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ASEAN 'people's charter' to advance civil society
(The Jakarta Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) from THE JAKARTA POST -- MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2007 -- PAGE 6 Early this month, Southeast Asian civil society leaders met at the Third ASEAN and Civil Society Conference (ACSC) in Singapore. There, civil society leaders, composed mainly of representatives from non- governmental organizations, trade unions, grassroot organizations and the academic community, called for the launching of an ASEAN People's Charter
The campaign for the People's Charter is expected to be launched if the actual ASEAN Charter, which is to be agreed and signed by ASEAN Heads of States in the upcoming Thirteenth ASEAN Summit, fails to address the aspirations of civil society
The debate around the ASEAN People's Charter began to emerge earlier this year among leaders of civil society groups in Southeast Asia
At this point, the People's Charter is not expected to replace the actual ASEAN Charter, but, instead, to illustrate the ideal charter people have in mind
Since the announcement for the creation of an ASEAN Charter by ASEAN leaders in their Summit in 2005, regional and national civil society groups have been active in pursuing close engagements with ASEAN and its member governments on this issue
Throughout 2006, representatives of civil society groups were given some space to submit their input to the so-called Eminent Persons Group (EPG), which was tasked to provide some initial recommendations on the ASEAN Charter
Subsequently, an interface between civil society groups and the High Level Task Force (HLTF), currently responsible for the finalization of the draft of the ASEAN Charter, was conducted earlier this year
Despite this, local, national, and regional civil society groups remain concerned about the final outcome of the ASEAN Charter
Civil society leaders were particularly worried about the legitimization of the continuous use of ASEAN's existing values, norms, and principles, including non-intervention, Asian values, and others, in the ASEAN Charter
Apart from providing the legal status for ASEAN, regional civil society leaders felt the ASEAN Charter should provide a sound foundation for the implementation of regional governance in the future
Consequently, ASEAN Charter's failure to bring radical improvement in ASEAN's modus operandi was considered a significant drawback for the people of Southeast Asia
Representatives of ASEAN civil society groups also expressed their concerns regarding the space provided by ASEAN and its member governments on the making of the ASEAN Charter
This was particularly true during the preparation of the final draft of the Charter by the HLTF
So far, only one interface between civil society groups and members of HLTF was conducted at the regional level. At the national level, members of HLTF showed little intention to meet and engage with their civil society counterparts in the drafting of the Charter
This applies even in a democratic country such as Indonesia
The ASEAN Charter drafting process was too hasty. In their statement, representatives of Southeast Asian civil society groups demanded ASEAN leaders ensure transparency through the disclosure of the ASEAN Charter draft for meaningful public consultation and discussions
Civil society groups also called for an assurance from ASEAN leaders for substantive participation from people at the national and regional levels in the adoption of the ASEAN Charter
This would include the referendum process at the final phase of the charter process
Other than high level officials from ASEAN member countries, not many people in the Southeast Asian region really know what their fate might be in years to come
Would an undemocratic change of government and systematic and gross violations of human rights still permitted under the new Charter? Would commitment toward trade and investment liberalization that led to the suffering of millions of ASEAN citizens be justified under the new Charter? Could we see the end of the end of child soldiers and the trafficking of women when the Charter is adopted by the member states? These are but a handful of complex problems that have to be resolved in the Southeast Asian region. There are many other urgent issues, such as environment, poverty, and so on, that require strong governance -- at both national and regional levels
The Third ACSC also issued a separate statement to address the issue in Burma. In relation to ASEAN and the ASEAN Charter, the participants of the ACSC 3 called ASEAN member countries to take concrete measures to bring meaningful pressure on the Burmese junta, including the instigation of an arms embargo and measures to stem the flow of resources from ASEAN countries to the Burmese army and its associated elites
The emergence of the ASEAN People's Charter proposal really reflects the uneasiness of the people of Southeast Asia to allow a handful of ASEAN policy-makers to decide their fate. The people of Southeast Asia would certainly find it difficult if some undemocratic and corrupt governments in ASEAN sign the ASEAN Charter on behalf of its people
Alexander C. Chandra and Rafendi Djamin, Jakarta The writers are from the Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy (SAPA), the Working Group on ASEAN, and are liaisons to the ASEAN Secretariat. They can be reached at a.c.l.chandra@gmail.com and infohd@dds.nl
Copyright 2007 The Jakarta Post
Copyright 2007 PT Bina Media Tenggara, Source: The Financial Times Limited
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