Please take a look at our recently translated Thai Youth Statement – any comments or ideas are welcome!!
Thai Youth Proposal for ASEAN – DRAFT
Translated from สรุปข้อเสนอต่อประชาคมอาเซียนของเยาวชนไทย
Socio-Cultural Pillar
Principles:
ASEAN must genuinely support the “people-centered” policy.
Strengthen and support cultural diversity.
Support youth participation in ASEAN policy-making at all levels.
Promote and support progressive youth initiatives.
Youth Activities:
ASEAN member countries need to support volunteer activities, improve budgets for youth social welfare, and support the establishment of regional youth networks for solidarity and exchange.
Education:
ASEAN member countries need to create education standards that are equal for all children and youth. Underprivileged youth deserve equal access to education and ASEAN governments need to support nation-wide and high quality budgets for education and work to develop local educators’ potential, improve the effectiveness of teaching and make teachers’ careers more secure.
ASEAN should also support and promote youth to learn about and understand the value of local wisdom. Government support should be given to the creation a local knowledge curriculum appropriate to local communities. This curriculum should create opportunities for community educators, local educators and community wise-persons to be involved with local schools.
ASEAN should support the creation of a “youth alternative education network” along with a budget to support an independent alternative education organization, with a staff made up of experienced alternative educators. This organization can also support youth alternative education research.
We also value learning English in order to develop our knowledge and strengthen our abilities to learn about society.
Peace and Security:
The ASEAN decision-making process regarding human rights issues must change from only making large-scale agreements to a process that involves the voices and opinions of the people. Records within the ASEAN Charter must have clear and definite meaning and purpose, especially regarding human rights violations. ASEAN member countries must promote the genuine involvement of civil society, especially youth.
ASEAN must control military intervention and use diplomacy for the long term, in internal affairs or between ASEAN member countries. Utilizing inspection mechanisms enhanced by youth involvement, ASEAN needs to be able to intervene on a country’s internal affairs where real human rights violations are occurring. The investigation process of human rights violations must be concrete and accessible to civil society.
The ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) needs to be an independent organization and must protect and promote all forms of human rights. Youth should also be involved with capacity building, education and the inspection of human rights violations.
ASEAN should also develop a youth network to strengthen peace in the Southeast Asian region and develop a curriculum to educate youth about human rights.
Economics:
ASEAN should control measures and design the implementation of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in a way that promotes reasonable investment and creates fairness and transparency in the trade system. The state, industry, agriculturalists, civil society, communities and youth must have a role in the decision-making process regarding bilateral and multilateral trade agreements or large-scale investments. All these groups mentioned above need to share responsibility for social, environmental and economic impacts that may occur from the establishment of FTAs and investments. This process must also disclose information for consideration in the decision-making process: details of agreements, meeting minutes, the basis for decision-making and commitments that may have impacts on decision-making.
ASEAN needs to promote and support local economies, as products and food production will be affected by market liberalization. This is also an opportunity to educate youth in ASEAN countries about the impacts of FTAs. Youth need to be protected from labor exploitation and ASEAN needs to create economic standards that take into account the impacts on society and environment.
Environment:
Environmental Protection and Management:
ASEAN Senior Officers on the Environment (ASOEN) must work with civil society to pressure for corporate social and environmental responsibility. This will be established through economic activity that takes into account the impacts on the environment.
ASEAN must establish and improve environmental standards and punishments for those countries failing to follow standards. ASEAN governments, especially on the local level, must also support youth and community participation in the inspection and decision-making of mega-projects. ASEAN member governments must disclose all available environmental information.
We support the creation of the ASEAN “Youth for Sustainable Environment Network” and want to fully participate in its development. We also want to access the ASEAN independent fund for supporting youth environmental activities and education – this could be used to support a campaign project to build environmental awareness at the grassroots level.
ASEAN countries must establish environmental taxes and all government offices must establish environmental programs.
Natural Resource Management and Protection:
ASEAN must create standards for participatory management of natural resources
ASEAN member governments must have economic policies that are balanced, appropriate and beneficial to local ecologies. These should also improve rights to access and local community-based management of natural resources. ASEAN must support the involvement of youth and communities in the management of their own resources.
ASEAN should also create an independent fund to support and promote sustainable agriculture. This fund could be derived from taxes on chemical fertilizers and agro-chemicals or other environmental taxes. ASEAN must also support community-based, sustainable alternative energy sources.
