New Asian Civil Society Democracy Network Seeks Participation in Bali Democracy Forum
7 November 2013 7:59 pm
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and INFID, representing the Asian Democracy Network (ADN), a newly established platform among democracy advocates and human rights defenders who are dedicated to the strengthening of democracy and human rights in Asia are here in Bali to seek participation in the 6th Bali Democracy Forum especially on issues related to defending civil society and democratic space, freedom of expression, association and assembly, democracy education, democratic and equitable development.
The establishment of the ADN was announced at the Seventh Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies (CoD), held in Ulaanbaatar in April 2013 where Marty Natalegawa, Foreign Minister of Indonesia was present. The CoD welcomed the “launching of an Asian network for democracy to consolidate regional civil society activities and strengthening democratic gains in Asia” in the Ulaanbaatar Declaration.
The ADN was then officially launched in Seoul, South Korea last 21-22 October 2013, with a steering committee of 11 regional and sub-regional organizations, which include the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), South East Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Transparency International (TI), Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the Asia Development Alliance (ADA), South East Asia Committee for Advocacy (SEACA) and People’s SAARC.
ADN supports the Bali Democracy Forum’s objective towards consolidating democracy and promoting pluralistic society in Asia. It calls the BDF to support democratization and democracy education especially in countries in transition like Burma, Laos and Cambodia, as well as support for the national human rights institutions in these countries.
ADN also calls on BDF to extend its initiatives and cooperate with the Open Government Partnership to promote transparency among its member states.
While appreciating BDF’s invitation to participate in this year’s forum, ADN calls on BDF to institutionalize civil society’s participation by adopting specific modalities to enable civil society’s full and meaningful participation in the BDF activities.
For more information or request for interview, contact Evelyn Balais-Serrano, Executive Director, (tel. 0821 4706 4966), Junaidi_Simun, (tel. 628-1317095360) ASEAN Programme Officer of FORUM-ASIA, or Hilman Handoni, (tel. 628-15-86853633) INFID
[email protected] ADN Secretariat