1. ASEAN & CIVIL
SOCIETY ADVOCACY
Yuyun Wahyuningrum, Senior Advisor on ASEAN and Human Rights,
HRWG – Indonesia, wahyuningrum@gmail.com
2013

2. ENGAGING ASEAN
• Civil Society‟s history of nonengagement in first 30 years;
mutual distrust between CS and
ASEAN
Individual/ Citizen
Victims/Survivors
Private sectors
• Different perspectives on civil
society
• ASEAN Charter language on
peoples‟ participation in ASEAN
(Art 13)
• Lack of mechanisms for CS
participation in ASEAN
ASEAN
Governments
Think Tank
Civil Society
Groups, Lawyers
• current practice by the ASEAN,
i.e. CSO accreditation process

3. Who and what is civil
society?
• “Civil society refers to the arena of uncoerced collective action around shared
interests, purposes and values. In theory, its institutional forms are distinct
from those of the state, family and market, though in practice, the
boundaries between state, civil society, family and market are often complex,
blurred and negotiated. London School of Economics Center for Civil
Society www.ise.ac.uk
• Civil society comprises the realm of organizations that lie between the family at
one extreme and the state at the other (Hegel 1821)
• Civil society is the sphere of institutions, organisations and individuals located
between the family, the state and the marketin which people associate
voluntarily 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

4. Purpose
• advocate a collective good (Mueller 2004);
typically „public interest groups‟
• prime characteristic and motivation is a “search
for meaning” and the “application of principled
beliefs” (Khagram et al. 2002), rather than the
use of authority (state) or the drive for profit
(business
• Role in building social capital, provision of social
justice. Is democracy more likely and of better
quality where there is a strong CS?

5. Contemporary dimensions of civil society
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) therefore are a wide array of
organisations: 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).

6. Non-state actors
• NON-STATE ACTORS: non governmental organisations,
organisations representing indigenous peoples, organisations
representing 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 good
governance, civil rights organisations and organisations combating
discrimination, local organisations (including networks) involved in
decentralised regional cooperation and integration, consumer
organisations, women's and youth organisations, teaching,
cultural, research and scientific organisations, universities,
churches and religious associations and communities, the media
and any non-governmental associations and independent
foundations, including independent political foundations.
• gather the main structures of organised society outside government and
public administration; are independent of the state; are active in
different fields;

7. NGOs
NGOs
Civil Society Organisations
Non State Actors

8. 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

9. ASEAN Community Dialogue,
2012

10. Informal Dialogue with ASEAN
Secretary General, 2012

11. Meeting with Minister
Foreign Affairs, 2012

12. 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)/ 1st ASEAN Peoples‟
Forum (APF)
2009
Hua Hin, Thailand
5th ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/2nd ASEAN Peoples‟
Forum (APF)
2010
Hanoi, Vietnam
6th ASEAN 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

13. CSO/NGO participation
Malysia 2005
Cebu 2006
Singapore 2007
Bangkok 2009
Cha Am 2009
Hanoi 2010
Jakarata 2011
Phnom Penh 2012
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400

14. 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/ Climate
Justice
Housing Rights
Gender
Child Rights
Youth Participation
Refugees / Stateless Peoples/ Internally
Displaced Peoples
Indigenous Peoples
Communication Rights and Freedom of
Information
Burma
Peace and Conflict
Etc.

15. +
Our collective knowledge we produced through
8 years‟ ACSC/APF?
ASEAN‟s Alternative Regionalism
(Source: HRWG Study, 2011)
• Particularly:
Women &
Youth, Indigenous
People / Ethnic
Minority, and
CSOs
•
•
•
•
CSO
Participation in
Decision
Making
Process
Adoption of
Basic
Universal
Values
(1,2,3,6,7)
• Against unjust
FTA, privatization,
• Reject neoliberal
economic
policies
Democracy
Human Rights
Transparency
Accountability
(3,4,5,6,7)
Holistic rights-based
approach on
Developmen
t (1,2,4,5,6,7)
Adoption of
UN Bodies‟
related
Conventions
(1,2,4,5,6,7)
• Mainly:
ILO, UNFCCC, CE
DAW, UNCRC, UN
DRIP, &MDGs

16. Perspectives and Learning on
Engagement with ASEAN
• Gaps in CS capacities (countries, regional viz. country)
• Multiple capacities needed: articulating a peoples’
agenda; mounting regional and national campaigns;
rooting regional campaigns on the national level; bringing
different thematic constituencies behind regional
campaigns; convincing the public; having champions in
govt
• 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 of CSOs

17. 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

18. Strategy: Simultaneous Approaches
Regional
Lobby, Net
work &
Advocacy
ASEAN
National
Lobby, Net
work, Advoc
acy &
Campaign
 Top Down: Creation of
demand in regional level
through regional
organizations.
 ASEAN secretariat
 ASEAN
Representatives/Bodies
 International Institutions
 Bottom Up: Pushing for need
of making ASEAN HR
Mechanism through civil
society advocacy.
 Individual member countries
 CSOs/NGOs (Nat & Regional)

19. INSIDERS VS Outsiders
• PRESSURE FROM THE OUTSIDE through
confrontational tactics: marching, attacking the „red
zone‟, showing the weakness or the contradictions of „the
system‟, 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 of „watering down‟ criticism in favor of

20. INSIDE
Dimension of
engagement
INSIDE
OUTSIDE
OUTSIDE
Repertories of action and strategies towards policy
processes
Cooperative attitude: active engagement in policy-making
processes through lobbying, advocacy and participation in multistakeholder processes. Policy processes are seen as “potential
gain”. Insiders are the least independent from the political
process.
Confrontational attitude: “engagement” through pressure from
the outside (counter-summits, campaigns, norm change…) and
disruptive direct actions. Policy processes are perceived as
“threats”.

21. Indonesia‟s Experiences &
Engaging ASEAN

22. Indonesia‟s Experience
• Our process toward democracy has informed that the pressures for a change
both came from inside and outside the country have proved to be effective and
strategic.
• Organized society and the participation of civil society are the key to our
economic and political reform in Indonesia.
• Apart of using international mechanism, we started to shape the opinion of
diplomatic 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 information
distribution, i.e. ASEANcats@googlegroups.com
• Lately, we have a successful campaign on freedom of religions and
beliefs, LGBTIQ, ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

23. USING ASEAN
• Popularizing the concept of Civil Society in ASEAN Member
States
• Civil Society Space: Expanding its space at national and
regional 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 its
member countries: Charter, TOR AICHR, AHRD