As the country currently chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently came up with the campaign slogan: "ASEAN Charter for ASEAN People," referring to the organizations newly ratified charter.

To observers of ASEAN, this phase comes as a new and positive change. This sub-regional, inter-governmental body has always been referred to as the governments' club and has been constantly criticized for its lack of involvement from the people of its member nations.

On Oct. 21, 2008, Indonesia became the final ASEAN member state to ratify the Charter. In accordance with the country's internal procedures, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, said that, "ASEAN will be a rules-based, people-oriented and more integrated entity".

It is highlighted in the chapter relating to the purpose of ASEAN (Article 1) that the association will "promote a people-oriented ASEAN in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate in and benefit from (...) ASEAN integration and community building". While this is one of the more positive points within the charter, civil society groups are still skeptical about whether ASEAN can actually fulfill this, as they have never been informed of ASEAN processes. This is evident in the fact that, when civil society groups within ASEAN want to raise concerns regionally or internationally, they go directly to UN bodies rather than ASEAN.

As the phrase "people" has been overly used by ASEAN, we the civil society have to question if the ratification of this charter can immediately transform this inter-governmental body into a people-oriented organization that can inspire people on the ground.

The network of more than 40 civil society organizations that have been monitoring the work of ASEAN under the umbrella of the Solidarity for Asian Peoples' Advocacy's (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN, began analyzing the charter last year, prior to its signing and concluded that it was "a disappointment (since) it is a document that falls short of what is needed to establish a people-centered (ASEAN)".

While the ASEAN Charter contains positive phases including sections on ASEANs role in promoting and protecting "human rights and social justice", respecting the rule of law and good governance and respecting the UN Charter and international laws, the unpopular principle of non-interference and the respect of consensus is still one of its core principles. It is comical that, as the human rights situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate, ASEAN claims to protect human rights and social justice at the same time it holds so dear the principle of non-interference.

ASEAN has yet to assess whether the human rights situation in Myanmar has improved since 1997, when the country was accepted as a member of the association. To the human rights defenders working on Myanmar, the detention of pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as well as more than 2,000 other political prisoners, the continued use of child soldiers and the recent detention of dozens of domestic activists, including the leaders of the 1988 Student Generation, who took part in the September Saffron Revolution, are all too characteristic of Myanmar's appalling record on human rights.

When we look at the Charter chapter by chapter, we can see that the "people-centered" principle is still only a vision, far from actually being implemented. The Charter is still state-centric, which is perhaps not surprising, given that it was written by government officials, without genuine consultation with civic groups.

There is no mention of any institutionalized mechanism, such as the Consultative Status afforded to NGOs at the UN, which would allow civil society to contribute to or comment on ASEANs decision-making process. In all the chapters relating to the work of the ASEAN Summit, ASEAN Coordinating Council, ASEAN Community Councils, or the ASEAN Secretariat, not a single clause mentions the involvement of "the people".

Civil society is mentioned only in the section on the role of the ASEAN Foundation in promoting greater awareness of the, "ASEAN identity", and ensuring, "close(er) collaboration among the business sector, civil society, academia and other stakeholders in ASEAN".

The mentality of ASEAN leaders seems to be that civil society plays only a socio-cultural role. They are allowed to be informed about ASEANs decisions, but they cannot play a direct role in the decision-making process, even in areas that directly affect them (namely political-security and economic matters).

ASEAN leaders should take note that there has been increasing interest among civil society groups based in their countries, who believe that the association could become an effective forum for addressing the concerns of the people. Trans-boundary issues such as the flow of migrant workers, human trafficking and refugees, among others, would be especially relevant. The plan to establish the ASEAN human rights body could be just the first step toward this.

The upcoming ASEAN Peoples' Forum/4th ASEAN Civil Society Conference, to be held prior to the 14th ASEAN Summit will be an important venue for ASEAN leaders and governments to actually listen and gain inspiration from the people of what they want ASEAN to be and to do.

The ASEAN Charter, while it is not the charter the people wished to see, could be a start in making the organization more people-oriented. ASEAN needs to open up and listen to the people more, in all of its deliberations. This is a must for ASEAN governments if they wish for more comprehensive change. If not, the association will continue to be people-disoriented instead of a place where decisions are actually based around the people.

The writer is a Southeast Asia Program Officer with the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA).

Popular

Malaysia says China ready to sign SEA nuclear weapons-free treaty

Solving the development crisis with quality finance

Uncertainty looms over northern Bali airport project