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ASEAN & CIVIL

SOCIETY ADVOCACYYuyun Wahyuningrum, Senior Advisor on ASEAN and Human Rights,

HRWG Indonesia, wahyuningrum@gmail.com

2013

mailto:wahyuningrum@gmail.commailto:wahyuningrum@gmail.com

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ENGAGING ASEAN

Civil Societys history of non-

engagement in first 30 years;

mutual distrust between CS and

ASEAN

Different perspectives on civilsociety

ASEAN Charter language on

peoples participation in ASEAN

(Art 13)

Lack of mechanisms for CS

participation in ASEAN

current practice by the ASEAN,

i.e. CSO accreditation process

ASEAN

Individual/ Citizen

Victims/Survivors

Governments

Civil SocietyGroups, Lawyers

Think Tank

Private sectors

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Who and what is civil

society? Civil society refers to the arena ofuncoerced collective action around shared

interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinctfrom those of the state, family and market, though in practice, theboundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex,blurred and negotiated. London School of Economics Center for CivilSociety www.ise.ac.uk

Civil society comprises the realm of organizations that lie between the family atone extreme and the state at the other (Hegel 1821)

Civil society is the sphere of institutions, organisations and individuals locatedbetween the family, the state and the marketin which people associatevoluntarily to advance common interests (Anheirer 2004)

[Civil society as] an anti-hegemonic force in society, whose purpose is to

aggregate the interests of power of the marginalised members of society

(Habermas 1996)

associations of citizens (outside their families, friends and businesses) entered into

voluntarily to advance their interests, ideas and ideologies. The term does not include

profit-making activity (the private sector) or governing (the public sector) (Cardoso et al.(2004), We the peoples: civil society, the United Nations and global governance. Report of the Panel of

Eminent Persons on United Nations-Civil Society Relations, UN document UN A/58/817,

http://www.un.org/reform/a58_817_english.doc)

Civil society is bourgeois society that maintains the dominant economic

http://www.ise.ac.uk/http://www.un.org/reform/a58_817_english.dochttp://www.un.org/reform/a58_817_english.dochttp://www.ise.ac.uk/

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Purpose

advocate a collective good (Mueller 2004);typically public interest groups

prime characteristic and motivation is a search

for meaning and the application of principledbeliefs (Khagram et al. 2002), rather than theuse of authority (state) or the drive for profit(business

Role in building social capital, provision of socialjustice. Is democracy more likely and of betterquality where there is a strong CS?

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Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) therefore are a wide array oforganisations: community groups, non-governmental organisations

(NGOs), labour unions, indigenous groups, charitable organisations,

faith-based organisations, professional associations, and foundations

(World Bank 2006).

Civil society embraces:

Institutionalised groups: such as religious organisations, trades

unions, business associations and co-operatives.

Local organisations: such as community associations, farmers

associations, local sports groups, non-governmental organisations

and credit societies.

Social movements and networks (DFID 2006).

Contemporary dimensions of civil society

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Non-state actors

NON-STATE ACTORS: non governmental organisations,organisations representing indigenous peoples, organisationsrepresenting national and/or ethnic minorities, local traders'associations and citizens' groups, cooperatives, trade unions,organisations representing economic and social interests,organisations fighting corruption and fraud and promoting goodgovernance, civil rights organisations and organisations combatingdiscrimination, local organisations (including networks) involved indecentralised regional cooperation and integration, consumerorganisations, women's and youth organisations, teaching,cultural, research and scientific organisations, universities,churches and religious associations and communities, the mediaand any non-governmental associations and independentfoundations, including independent political foundations.

gather the main structures of organised society outside government andpublic administration; are independent of the state; are active in

different fields;

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NGOs

Civil Society Organisations

NGOs

Non State Actors

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CSO Platforms in engaging ASEAN

Name frequent Engaging the body

ACSC/APF annually ASEAN SUMMIT Head of

States/Governments

ASEAN Disability Forum (ADF) annually

ASEAN Youth Forum annually

ASEAN Grass-root People Assembly annually

ASEAN Community Dialogue annually ASEAN Committee Permanent

Representatives (CPR)

CPR

Civil Society Forum to AMM on

human rights

annually ASEAN Ministers Meeting (AMM) Foreign Ministers

Informal Dialogue between CSO and

ASG

annually ASEAN Secretary General (ASG) Secretary General

Jakarta Human Rights Dialogue in

ASEAN

annually ASEAN Human Rights

Mechanisms

AICHR, ACWC

GO-NGO Forum on Social Welfare &

Development

annually ASEAN Senior Official Meeting

on SWD

SOM officials

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ASEAN Community Dialogue,

2012

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Informal Dialogue with ASEAN

Secretary General, 2012

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Meeting with Minister

Foreign Affairs, 2012

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ASEAN Civil Society Conferences/ASEAN Peoples

Forums 2005-2012

Year Place The Name of the Event

2005 Shah Alam,

Malaysia

1st ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)

2006 Cebu, the

Philippines

2nd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)

2007 Singapore 3rd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)

2009 Bangkok, Thailand 4th ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ 1stASEAN Peoples

Forum (APF)

2009 Hua Hin, Thailand 5th ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/2ndASEAN Peoples

Forum (APF)

2010 Hanoi, Vietnam 6thASEAN Peoples Forum (APF)

2011 Jakarta, Indonesia ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN Peoples Forum

(APF) 2011

2012 Phnom Penh,

Cambodia

ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN Peoples Forum

(APF) 2012 March & November

2013 Brunei ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN Peoples Forum

(APF) 2013 - April

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CSO/NGO participation

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Phnom Penh 2012

Jakarata 2011

Hanoi 2010

Cha Am 2009

Bangkok 2009

Singapore 2007

Cebu 2006

Malysia 2005

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Thematic Engagements with ASEAN

Human Rights Labor and Migrants

Agriculture and Trade Issues

Food Sovereignty and Land-related

issues

Extractives Industries: mining, gas, oil

Large scale development projects: dams

Environment/ Climate Change/ ClimateJustice

Housing Rights

Gender

Child Rights

Youth Participation

Refugees / Stateless Peoples/ Internally

Displaced Peoples

Indigenous Peoples

Communication Rights and Freedom of

Information

Burma

Peace andConflict

Etc.

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+ Our collective knowledge we produced through

8 years ACSC/APF?

Mainly: ILO,UNFCCC, CEDAW,UNCRC, UNDRIP,&MDGs

Against unjustFTA, privatization,

Reject neoliberaleconomicpolicies

Democracy

Human Rights

Transparency

Accountability

Particularly:Women & Youth,Indigenous People

/ Ethnic Minority,and CSOs

CSOParticipation in

DecisionMakingProcess(1,2,3,6,7)

Adoption ofBasic

UniversalValues(3,4,5,6,7)

Adoption ofUN Bodies

relatedConventions

(1,2,4,5,6,7)

Holistic -rights-basedapproach onDevelopmen

t (1,2,4,5,6,7)

ASEANs Alternative Regionalism(Source: HRWG Study, 2011)

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Perspectives and Learning on

Engagement with ASEAN

Gaps in CS capacities (countries, regional viz. country)

Multiple capacities needed: articulating a peoplesagenda; mounting regional and national campaigns;rooting regional campaigns on the national level; bringing

different thematic constituencies behind regionalcampaigns; convincing the public; having champions ingovt

CS dependence on grants and CS-donor relations

CS roles in governance evolving

CS not homogenous, diff views on engagement

Governments and GONGOs continuing distrust ofCSOs

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Changes brought about by CS

engagement with ASEAN

policy changes: human rights and other rights

institutional mechanisms: AICHR, ACWC,

discussions on mechanisms for CS participation

changes in attitudes, outlooks

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Strategy: Simultaneous Approaches

ASEAN

Regional

Lobby,

Network &

Advocacy

National

Lobby,

Network,

Advocacy &

Campaign

Top Down: Creation ofdemand in regional levelthrough regionalorganizations.

ASEAN secretariat

ASEANRepresentatives/Bodies

International Institutions

Bottom Up: Pushing for needof making ASEAN HRMechanism through civilsociety advocacy.

Individual member countries

CSOs/NGOs (Nat & Regional)

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INSIDERS VS Outsiders

PRESSURE FROM THE OUTSIDE throughconfrontational tactics: marching, attacking the redzone, showing the weakness or the contradictions ofthesystem, raise public consciousness, show the king is

naked ENGANGEMENT with policy-makers trying to provoke

change from within

Accept the rules of the game in order to gain access to

policy arenas

Insiders use techniques like persuasion, lobbying,campaigning

Critiques: Who is representative of CS/global public

good? Risk ofwatering down criticism in favor of

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Confrontational attitude: engagement through pressure from

the outside (counter-summits, campaigns, norm change) and

disruptive direct actions. Policy processes are perceived as

threats.

OUTSIDE

Cooperative attitude: active engagement in policy-making

processes through lobbying, advocacy and participation in multi-

stakeholder processes. Policy processes are seen as potential

gain. Insiders are the least independent from the political

process.

INSIDE

Repertories of action and strategies towards policy

processes

Dimension of

engagement

INSIDE OUTSIDE

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Indonesias Experiences &

Engaging ASEAN

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Indonesias Experience

Our process toward democracy has informed that the pressures for a changeboth came from inside and outside the country have proved to be effective andstrategic.

Organized society and the participation of civil society are the key to oureconomic and political reform in Indonesia.

Apart of using international mechanism, we started to shape the opinion ofdiplomatic community

UN, EU on draft law on mass organization to get more supports to our position

ASEAN, OIC on expanding civil society space in closed countries and at the institution

Request further protection for activists/ human rights defenders

Now, we are not only working with foreign diplomats but also Indonesian

diplomats

Government has regular briefing with Foreign Diplomats and bilateral talk

It is always effective to have e-list of diplomatic community for informationdistribution, i.e. ASEANcats@googlegroups.com

Lately, we have a successful campaign on freedom of religions and beliefs,LGBTIQ, ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

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USING ASEAN

Popularizing the concept of Civil Society in ASEAN MemberStates

Civil Society Space: Expanding its space at national andregional level

ACSC/APF, ADF, AGPA Country cases: Vietnam, Brunei, Burma

Institutionalizing democratic dialogue Informal Dialogue with ASG

ASEAN Community Dialogue with CPR

Jakarta Human Rights Dialogue

Informal Meeting with Head of States

Setting norms and shaping practices in ASEAN and itsmember countries: Charter, TOR AICHR, AHRD