Date: Friday, 2 December 2021
Time: 9.30 – 11.00 AM (GMT+7)
Register here: l.forum-asia.org/ASEANWeb21
Live via: Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter
Already plagued by the crippling effects of COVID-19 in the region, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been dealing with the violent military coup in Myanmar. General Min Aung Hlaing’s vicious military coup that overthrew the ruling government has dismantled civil society up to this day. The worsening crisis in Myanmar tested the waters for ASEAN’s incumbent chair Brunei Darussalam, which failed to take any bold actions to address the crisis. The ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting Five-Point Consensus has not been fully implemented, even with the recent visit of ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar and Brunei Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan bin Pehin Yusof to the country. Brunei’s statement on the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits held virtually last 26 October 2021 paid little attention to the looming human rights violations in ASEAN.
Cambodia, the youngest member of ASEAN, will chair the ten-member bloc next year. In leading ASEAN, the country hopes to rebound from its controversial chairpersonship back in 2012, when they failed to release a statement during its Foreign Ministers Meeting in July that year, a first since ASEAN was established. Likewise, Cambodia’s bleak national human rights record and its continuous disregard for human rights, may derail ASEAN’s ambitious hopes to be a community advocating for the 3Ps: people, peace, and prosperity.
In conjunction with the much-anticipated turnover of the ASEAN chairpersonship and the conclusion of the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summit, FORUM-ASIA and CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation will conduct a two-hour webinar titled “Cambodia as ASEAN Chair: Prospects for Human Rights in 2022.”
Speakers:
● Josef Benedict, Asia Pacific Researcher – CIVICUS
● Khin Ohmar, Founder of Progressive Voice
● U Bo Hla Htint, National Unity Government Ambassador to the ASEAN
● Rachel Arinii Judhistari, Public Policy Specialist – Asia, Wikimedia Foundation
● Chak Sopheap, Executive Director for Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Moderator: Gianna Francesca Catolico, ASEAN Advocacy Fellow, FORUM-ASIA
