Yogyakarta, 8 October 2020.

On Thursday, 8 October 2020, ASEAN Studies Center UGM held a webinar under the theme of Solidifying the Role of Think Tanks and CSOs in the Advocacy to Strengthen the ASEAN Commission of Women and Children (ACWC). The webinar, with the support of Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and FORUM-ASIA, was held online via YouTube at 9am. The webinar was held to launch the Report on the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) +10 titled Assessing the Commission’s Impact on Protecting Women and Children’s Right in ASEAN, composed by FORUM-ASIA.

The webinar invited five keynote speakers, namely Rachel Arinii Judhistasari (FORUM-ASIA East Asia and ASEAN Advocacy Programme Manager), Sri Danti Anwar (Indonesia’s ACWC Representative for Women’s Right), Yuyum Fhahni Paryani (Indonesia’s ACWC Representative for Children’s Rights), Yuyun Wahyuningrum (Representative of Indonesia to the AICHR), and Agustina Kustulasari (Senior Fellow, ASEAN Studies Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada).

The webinar commenced with opening remarks by Dafri Agussalim as Executive Director of ASEAN Studies Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, and Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA. Dafri highlighted the importance of protection of women and children as they are also part of the community. Following these remarks, the Report on Assessing the Commission’s Impact on Protecting Women and Childrens Right in ASEAN was officially launched.

The webinar, question, and answer session was moderated by Rita Serena Kolibonso.

The first speaker, Rachel Arinii Judhistasari, explained the findings within the Report with a highlight on the need for a robust regional mechanism to address human rights violations and discrimination. Although the mandate of ACWC includes balancing rights and responsibility, a pretext of religion and socio-cultural norms which often detrimental to children and women’s rights, this has yet to take form. The Report also suggested the importance of solidifying the role of CSOs across the region to support the work of ACWC.

The second speaker representing ACWC (women), Sri Danti Anwar, stated that 15 programs focusing on gender mainstreaming and strengthening human protection had successfully been achieved. Still, further plans need to be carried out, including eliminating violence against women and drafting the standard and protocol guidelines for ACWC. However, these initiatives were not without challenges. There remains a looming gap between the socio-cultural, economic, and political-security communities that often work in silo.

Similar to the effort of the ACWC (women), as specified by Yuyum Fhahni Paryani representing ACWC (children), the implementation of the current ACWC Work Plan 2016-2020 is an effort to be in step with a contemporary trend in the region in these fast-changing times. The next work plan’s strategic initiative would explore a “life-cycle” approach to take a more in-depth look at the needs of women and children in particular. This approach would ensure that they are advocated for and will not be left behind.

Meanwhile, Yuyun Wahyuningrum highlighted synergy efforts between AICHR, ACWC, and CSOs to further the agenda of gender mainstreaming in ASEAN. The creation of regionalization allows us to organize cooperation talks about the rights of women and children. In terms of ASEAN, to develop the standard, states need a space and interconnection through intergovernmental models that centralize on states’ initiatives.

It is also essential to understand similar ratifications pertaining to the rights of women and children, such as Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) as Agustina Kustulasari presented in her findings. However, ASEAN’s moves have been slow-paced, particularly in areas of policy-making and implementation. It is challenged mostly by the non-intervention principle and peer-pressure. To address this issue, she suggested the involvement of other strategic policy actors such as the media to play their vital role as a potent agent in shaping the language of gender and the role of academia to provide an academic approach in addressing the challenges of ACWC.

The following are key points summarized from the Question and Answer session, namely: CSOs and think-tanks have to work closer if more advocative policies are to be developed in the future, the importance of distinguishing particular groups to identify their specific needs in the society, such as domestic violence victims during the lockdown, inclusive education to respond to mixed migration, mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 to women and children, and to monitor ASEAN member states’ response to these issues and further develop policy framework through AICHR. These points will be taken into account when establishing the forthcoming working paper.

A Working Conference under the theme of “ASEAN-United Kingdom Relations in the Changing Regional Architecture” was held on 18-19 February 2020. It brought together experts from ASEAN Member States and Southeast Asian experts from the United Kingdom to exchange ideas on creating strategic partnership avenues between ASEAN and the United Kingdom with acknowledgement towards the rapidly changing regional architecture. The Conference was held at the recently inaugurated building of the ASEAN Secretariat, Jalan Sisingamangaraja, Jakarta, Indonesia. The two-day event covered presentations and discussions on various topics and was concluded by a site trip around the new and Heritage buildings of the ASEAN Secretariat. The panelists consisted of researchers from the ASEAN Member States, with the exception of representatives from Myanmar and the Philippines who were unable to attend, and the United Kingdom. The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to ASEAN, Deputy Secretary-General of Community and Corporate Affairs, and ASEAN entities also attended the event.

Prior to the Working Conference, a welcoming dinner was hosted on Monday, 17 February 2020, at the 1O1 Hotel Darmawangsa, at 19.00. The following day, Tuesday, 18 February 2020, participants arrived at 08.30 to register before the Conference commenced at 09.00. The Working Conference was officiated with opening remarks from the Executive Director of the ASEAN Studies Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to ASEAN, and the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Community & Corporate Affairs. The opening was followed by a photo session.

The first session took place after a brief coffee break. Discussions took place under the theme, “ASEAN in the Changing Geostrategic Theatre”. The presenting panelists were from Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, and United Kingdom. The discussion evolved around the institutional agility and internal cohesion of ASEAN’s Centrality, historical references of ASEAN and its present, and further extended to discuss Brexit, Britain, and the World. The first session was concluded with a Question & Answer session.

The second session reconvened after a brief coffee break, at 11.00. The discussions evolved around “ASEAN External Relations” highlighting proposed narratives of researchers from the United Kingdom and Singapore. The session looked into the impacts of Britain’s historical role in the Southeast Asian region, Brexit, United Kingdom’s engagement to ASEAN, and response to the changing regional politics. This session also delved into talks of the ways forward for both ASEAN and the United Kingdom post-Brexit. It proposed focusing on engaging the ASEAN Chairmanship, in effort of establishing a meaningful tie with the region. The session was also followed by a Question & Answer session, and a lunch break.

The third session highlghted the role that the ASEAN entities play in strengthening the ASEAN Communities. The theme of the discussion was an “Introductory Presentation by ASEAN Secretariat and Associated Entities” which brought the views of the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Institute of Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), ASEAN Foundation, and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). This session looked into the functions of the Secretariat, how Community building in the region is promoted through peace, stability, and understanding, as well as through the strengthening of the role of the youth.

Due to time constraint, the fourth session was held in conjunction with the fifth. The fourth session highlighted the views of researchers from Thailand, Cambodia, United Kingdom, on “ASEAN and Its People-Centeredness: Still Relevant?”. Participants looked at the challanges and ways forward of the people-centered ASEAN, questioned what bring people-centered and people-oriented means for the community-building effort of ASEAN, how the digital ambition of ASEAN looks like and what opportunities this leaves for the United Kingdom. Further, the panelists also looked into how the people-centered and people-oriented goal of ASEAN would play into the rapidly evolving regional security architecture. This lead to the fifth session under the theme of “ASEAN Regionalism”. Panelists from Vietnam, Malaysia and Lao PDR looked at sectors which provided greater opportunities for a stronger colaboration, namely in education, trade, and security. The Q&A for the fourth and fifth sessions were accommodated in conjuction. All five sessions of the Working Conference were moderated by the ASEAN Studies Centre. The Conference ended at 17.45 afterwhich the participants returned to 101 Hotel Darmawangsa.

Registration for the second day opened at 09.30 at the Video Conference Room, North Tower, ASEAN Secretariat. The session commenced at 10.00 to wrap-up the discussion from the previous day. Participants brainstormed possible outputs of the Working Conference, agreed on solidifying the Network of ASEAN-UK Think Tanks (NAUT) and looked into the possibilities of mainstreaming ASEAN studies in the UK. The discussion was held for two hours and was followed by a photo session. Participants were directed to the Lobby of the ASEAN Secretariat to have a photo session in front of ASEAN emblem, before enjoying the provided lunch. After lunch, participants were facilitated a site visit of public spaces within the new and Heritage ASEAN Secretariat building, by the ASEAN Secretariat. Participants visited the sky bridge connecting the North and South towers of the Secretariat, the Art Gallery, the Nusantara Hall, Library, the recently renovated Gift Shop, and the ASEAN Hall within the premise of the ASEAN Heritage Building. The visit to the ASEAN Heritage Building marked the end of the last day of “Working Conference on ASEAN-UK Relations in the Changing Regional Architecture”.

A one-day “Sharing Seminar on Policy Research and Consultancy: Building an Inclusive Platform of Regional Policy-Making in ASEAN” was held at Ashley Hotel, Jakarta, on Tuesday, 21 January 2020. The Seminar invited researchers from ASEAN Member States to participate in sharing their best practices of formulating strategic policy-making with the government and among think tanks. Also attending the Seminar were ASEAN entities, and government officials, etc.

The event commenced at 8.30 am and was followed by a Welcoming Speech and Keynote Speech, consecutively. After a brief coffee break, the event continued with presentations on “Linking Academic Research and Policy Making in Indonesia” and “Undertaking Policy Research” from Indonesian and United Kingdom facilitators. The first session discussed the nature of research and policy-making in Indonesia. It looked into the issues of bureaucracy, structural problems, government approaches, and lack of funding, etc. The speaker shared some tips on winning research grants including the involvement of agencies, building a firm reputation, and maintaining relations with stakeholders. The second session examined the various researches that are useful in achieving change in policy-making. It also discussed the various approaches in creating an impactful policy research including the importance of analysing stakeholders, appropriate timing, focusing on the solutions, and the importance of an engagement strategy.

In the sharing sessions which followed, best practices of conducting policy-oriented researches from the point of view of researchers were highlighted. Researchers from eight ASEAN Member States (representatives from Brunei Darussalam and Myanmar were unable to attend) shared their experiences in policy research, the difficulties met, achievements, and proposed way forward. The Seminar identified the similarities and differences in conducting policy-oriented research across the ASEAN Member States and saw merit in strengthening the network.

The sharing sessions were facilitated by a moderator to navigate the discussion and accommodate the Question and Answer session. The first sharing session invited researchers from Cambodia and Indonesia. The second session highlighted the experiences of researchers from Lao PDR, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The last session invited researchers from Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. A Permanent Representative of an ASEAN Member State to ASEAN shared their insight and observation of the discussion. After a brief wrap-up, the sharing session was concluded.

Written by: Fara Sheila Azalia

In commemoration of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)’s 10th anniversary, ASEAN Studies Center UGM has held the Public Discussion and Book Launching with the theme “The Evolution of the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism: Institutional and Thematic Issues Within” at East Seminar (Seminar Timur), Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM, 16 November 2019.

Attended by over 40 institutions from all over Jogjakarta, this event launched the book and invited several notable speakers who were active in promoting and protecting human rights in ASEAN as a way to reflect how far we have overcome, and what are things that challenge us ahead.

Dio Herdiawan Tobing and Dr. Randy Wirasta Nandyatama as the editors of the book, along with Ezka Amalia moderated the whole discussion. Dio opened the session by talking about how human rights are perceived as Western thinking and how to contextualize human rights to be more relevant in ASEAN. Although human rights have its own ‘rules of the game’, however, this rule cannot be applied directly as ASEAN is made up of diverse countries. For instance, Indonesia and Thailand are going independent, while others are trying to have open elections. Thus, how to go beyond the rules and make it more relevant to the condition of ASEAN possess? That’s one of the question the book trying to answer. Randy presented the opportunities and challenges of implementing human rights in ASEAN. When it comes to opportunities, there have been good relations between states and civil society organizations (CSOs). Member states require new and fresh ideas and CSOs can give new ideas on how to promote human rights. When it comes to challenges, ASEAN has an ‘exclusivity’, meaning that different countries have their own distinct views towards human rights, which makes it harder for CSOs to engage. Each country has specific strategic thinking on human rights and only by having more knowledge, CSOs can have better suggestions on how to promote human rights. Ammar Hidayatullah as one of the writers of the book talked about rights for the disabled person in ASEAN. In ASEAN, 1 from 10 people have disabilities, making them reach to 65 million people in the region. So far, ASEAN has drafted the 2012 Bali Declaration and 2012 Commission drafted the Human Rights Declaration for the advancement for the rights of people with disabilities.

In the next session which called ‘Looking Back How Far Have We Gone Now?’, H.E. Amb. Ade Padmo Sarwono as the Permanent Representative of Indonesia to ASEAN highlighted the progress of human rights mechanism in ASEAN and how different countries have their own way to achieve establishment of protection of human rights. AICHR essentially is to promote conversation among the people in ASEAN so that they can share the best practice on protecting human rights in their own country. Although it has the element of ‘intergovernmental’, however, the work does not fall to the government scope only. It has to be supported by all elements of society to be succeeded. Only through conversations, then countries within ASEAN can move forward to achieve human rights protection. H.E. Amb. Phasporn Sangasubana, Permanent Representative of Thailand to ASEAN highlighted the role of non-state actors as the representative of AICHR and there has to be cooperation and coordination among the stakeholders in ASEAN. H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum as the Indonesian Representative to AICHR explained how human rights used to be perceived nationally, and since AICHR established, there are efforts to situate human rights regionally. AICHR still has limitations due to the lack of mandate of fact-finding, monitoring, and investigation of human rights. However, they are now acting as the platform of political dialogue between countries to share ways of promoting and protecting human rights nationally. They also have the ability to establish a focal point on specific issues. She argued that AICHR has been achieving good progress so far, by becoming a promotional regime–they institutionalized many human rights mechanisms such as AHRD, DEVAWC, and ACTIP.

The last session, ‘Looking Forward Prospects and Challenges Ahead’, was talking about what should AICHR improve to promote the protection of human rights in ASEAN by inviting Edmund Thai Boon Soon as the Former Malaysian Representative to AICHR (2015-2018), Desi Hanara as the Southeast Asia Regional Coordinator for ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, and Rachel Arini J as the East Asia and ASEAN Programme Manager of FORUM-ASIA Report No.2 Launching Perspective from the CSOs. Edmund stressed the importance of being assertive and do fact-finding for AICHR. Human rights standards often fall to the ‘margin of appreciation’ thus there has to be an agreed standard for ASEAN member countries. ASEAN also has many issues such as lack of protection for migrant workers. Although such issue exist, however, it is still lacking on how to manage those issues and what ASEAN can do is by having more fact-finding to cover as many issues as possible. Desi Hanara, on the other hand, compared AICHR with other human rights regional organizations. To name a few, European Convention on Human Rights, Inter-American Human Rights System, African Commission on Human’s People’s Rights, and ECOWAS. What ASEAN still lacking is on the individual complaint’s mechanism. ECHR can facilitate individual to submit their complaints directly to the ECtHR if the country is violating her/his rights. ECOWAS does not require one to exhaust local remedies if he/she wants to submit a case to the court. How about AICHR? It is not reaching those stages yet. Rachel Arinii assessed the performance of AICHR from the lense of CSOs. through the FORUM-SAIA Report No.2, there are various items that AICHR still lacking on. AICHR remained silent during the Rohingya Crisis and they only focus on achieving civic and political rights. Throughout these 10 years, there has not many that AICHR achieved. However, Rachel noted that this happened not because of the failure of the representatives. This happened due to structural failure. Last but not least, she recommended several actions to improve AICHR. One of them is to remove the ‘intergovernmental’ element from AICHR’s name and its mandate so that it becomes everyone’s job to improve human rights protection in ASEAN.

The book is accessible by early next year and can be accessed through our website (asc.fisipol.ugm.ac.id).

Teaching materials: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BLnS3cPwp_v3VyNk9NXLL3CDsAIl49Pc?usp=sharing