Press Statement of the 2012 ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum

We, more than 1,200 delegates from all ten ASEAN countries representing various civil society organizations and movements of workers from rural and urban sectors as well as the migrant sector, peasants and farmers, women, children, youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, urban poor, Indigenous Peoples […]

Phnom Penh hotel bars presentation on Myanmar situation, gov’t hand eyed

Incensed Myanmar participants to the ASEAN People’s Forum in Phnom Penh here were forced to forgo Friday morning a scheduled presentation on their country’s current political and human rights situation because of restrictions imposed by the hotel where the event is being held, prompting suspicions that the Cambodian government had a hand in the incident […]

Cambodia Curtails Freedom of Expression at ASEAN Civil Society Conference

Four workshops organized by civil society organizations were forced late last night to move their workshops to La Palaranda hotel, away from the main venue of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN People’s Forum (APF), the Lucky Star Hotel (on Street 336, Phnom Penh). Three of the workshops dealt with land rights, eviction and environment issues and the fourth focused on Burma’s current political and human rights situation and the challenges this poses to the country’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014 […]

ASEAN Should Support and Promote a Credible and Transparent Process of Peace and Reconciliation in Myanmar and Mechanism of Human Rights Protection

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today welcomed the upcoming visit of ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan to Myanmar on 20 February but noted its continued […]

Cambodia vows to finalize ASEAN human rights declaration this year

Cambodia aims to finalize the drafting of an ASEAN Human Rights Declaration this year as it chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Cambodian Human Rights Committee chairman Om Yin Tieng said.

“This is a big job and needs a lot of discussions. However, we are confident that we can finalize it by this year,” said Om Yin Tieng, who is also a senior minister and chair of the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights in 2012 […]

Myanmar must be ready to act as face of ASEAN to the world

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today called on the Myanmar government to fulfill its obligations to continue on its path of democratization and improve its human rights standards ahead of taking the ASEAN
Chair in 2014 […]

In a Premature Nod to Burma, ASEAN Misses a Chance to Drive Real Change

Last weekend, the Arab League voted to suspend Syria from its meetings and impose sanctions on the Damascus regime. The vote came after Syria ignored the regional institution’s calls for the release of prisoners, an immediate end to killings and violence and talks with opposition forces.

While the Arab League took such a strong decision, another regional group, ASEAN, has shied away from its responsibility to protect civilians and promote peace, security and justice in one of its member states […]

ASEAN Rewards Burma for Human Rights Abuses

ASEAN has missed an opportunity to push for improvements for human rights in Burma, according to Burma activists in Australia. ASEAN leaders attending a meeting in Indonesia agreed to allow Burma to chair the regional bloc in 2014 […]

ASEAN gambles on Myanmar’s regional leadership

Southeast Asian nations endorsed Myanmar on Thursday for the chairmanship of its regional grouping in 2014, gambling that the isolated country can stick to reforms begun this year that could lead it out of half a century of isolation.

But President Barack Obama cautioned that Myanmar, also known as Burma, must still demonstrate improvements in human rights […]

Exiles Want More Change Before Burma Given Asean Chair

Recent reforms by the Burmese government are not enough to warrant the country’s taking the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in 2014, say long-time opposition exiles.

The Burmese government is pressing to head the ten-state regional bloc, after being refused its turn to hold the rotating Asean chair in 2006. Incumbent Indonesia is sending Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to Burma to discuss the matter, prior to an upcoming Asean summit in Bali scheduled for Nov 17 […]