ASEAN, Human Rights and Media

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ASEAN, Human Rights and Media

• Mr. Carlos P. Medina, Jr.
• Mr. Kavi Chongkittavorn
• Mr. Sinapan Samydorai
• Moderated by
• Mr. Seonghoon LEE (Anselmo)

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Key Issues

• Why engaged ASEAN?
• Why not strengthen the UN international
  protection mechanism instead?
• Formula for ASEAN standard setting?
• X step(s) forward Y step(s) backwards

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Key context

• 2008
• 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
  Human Rights (UDHR)
• 10th Anniversary of UN Declaration on Human
  Rights Defenders (HRD) in the next 3 years (2008)
• 2007
• ASEAN joint position in nominating its candidate
  for the selection of the UN Secretary General
  post in
• A golden opportunity
• for the ASEAN to leave a lasting legacy ?

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ASEAN and Human Rights
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Key developments (1)

• All ASEAN now parties to the Convention on the
  Rights of the Child (CRC). All ASEAN countries,
  except Brunei, are also parties to the Convention
  on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
  against Women (CEDAW).
• The Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia
  have established national human rights
  institutions.
• ASEAN has adopted functional cooperation programs
  and plans of action wherein a number of human
  rights-related activities have been undertaken,
  particularly in the area of child abuse and
  exploitation, women, drug trafficking and
  trans-border environmental problems.

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Key developments (2)

• The ASEAN Vision 2020, which was adopted by ASEAN
  governments at the 1997 Kuala Lumpur informal
  summit of heads of government, foresees vibrant
  and open ASEAN societies consistent with their
  respective national identities, where all people
  enjoy equitable access to opportunities for total
  human development regardless of gender, race
  religion, language, or social and cultural
  background.
• ASEAN Summit, Laos (2004). ASEAN adopted the
  Vientiane Action Programme (VAP) which enumerates
  the following program areas on human rights

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Key developments (3)

• In ASEAN summit in Laos (2004), ASEAN has also
  designated the rotating chair of the ASEAN
  Standing Committee (ASC) as the focal point in
  ASEAN for human rights concerns, particularly on
  the mechanism proposals.

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Latest achievement by WG on ASEAN HR Mechanism

• Set up in 1993 after ASEAN made its declaration
  in 1993 favoring the establishment of a regional
  human rights mechanism.
• During the meeting of the Working Group with
  ASEAN Senior Officials in Vientiane, Laos, on
  July 25, 2005, ASEAN asked the Working Group to
  help implement the following four areas of the
  Vientiane Action Programme
• Establishment of the commission on women and
  children
• Elaboration of the migrant workers instrument
• Human rights education and
• Networking among existing national human rights
  mechanisms in the region.

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ASEAN and Media
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• ASEAN vision, identity will not be achieved
  without the proactive role of the ASEAN media.

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ASEAN Media

• Most of Asean news reported by Western wire
  services Reuters, AFP, AP, DPA
• Less Asean news by local news agencies Antara,
  Bermana, Thai News Agency, Philippine News Agency
• Asian wires report Asean sporadically Xinhua,
  JiJi, Kyodo
• Focus on bilateral issues, not Asean as a whole
• No real investigative reports on Asean
• Lack understanding of Asean structure and
  objectives the Bali Concord II, SEANWFZ, AFT,
  TAF,the Vientiane Action Plans, the Security,
  Economic and Social Communities, etc, etc

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Re-discovered CAJ (Confederation of Asean
Journalists (CAJ)

• CAJ was set up in 1975 by Indonesia
• To create state-owned media networks in Asean
• To support and disarray fear of Indonesia
• Passive and conservative
• Oldest and only Asean media organization
• Seven members, except Burma, Brunei and Cambodia

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Way forward for Asean media

• Revitalize CAJ, making it center of Asean media
• Asean news services
• Asean media training center
• Asean journalism awards environment, public
  services, etc
• Asean Media Fellowships

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Case studies Singapore and Migrant Workers
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CSOs-government relations in Singapore context

• Hostility based on values class, race.

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The matrix of migrant workers

• Racial discrimination
• Caste discrimination
• ASEAN understanding of ASEAN citizenship?
• ASEAN labor minister

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Key Actors/ initiatives
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Proposal for key strategies in engaging ASEAN on
sensitive issues

• Understand its mechanism and its limitation
• Build on stage by stage the existing foundation
• Deal with ASEAN at all levels with different
  faces