Civil Society Role is Key in Transforming ASEAN
Posted:  November 3, 2007   12:53:06pm

SINGAPORE - A top official of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stressed the important role of civil society in transforming the regional institution and governance into a “social ASEAN” that embodies social work and community building processes.

In his keynote speech at the on-going Third ASEAN Civil Society Conference being held in this city-state, MC Abad Jr., Director for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community at the ASEAN Secretariat based in Jakarta, stated that the ASEAN is “a social construct that embodies the shared ideas and consciousness among the member-states”. It has proven to be a “superior way to ensure peace and security” in the region, which allowed the member-states to promote economic growth over the decades”.

Abad noted that the on-going process of community building in the ASEAN through the formulation of the ASEAN Charter is both “a culmination and a birth of a new era”. He stressed that the Charter will reaffirm the principles of democracy, non-interference and national sovereignty that are enshrined in landmark documents of the ASEAN.

Echoing the theme of the Conference on building an ASEAN peoples’ agenda, Abad stressed the important role of civil society in ASEAN community building and called on civil society to invest in the process of building a regional governance institution that is inclusive, resilient and enlightened.

The Solidarity for Asian Peoples’ Advocacy (SAPA), a network of civil society organizations from Asia that includes a working group that engages the ASEAN, has actively initiated consultation processes and submissions at the national and regional levels in the drafting of the ASEAN Charter.

More than 120 representatives of civil society organizations from across Southeast Asia and other parts of the world are attending the ACSC3, which runs until Sunday. The Conference precedes the 13th ASEAN Summit to be held in the city-state in mid-November. Heads of States are expected to adopt the ASEAN Charter at the Summit.