Page 85 - The Ethics of ASEAN

Ethical leadership of ASEAN and in ASEAN

Dr Marzuki Darusman describes ASEAN ethics as a historical evolution which
experienced an important shift in 2007 to rules-based ethics. This led to the creation
in 2009 of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). He
described three ethical challenges for ASEAN: balancing inclusiveness and diversity
beyond the slogan “unity in diversity”; reimagining solidarity which is a collective ethic
for what Ramos-Horta calls the ethics of compassion; finally the challenge for ASEAN to
develop leaders who can break their silence and express their concerns for their fellow
human beings, especially in a crisis such as Myanmar.
Ms. Raudhah Nazran represents youth leadership and believes the next generation
of leaders should develop ethics on a personal level first, then to apply your ethical
convictions in real life.
Mr. Jamesun Wacnang Bejarin represents the student perspective on ethical
leadership and underlines the tension students experience in the current situation which,
on the one hand, is a pressure to thrive economically and on the other hand not finding
enough space to speak out and participate in institutional change. He notes that ASEAN
students are acutely aware that inequality is an ethical challenge in ASEAN, illustrated
by unequal access to learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. On a positive note, student
platforms for expression and solidarity are growing across ASEAN with movements such
as the “Milk Tea Movement.”
The main takeaway from these presentations is that ASEAN has a deficit of leadership
ethics and that youth and older generations agree that this is a major challenge in making
ASEAN successful in the next generation. Young leaders need to learn the lessons from
the current situation an manage emerging ethics and rules-based ethics in order to take
effective collective action at the regional level.

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