs and the opening up of markets as the main vehicle in regional
integration. ASEAN should give priority support to small farmers and producers,
regulate the entry and operation of transnational corporations, especially in
the agriculture and food sectors, and guard the region against the increased use
of hazardous and/or untested technology.
15. We call on ASEAN Members to protect essential public services, and to create
mechanisms towards cooperation in regional public goods and services.
16. We call on ASEAN to explicitly ratify, fulfill and promote the ILO
conventions on core labor standards, the ILO Convention Concerning Home Work,
the UN Migrant Workers Convention, and the ILO Multilateral Framework on Labor
Migration. ASEAN should adopt a Social Charter enshrining workers' rights, and
institutionalizing participation of workers in mandatory social dialogue and
consultation.
Population Movements: Displacement, Forcible Migration and Migration Insecurity
17. Protracted conflicts and economic destabilization, as well as uneven
development, cause mass displacements in the region and the rise of voluntary
and forced migration.
18. We call on ASEAN to uphold the principle of equal treatment, and to create
an instrument for the protection and promotion of the rights of all migrant
workers. We emphasize the need to establish a regional mechanism to protect the
healthcare of migrants, and to move away from mandatory towards voluntary health
testing. We advocate for the mutual recognition of skills, not just of
professional and educational qualifications, of workers within the ASEAN region.
Sustainable Development Concerns and Increasing Health and Environmental
Volatility
19. The diverse natural and ecological resources of the ASEAN region are being
threatened by large scale mono-crop production, unregulated extraction and
exploitation and poor planning, resulting in environmental insecurity,
displacement from places of livelihood and health concerns. Access and control
of the regional commons is more and more dominated by organized business and
corporations causing ecological degradation and poverty, and undermines the
prior rights of communities that depend on these commons.
20. We challenge ASEAN to clarify environmental bottom-lines, and identify and
protect no-go zones/options in highly sensitive sustainable development areas in
the region. ASEAN should do this in consultation with all sectors but with clear
preference for the interests of the poor.
Prevailing Asian Patriarchies: Gender Inequalities
21. The deliberate exclusion of women persists in ASEAN. Until now, women in the
region have been unable to systematically crack open the doors to political
leadership despite the rise to power of some women individuals, and continue to
experience increased burdens as the state retreats from social provisioning.
22. ASEAN should implement already existing agreements signed by ASEAN Countries
regarding women's rights, empowerment and development, in particular the
International Bill of Rights for Women (CEDAW). It should upgrade the existing
regional mechanism for the advancement of women, and institutionalize gender
statistics in the ASEAN Baseline Monitoring Indicators. We challenge ASEAN to
achieve and surpass the universally agreed minimum targets on women's
participation in decision making and leadership. The planned Commission on Women
and Children is a useful first step.
Exclusion and Insecurity of Children and Youth
23. A growing number of children and youth face precarious conditions in ASEAN.
More than one-third of children in armed conflicts in the world are in the
region, and youth representatives from the region are marginalized from
political decision processes.
24. We call on ASEAN member states to recognize the youth as a specific majority
group that needs special and urgent attention; invest in youth education and
resources (specifically in human rights education), job opportunities and
capacity building; to uphold their commitments for the active participation of
youth in good governance and political decision making; and to respect the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and ratify the optional protocol on
the involvement of children in armed conflicts.
ASEAN Economic Community: Limited Vision of Regionalism
25. The transformation of the region into a single community should go beyond
economic integration and must be people-centered, humane and rights-based at all
times, and must adhere to the carrying capacity of the environment and reinforce
environmental sustainability. Our aim should be to foster genuine regional
solidarity rather than economic integration alone.
26. We call for an alternative regionalism that is anchored on people's
participation at all times and that truly represents a community of people of
diverse faiths and cultures, with different political and economic systems and
historical backgrounds, but bound by an undivided commitment to the universal
principles of human rights, justice, peace, democracy, tolerance, and
solidarity.
CIVIL SOCIETY COMMITMENT AND CALL TO ACTION
27. We, participants of the ACSC II, commit to work together to build a
people-centered and people-driven community in the ASEAN region based on the
principles of human rights and dignity, human security, a just and lasting
peace, participation and social dialogue, social and economic justice, cultural
and ecological diversity, environmentally sustainable development, and gender
equity.
28. We resolve to continue to engage with and challenge the ASEAN at all levels,
making use of all available spaces and opportunities to defend and advance the
rights and interests of the marginalized and excluded people in all societies
and communities in the region. In particular, we resolve to engage the official
process of the ASEAN Charter.
29. We resolve to strengthen our ranks and expand our initiative in solidarity
and movement building, challenge ourselves to be more inclusive and
participatory, and respond to issues of urgent concern in a timely manner.
30. We resolve to continuously build and strengthen initiatives that will
concretize the community building processes that we want to pursue. We commit to
build an ASEAN People's Charter that reflects the rights, interests and
aspirations of all peoples in the ASEAN region.
31. We demand that the ASEAN create effective mechanisms for transparency,
accountability and people's participation. In particular, we demand for
automatic civil society seats in all decision making processes of the ASEAN.
32. We demand that ASEAN includes automatic review clauses in all its
initiatives and agreements internally and with partners outside of the region.
33. We demand that the ASEAN guarantee the full participation of civil society
in the ASEAN Charter drafting process, and that the final draft be subject to
national referendum.
34. We resolve to meet again at the ACSC III in Singapore in 2007 in conjunction
with the 13th ASEAN Summit, armed with new challenge, renewed energy and greater
determination to advance the kind of regionalism we aspire for. We will continue
to meet as ACSC parallel to all ASEAN Summits and assert that we are recognized
as a broad platform for citizen participation in the official process, even as
we persist in similar endeavors both outside and inside the ASEAN, on the
streets, in the community, and in all forms of just struggle.
-end-