The 4th ASEAN People's Assembly (APA) was held last week in Manila, bringing together more than 100 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) participants from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academics, the media, civil society and civic groups. There were also some foreign observers from regional and international organizations. 

The APA has an important role in ASEAN's current efforts to build three particular communities into "pillars of ASEAN's future." These three communities are the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and the ASEAN Social and Cultural Community, commonly known as the three "Ps" -- peace, prosperity and people. The APA is an integral part of the ASEAN Social and Cultural Community, which serves to "bond" the people of ASEAN together more tightly.

The convening of the APA is based on the rationale that community-building in ASEAN must include all sectors of society, as ASEAN must be made relevant to the ordinary citizens of each member state, as it is already to the elite communities of the organization. From this perspective, for ASEAN to build a genuine Southeast Asian Community, it must be based on a wider and deeper understanding of ASEAN amongst its citizens.

The ASEAN Vision 2020 in fact seeks to build "a community of caring societies," the component elements of which target the currently unsatisfactory socio-economic conditions affecting its population at the grass-roots level.

People's participation is considered now to be the centerpiece of ASEAN, as inscribed in last October's Vientiane Action Plan and in line with ASEAN Vision 2020.

But the challenges for ASEAN are enormous in the socio-economic arena, as well as in the fields of social justice and good governance. There is still much progress to be made here, as peace and reconciliation still need to be enhanced within ASEAN.

For example, in ongoing religious, economic and communal conflicts, the common and indigenous peoples of ASEAN are perceived to be at the mercy of diverse interest groups, as numerous panelists at the Assembly pointed out. Refugees, displaced persons and human trafficking still constitute a scourge across vast areas of the ASEAN region.

Human security and conflict prevention remain hopes for many amongst the ASEAN poor. In fact, the "responsibility to protect" is now a slogan ringing across ASEAN. However, ASEAN governments need to adopt this approach and mindset more in order to effectively put this into practice. The role of the media and civil society was examined, and natural disaster relief and management also came to the fore at the Assembly because of the December 26 tsunami and the subsequent earthquake that shook Nias in Indonesia.

As regionalism gathers momentum, ASEAN's people must be given more say and a greater stake in ASEAN, especially as they are the future Southeast Asian Community's principal shareholders.

Now there is a wide range of differences in the level of participatory politics within the organization; moreover, the levels of people's participation within ASEAN are still subjected to different interpretations and implementation.

Popular socio-economic participation must form the crux of ASEAN peoples' participation in the organization's decision-making process, as the organization seeks not only to enlarge the economic pie with sound growth and sustainable policies, but also to implement a greater and wider social redistribution of the fruits of growth, progress and prosperity across the region and within individual countries.

Therein lies ASEAN's greatest challenge, as socio-economic imperatives may eventually also contain the seeds of social and political instability in the region. It is for this reason that socio-economic problems and challenges constituted the main crux of this year's APA agenda.

A more even social redistribution, with proper social justice, is necessary to help ensure economic sustainability, as well as social and political stability. Therein lies the fundamental and most important challenge for ASEAN, as it builds a true Southeast Asian Community of "caring societies."

The people's voice must be heard in this regard. It is only with the consensus of all the ASEAN people that social redistribution and social justice can be effectively implemented, so as to provide political and social stability for continuous economic growth and progress.

(China Daily May 20, 2005)