Page 112 - The Ethics of ASEAN
P. 112
The Ethics of ASEAN
Citing a recent Democracy Index published by the Economist
Intelligence Unit she notes that all ASEAN countries have been
classified either as “Flawed Democracy” or “Authoritarian”. Most
ASEAN national constitutions make reference to human rights,
with the exception of Brunei, but it is often difficult to enforce
or discuss human rights in practice. Even AICHR itself faces
difficulties in addressing human rights issues since the non-
interference principle can make it impossible to take action,
even for widespread civil violations such as in Myanmar.
Despite AICHR’s weak enforcement mechanism, Ms
Wahyuningrum stresses the progress made in the existence
of a human rights body at the regional level rather than each
nation deciding which human rights ethics are in their interest.
AICHR has been especially important for young people
concerned about human rights in the region.
Beyond the issue of freedom in human rights Ms
Wahyuningrum joins Maria Ressa in regarding social media as
a factor for the backsliding of democracy. One of the biggest
challenges to freedom, she says, is the information disorder of
what is false, with the ability to fuel “hate and fake” among the
populace. Where misinformation and state-run manipulation
of media is coordinated, the danger to democracy can become
fatal. The ethics of journalism and fact-checking must be
preserved and journalists must avoid extremism and combat
the proliferation of hate and intolerance.
Ms Wahyuningrum gives an example of how AICHR
workshops respond to such problems through discussions
of legislation and freedom of expression. The balance
between restriction and freedom is a constant challenge for
governments, something that requires an ethics of critical
thinking and media literacy.
Surachanee Hammerli Sriyai: the ethical lines
of free speech have been blurred with social
media
Surachanee Hammerli Sriyai is a Lecturer and Lead for the
Digital Governance Track at the School of Public Policy at
Chiang Mai University. She graduated from West Texas A&M
University before receiving her MA and PhD at Texas Tech
Figure 4: Surachanee University with a focus on Government, Comparative Politics,
Hammerli Sriyai, Lecturer and International Relations. She was a researcher at the Asia
and Digital Governance Track Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC) before acting as
Lead at the School of Public
Policy, Chiang Mai University, Research Coordinator for the Asia America Initiative. She was
Thailand lecturer at Chulalongkorn University before teaching at Chiang
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