Page 133 - The Ethics of ASEAN

Ethics of Human Development in ASEAN

pandemic as relatively successful compared to other regions
thanks to the commitment of Member States to ensure social
protection and economic development during and after the
crisis.
Other human development issues for ASEAN include the
transition to a green economy, continuing development for an
ageing workforce, and the need to increase the cross-border
mobility of the ASEAN workforce.
In comparison with the European Union (EU) principle of
free labour mobility as one of its “four freedoms”, Ms Babaran
describes the present ASEAN situation as “aiming for free
movement of skilled professionals in the region” but says that
free movement of unskilled workers is “a work in progress” and
“an aspiration.”
Ms Babaran points out that most academics and
professionals in ASEAN prefer the term “brain circulation”
rather than “brain drain” because migrants often return
to contribute back to their home economies, enriched by
experience and knowledge accumulated in other countries.
This is especially true for students and interns who gain
experience across ASEAN.

Ultimately, Ms. Ms Babaran concludes, human
development in the world of work is continuously evolving and
governments are aware that preparing the ASEAN workforce
for the future of work is an emerging ethic in itself.

Dr Vachararutai Boontinand: Human Rights
and Human Development go beyond the letter
of the law

Dr Vachararutai Boontinand is Director of the Institute of
Human Rights and Peace Studies at Mahidol University in
Thailand and a senior human rights practitioner and advocate.
She has deep experience in human trafficking, which
is the forcible movement of people for the purposes of
exploitation, slavery, forced labour, and bonded labour. She
worked within the communities of Thai women moving abroad
and Eastern European women in Thailand. For Dr Boontinand,
these are human development stories of people who want to
move and choose a better life but, because of their conditions
of travel, become illegal or undocumented workers as soon Figure 2: Dr Vachararutai
as they enter their destination countries. This experience Boontinand, Director of
of dealing with human trafficking shaped Dr Boontinand’s the Institute of Human
Rights and Peace Studies at
Mahidol University

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