Vientiane, Laos, 12 October 2024 – Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), together with the undersigned organisations, call on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to increase its effort to address the ongoing human rights crisis in Myanmar, which was triggered by the attempted coup in February 2021. More than three years since ASEAN agreed on a Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, there has yet to be significant progress on the implementation of the consensus or significant action taken by ASEAN to tackle the escalation of violations and the number of victims. While we appreciate ASEAN Leaders for the Review and Decisions of The Implementation of The Five Point Consensus, we are deeply concerned with the lack of accountability pushed by ASEAN Leaders to the Military Junta, who walked back its endorsement just two days after the consensus agreement in 2021. To this day, According to the Accord to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), there are 27,541 people arrested, including 5704 women and 570 children, with more than 21,000 still detained, with 169 people were sentenced to the death penalty and 8316 people killed.
The ASEAN Summit held from 6-11 October 2024 again failed to address the root cause of the situation, especially since it is hurtful that ASEAN invited Aung Kyaw Moe, a senior official from Myanmar’s military junta, to participate in the summit. This is a setback from the previous commitment of ASEAN to only invite a “non-political representative” from Myanmar to ASEAN high-level meetings. Our stance remains that no seat should be given to the military junta at future ASEAN meetings until the Five-Point Consensus is accomplished or until democracy is restored in Myanmar. Furthermore, the ASEAN Leaders’ Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus as a result of the ASEAN high-level meeting in Laos did not clearly come up with new solutions to stop the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, particularly the plight of the Rohingya, which highlights ASEAN’s inability to respond to grave humanitarian crises. This delay is largely a consequence of the bloc’s strict adherence to its non-interference principle, which prioritises state sovereignty over intervention, even in the face of widespread human rights violations. As the situation worsens and affects the broader region, ASEAN’s inability to take decisive action has undermined its role as a protector of regional peace and stability.
We demand that ASEAN urgently rethink its non-interference and consensus principle, which has been unchanged for 17 years. This would allow the bloc to adapt to evolving political dynamics, protect human rights, and uphold regional stability. ASEAN must strengthen its accountability mechanisms to ensure that the Non-Interference principle does not become a shield for impunity and that the bloc can respond effectively to crises that threaten the welfare of its people. For instance, the initiative of Thailand for the ASEAN last year Summit to establish the ‘troika’ between Indonesia, Laos, and Malaysia to discuss the situation of Myanmar needs more than a commitment from these last, current, and upcoming ASEAN chairs but also actively involving other ASEAN member states to build strategic and concrete plans in addressing the crisis in Myanmar.
Moving forward to Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2024, we remind Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of his own words during the closing ceremony of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits to “leave no one behind.” These words must now be transformed into action and go beyond dialogue, particularly regarding the Rohingya refugees, one of the most marginalised and vulnerable communities in the region. ASEAN should establish clear and close working relations and coordination between the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). We also call on all ASEAN members to continue to engage with the National Unity Government (NUG), National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), and Ethnic Resistance Organizations (ERO) instead. Recently, Bangladesh’s new Interim Leader, Muhammad Yunus, revealed that Malaysia has committed to bringing the issue of Rohingya repatriation, with dignity, back onto ASEAN’s agenda. However, we encourage Malaysia to lead by example during its chairmanship by integrating refugee protection into the ASEAN Vision 2045 and its work plan which will be adopted during Malaysia’s chairmanship in 2025. Also, any discussions on repatriation must be centered on voluntary, safe, and dignified returns, ensuring that Myanmar is held accountable for restoring the citizenship and rights of the Rohingya.
Last, we encourage ASEAN to establish formal and consistent mechanisms for civil society engagement in ASEAN decision-making processes, including within summits and ministerial meetings; working partnerships with like-minded national human rights commissions and CSOs in the region with expertise in a certain field. We demand ASEAN Leaders to strengthen regional human rights frameworks, with AICHR taking a bigger role in investigating and reporting on human rights violations within member states.
Supporting organisations