Page 150 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

3. agreeing to a common ethical commitment to move forward and organising an
effective decision-making process;
4. taking ethical action, managing risks and assessing results for future decisions.

A major conclusion of this book based on our discussion of the evolution of ASEAN ethics
and current ethical issues is that we need to accelerate ASEAN ethical capability because
of the current context of geopolitical pressures and risks of ethical failure.
In the short term, I believe ASEAN’s effort in building capability should be in three
ethical areas: (1) capability for implementing regional rules-based and results-based
ethics (2) capability for taking concerted action on emerging ethical challenges, and (3)
developing ASEAN ethical leadership on the global stage.

Implementing regional rules-based and results-based ethics
ASEAN rules-based institutions are sometime criticised as being ineffectual because they
lack the power to enact and enforce rules-based resolutions and laws, unlike the European
Union. But the work of the ASEAN Secretariat and linked agencies shows significant
progress in the first two of the four steps to ethical action, notably in raising awareness of
ethical implications on issues of priority and developing agreed declarations and roadmaps
for making ethical judgements.
A case in point is in the area of freedom and rights. After its inauguration in 2009,
the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) proceeded rapidly
to reach adoption by Member States of the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights in 2012.
Ethical capability would come from a common ethical commitment to move forward with
human rights in national legislation and having mechanisms and resources for human
rights enforcement. For example, ASEAN Human Rights article 25b states that “every
citizen has the right to vote in periodic and genuine elections, which should be by universal
and equal suffrage and by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the
electors, in accordance with national law.” If ASEAN had the capability to ensure free and
fair elections in its Member States, a more robust rules-based ethics would have avoided
2
issues in a number of recent elections in ASEAN.
Turning to capability in results-based ethics, ASEAN has again made progress through
its regional institutions, blueprints and roadmaps. Human development ethics is a case in
point. The ASEAN Directorate for Human Development has a broad scope of responsibility
including education, youth, sports, health, poverty eradication, gender equality, labour
practices and civil service. The Directorate is not funded to carry out activities in all these
areas in a diverse region of 666 million inhabitants. Nor would a central directorate with
powers to dictate policies and practices in these complex areas be a good idea. Improving

2 A document by the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL-Foundation) detailed rules-based proposals
in a blueprint for the 2009 ASEAN Summit meeting in Cha-am, Thailand for free and fair elections in the
Asean region https://aceproject.org/ero-en/misc/blueprint-for-asean-democracy-anfrel-2009 retrieved 3
August 2023. The 2011 ASEAN Electoral Management Bodies’ Forum organised with the Asia and the Pacific
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) was held in Jakarta in 2011 but did not
end with an agreement to ensure free and fair elections. https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/speeches/
ASEAN-Election-Management-Bodies-Forum-Inspiring-Credible-ASEAN-Election-Management-Bodies-PDF.
pdf retrieved 3 August 2023

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