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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