A South East Asian Regional Forum
Bangkok, Thailand, March 23-24, 2000


South East Asia Civil Society Statement

     As representatives of thousands of civil society organisations from throughout South East Asia, we have met in Bangkok from 23-24 March 2000 under the auspices of the International Council on Social Welfare.
The main purposes of our meeting were to assess progress and problems with implementation of the commitments made at the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in 1995 and to identify priorities for further implementation.

      We welcome the progress that has been made in implementing some of the commitments made by the leaders of our governments at the World Summit for Social Development in 1995. But we express our great concern that many of the commitments remain unmet in most countries of the region. Indeed, in a number of important respects the situation has deteriorated since the Summit.

Main Issues of Concern

      Globalization of economies, especially through liberalization of international trade and finance, has made Southeast Asian countries more vulnerable to volatile capital movements, especially excessive financial speculation. The growing dominance of international finance markets and multinational companies, as further reinforced by globalization, has made many of these countries less able to compete on fair terms.

      Most governments in the region have not been sufficiently effective in management of their economy. They have not made sufficient efforts to develop sound financial systems, forge fair trade relationships with other countries, combat corruption and malpractice, and take appropriate advantage of international market opportunities. In addition, policies of the IMF and other international financial institutions have reduced the production and income of many countries, thus contributing to their inability to strengthen social expenditure and promote sustainable economic development.

     The Asian financial crisis has adversely affected the social and economic well-being of people throughout South East Asia as evidenced by increased poverty and unemployment, reductions in government social programs, and breakdowns of social cohesion. In general, international financial institutions and governments failed to take adequate anticipatory action in relation to massive inflows and outflows of speculative capital, as proposed in the Copenhagen Declaration.

      Most of the industrialised donor countries have yet to meet the agreed target for official development assistance or the benchmark of 20% of their assistance being allocated to basic social services. Conditionalities on grants and loans from bilateral and international agencies are tending to undermine the ability of poor people to access basic services such as health care and education and to achieve a sustainable livelihood.

      There is a serious imbalance in development within most countries, both between different regions and between rural and urban areas. Experience in many South East Asian countries demonstrates continuing neglect of rural areas in favour of economic development in the urban areas. The incidence of poverty in rural areas has remained higher compared to urban areas. Rural people have relatively limited access to education, health, livelihood and other basic services and facilities.

      Consequently, rural-to-urban migration has intensified in most countries, thereby creating problems in urban areas. These problems include significant increases in the number of people in the informal sector, limited services and opportunities for economic growth as a result of the rapidly growing urban population, and the lack of government monitoring and control of resulting social problems.

      There is also an imbalance between economic development and social development in most countries. Insufficient attention has been given in most countries to broadening and strengthening access to basic services such education and health. By contrast, excessive attention has been given to short-term economic growth based heavily on unsustainable forms of investment and exploitation. Cooperation mechanisms between countries in the region tend to neglect the social dimension of development, thereby generating problems such as exploitation and abuse of migrant labour, unfair competition and inadequate social protection systems.

      These and other economic and social problems have been aggravated by the failure of most governments to provide adequate opportunities for participation in policy formulation, implementation and evaluation by directly affected groups such as poor people, women, people with disabilities and so on. There is a widespread lack of appropriate mechanisms for implementing policies in a participatory manner.

      Economic indicators are important for measuring poverty but they do not adequately capture the complexity of poverty experienced by developing countries. There is a need to develop alternative standards for measuring poverty in developing countries which take into account other social and political aspects, as well as the context of the country.

     Throughout the region, insufficient regard has been given to international human rights standards. This applies not only to civil and political rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. It applies also to economic, social and cultural rights and to the rights of women and children. While international labour standards already exist, they have been interpreted differently by different countries which can sometimes operate against the interests of ordinary workers. There is also a lack of awareness or concern about these standards in some countries.

      In some countries, laws and policies have been established to promote participation in productive employment by disadvantaged and marginalized sectors such as women, people with disabilities, older people and youth. However, discrimination remains widespread and is often reinforced by prevalent socio- cultural beliefs.

      Partnerships between governmental organisations, civil society organisations and business enterprises have been limited by lack of trust and cooperation. This may stem not only from lack of transparency and accountability but also from lack of capabilities to implement or undertake participatory strategies in development planning and management. Resource and information sharing between organizations in both the public and private sectors is still not adequately explored and achieved.

Recommendations

1. (a) A transnational approach to macro-economic policies such as tax rates, investment incentives, financial controls and so on should be adopted so that countries’ economic policies and systems do not unfairly affect the social and economic well-being of people in other countries.
(b) A strong and effective regional mechanism (perhaps including some kind of ASEAN Development Fund) should be established in order to promote financial stability, fair trade and sustainable development on an equitable basis.

2. (a) All industrialised countries should meet the agreed target of providing 0.7% of their GDP as official development assistance to developing countries.
(b) International agencies, donor countries and academics should undertake further analysis of whether assistance to Asian countries from the World Bank, IMF and other international sources is being directed in ways which help or obstruct social development and environmental protection.
(c) Countries should not rely excessively on foreign investment and, wherever possible, should seek types of foreign investment which will improve education and training of the local population in order to achieve sustainable economic development and employment.

3. (a) Governments should ensure that they have progressive, fair and efficient taxation systems in order to promote genuinely productive enterprises, discourage excessive speculation, facilitate equitable income distribution, and generate adequate revenue for enhancement of economic and social development.
(b) ASEAN, together perhaps with ESCAP, should assist in this task by encouraging closer cooperation between governments within the region in the design and implementation of taxation systems.
(c) Governments should ensure effective use of revenue for economic and social development by cutting excessive military expenditure and reducing corruption.

4. (a) Cooperation between countries within the region on matters relating to social development should be strengthened substantially and should provide ample opportunities for participation by civil society organisations.
(b) This applies especially to regional cooperation through ASEAN, including through further development of the role and resources of the ASEAN Foundation and through initiatives such as the Social Safety Net Working Group.
(c) ESCAP should increase its interaction with ASEAN on social issues, especially in relation to implementation of the Copenhagen commitments and of ESCAP’s Regional Social Development Agenda.

5. (a) All governments in the region should ratify the major international human rights treaties and ensure that they are effectively implemented.
(b) They also should implement the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
(c) ASEAN, ESCAP and other international organisations in the region should assist with the adoption and implementation of these standards.

6. (a) Governments should ensure that there is adequate legislation to prevent discrimination, it is enforced effectively, and there is greater public awareness of issues relating to discrimination.
(b) Transparency and fairness in employment decisions should be promoted, including application, where appropriate, of numerical targets for employment of members of disadvantaged groups.

7. (a) The capabilities of organizations involved in development management should be enhanced, including through exchange of good practices.
(b) Partnerships between governmental, business and civil society organisations in this area should be strengthened in order to maximize resource-sharing and impacts on target groups.

8. (a) All anti-poverty strategies should focus on human development and empowerment of poor people, including strengthening their voices in public debate and decision-making.
(b) The design, implementation and evaluation of anti-poverty programs should include participation by all groups including poor people and people from other marginalized sectors, and their representatives.
(c) Wherever possible, the programs should adopt an inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary approach.

9. (a) Governments should give higher priority and commit more resources to development in rural areas and other areas with a high incidence of poverty.
(b) This should include enhancing training and education for the population in those areas and promoting foreign investments and appropriate technology which will assist them without damaging the environment.

10. Adequate social protection systems and other programs should be developed for older people, women and children who are in especially difficult circumstances, as well as for people who have disabilities, migrant workers, people affected by HIV/AIDS and other especially vulnerable groups.