SUSAN LOONE’S BLOG: The disastrous ASEAN Peoples Forum in Cha’am
It was a disastrous 3 day meeting in Cha’am, Thailand, where civil society representatives anticipated several sessions of heated ‘dialogues’ with ASEAN officials/their government representatives from 18-20October 2009. As it turned out, it was a monologue – where NGOs had to ‘dialogue’ with themselves since the ASEAN government officials met by themselves not far away from the NGOs, in Dusit Thani Hotel, for their annual Summit.
Business World: ASEAN agenda: climate change
IMPROVED REGIONAL cooperation on climate change will top President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s agenda at the 15th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Thailand next week. Mrs. Arroyo cited the need for stronger ASEAN alliance as the world faces what she called “climate change crisis.”
CHA-AM : Civil society organisations covering Southeast Asia have criticised many Asean members for their lack of transparency in nominating national representatives to the Asean Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights. Instead of nominating delegates who work in the field of human rights, several Asean governments had appointed, or influenced the selection of, diplomats or officials as their choices, they said in a meeting of the Asean People’s Forum in Cha-am.
Exile Groups to be Present at Asean Meet
Burmese exile Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) will have their own representative at the 15th Asean Summit to be held at Hua Hin this weekend after pro Burmese government NGOs said they did not wish their representative to discuss human rights issues, according to participants at the final day of the Asean People’s Forum in Cha-am on Tuesday.
FIDH: Asia : ASEAN and human rights: Worrying attempts to control civil society
The Asean Peoples’ Forum appoints one civil society representative per country to meet with ASEAN officials and relay concerns raised by NGOs during the three days of civil society meeting. FIDH notes that NGOs should be able to decide independently who will represent them in this dialogue with States’ representatives. However, some ASEAN countries – Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in particular – have been trying to influence this decision-making process by imposing government-controlled « NGOs » as their interlocutors in that dialogue.
Asia Times: Ghost of Thaksin’s past visits Abhisit
WASHINGTON and BANGKOK – Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva recently returned from meetings in the United States where he assured investors and diplomats that recent protests and unrest were in fact a sign that Thailand’s democracy is vibrant and on the right track.
Bangkok Post: Activists call on Asean to work for justice, peace
Muslim activists from Malaysia are spearheading a call for Asean to work for justice and peace in Burma, southern Thailand and the Philippines. A statement was issued on Friday by 45 organisations led by two Malaysian NGOs – Nusantara Initiatives for Justice and Peace and Citizens International – urging the regional body to pursue that goal.
Bangkok Post: NGOs slate Asean leadership
CHA-AM : The 2nd Asean Peoples’ Forum has started without key representatives from the government and Asean Secretariat. This was in contrast with the forum’s launch in Bangkok in February. The absence of official representation yesterday raised doubts if the regional grouping is really serious in creating a “caring and sharing community”.
Inquirer Global National: Asean, gov’t execs snub people’s forum
CHA-AM, Thailand—The trend toward involving people’s organizations and civil society groups in the process of integrating the southeast Asian region appears to have taken a U-turn after the bloc’s secretariat and government officials from member-nations snubbed the Asean People’s Forum here.
Mizzima: Burmese civil society groups call on ASEAN leaders
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Burmese civil society groups have urged Thailand to put a stop to dam projects in neighbouring Burma, while other groups at the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum called on the regional bloc to address the Burmese regime’s breaching the newly drafted Charter, amidst confusion in finding a delegation to meet ASEAN leaders.
Inquirer Global National: Asean leaders to launch ‘historic’ human rights body
HUA HIN – Southeast Asian leaders are to officially launch a “historic” human rights body on Friday, despite criticisms that it will be too soft on members such as military-ruled Myanmar. Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) opened an annual regional summit in the elite Thai resort town of Hua Hin, with security forces locking down the area to prevent anti-government protests.
Bangkok Post: UN urges ‘credible’ Asian rights body
The AICHR “will have to work hard to establish itself as a credible regional mechanism and help close the gap between human rights rhetoric and the reality on the ground,” said Homayoun Alizadeh, the regional representative for the UN’s human rights commission.
“There is much hope and expectation surrounding this occasion, as it represents an important commitment by states in the region to move beyond mere words,” he said in a statement.
The Nation: Asean and human rights: closing the implementation gap
Tomorrow, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is set to launch the first regional human rights mechanism in the Asia-Pacific region, to be known as the Asean Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). There is much hope and expectation surrounding this occasion, as it represents an important commitment by states in the region to move beyond mere words and towards the implementation of their human rights commitments on the ground.
The Daily Tribune: Asean execs hit for snub of civil society meets
Officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) received flak for ignoring the invitation of civil society organizations for them to attend the opening plenary of the 2nd Asean Peoples’ Forum (APF)/5th Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC) in Cha-am, Thailand on Sunday.
But then when those headlines are gone and business return as usual, underlying mistrust and misunderstanding even hatred is creeping back to where it has been a cornerstone for our peoples.
The Phnom Penh Post: NGOs fear govt snub at ASEAN summit
CIVIL-society groups say they fear that leaders from Cambodia and other ASEAN countries might opt not to engage with them at this week’s summit in Thailand.
On Sunday, 500 civil-society members from throughout Southeast Asia met for a three-day conference in Cha-Am, Thailand, near Hua Hin. The gathering, the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF), comes in advance of an official ASEAN meeting scheduled for Friday between government officials and civil society representatives.
