SAPA core group spearheads coming strategies in engaging ASEAN
11 April 2006 6:00 pm

The immediate follow-up to the recent Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) core group meeting on “Engaging ASEAN” is scheduled for the 17 April NGOs’ consultation with the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on ASEAN Security Community (ASC) in Ubud, Bali.

Held in Manila, Philippines, on 5 April 2006, FORUM-ASIA along with 20 other regional and national NGOs working on diverse issues, participated in the core group meeting.

The immediate follow-up to the recent Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) core group meeting on “Engaging ASEAN” is scheduled for the 17 April NGOs’ consultation with the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on ASEAN Security Community (ASC) in Ubud, Bali.

Held in Manila, Philippines, on 5 April 2006, FORUM-ASIA along with 20 other regional and national NGOs working on diverse issues, participated in the core group meeting.

The key regional NGOs which participated included the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA), Alternative ASEAN Network for Burma (Altsean BURMA), Centre for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), Migrant Forum in Asia (MFA), Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP-Philippines), South East Asian Council for Food Security & Fair Trade (SEACON), Nonviolence International – Southeast Asia (NVI), South East Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA), Third World Network (TWN) and Jubilee South.

Hosted by SEACA as the overall focal point for the SAPA Working Group on ASEAN, one of the main tasks is to plan for NGOs’ strategies in engaging ASEAN, especially the consultation with EPG on the proposed ASEAN charter.

Following the Manila meeting, FORUM-ASIA and Nonviolence International – Southeast Asia were mandated to draft the Civil Society Organisations’ (CSOs) perspective on security issues while Jenina Joy Chavez from Focus on the Global South was tasked as the overall drafter for the NGOs’ submission to the EPG meeting on 17 April.

Participants at the meeting also brainstormed on various preparations for the second CSOs conference on ASEAN, scheduled for December this year, which will be held simultaneously with the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines. In addition, the core group discussed the various upcoming NGO events and engagements related to ASEAN.

At the meeting, SAPA members were also encouraged to explore Philippines EPG member Fidel Ramos’ model in engaging with a wider CSO constituency in their respective countries.

One of the exercises during the meeting in Manila was identifying the unique strengths of SAPA members who had wide experience in working with different inter-governmental and UN mechanisms at the global and regional level, in terms of substantive engagement by NGOs.

Hence, participants agreed with the idea of compiling best practices of cooperation between NGOs and inter-governmental bodies as a value-added contribution from SAPA to the EPG process. FORUM-ASIA has been appointed as the focal point for this joint project.