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South East Asian Committee for Advocacy Contact: Joey Dimaandal, Programme Associate for ASEAN, jdimaandal@seaca.net, +639088730349 May 27, 2013 CSOs call on ASEAN to implement regulatory mechanism in Extractive Industries, ask for greater corporate accountability Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam Southeast Asian Civil Society Organizations today pressed for greater corporate accountability in the region. Speaking at a briefing for Brunei civil society organizations, human rights activists from around the region said that ASEAN governments should implement regulatory mechanisms in the extractive industries to avoid negative impacts to peoples lives and sources of livelihood. The accelerated integration of the ASEAN economies had brought widespread abuses in our communities including large-scale landgrabbing, forced evictions and environmental degradation. Based on various hearings that we had organized through the Solidarity for Asian Peoples Advocacy we found out that businesses, both by local and multi-national corporations, disregarded human rights of indigenous peoples, migrant workers and other marginalized groups in the region, said Corinna Lopa, Regional Coordinator of the South East Asian Committee for Advocacy, which is a co-organizer of the briefing held at Holiday Lodge Hotel in Jerudong District. Ms. Lopa pointed out that Southeast Asian civil society and human rights advocates are not against big business, development and the impending ASEAN economic integration. However, she said that the current economic growth model of some ASEAN member-states which is export-oriented and heavily dependent on resource extraction is not sustainable and very exploitative. Regulation of the corporate sector by ASEAN member governments should be implemented in order to safeguard the rights of the peoples and our communities, especially the indigenous peoples and ethnic nationalities. Existing national laws should be reviewed across ASEAN to ensure that corporate investments and activities are in compliance with international human rights laws and standards. ASEAN must adopt a clear set of regional standards that reflect international standards, Lopa said. Ms. Ashley Pritchard, who is from a German foundation based in Myanmar, agreed with Ms. Lopa and stressed the importance of enacting Corporate Accountability as one step beyond Corporate Social Responsibility - noting that ASEAN needs to go beyond voluntary principles towards enforceable mechanisms. She said that Corporate Accountability emphasizes the need for legally binding and enforceable requirements upon businesses with regard to the protection of human rights as detailed in the core international human rights instruments, and meaningful redress where human rights violations are found to exist. In this regard, she stated that the States have an obligation to ensure a proper legal framework in line with international human rights law to regulate businesses, and to enforce these legislations effectively. Ms. Pritchard recognized that for Corporate Accountability to be successful the regions governments, ASEAN and its regional human rights mechanisms, National Human Rights Institutions, businesses and civil society all have a role to play.

For his part, Fabby Tumiwa from Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR) Indonesia stressed that for majority of resource rich Southeast Asian countries, improving resource governance of overall extractive industries value chain is very crucial to ensure that hydrocarbon and mineral wealth could support sustainable development in this region. As ASEAN moves into a single market and production base, its leaders should consider to have a common regional framework on how extractive industries would be utilized and its revenue being managed while maintaining environmental integrity and protection of the rights of the people. Meanwhile, Ms. Robie Halip of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact said that the right to Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) has to be recognized and respected by ASEAN member- states and private entities for development to be more inclusive of indigenous peoples whose territories and resources are commonly targeted for development projects. FPIC is specifically stipulated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and other international instruments and safeguard policies of various international financial institutions, she said. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations plans to form a single economic community by 2015. This year the regional organizations primary agenda is the promotion of inter-ASEAN trade and lowering the cost of doing business in Southeast Asia. It has also started negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership a free trade pact encompassing ASEAN, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Many activists believe that these trade talks will bring increased tension between the marginalized communities and big business sector if human rights are not respected and the peoples are not properly consulted. The Thematic Briefing for Civil Society: Extractive Industries and Corporate Accountability in ASEAN was organized by SEACA, the Membangun Masyarakat Sejahtera (MKM), and the Brunei Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It is part of a series of ASEAN awareness workshops and forums organized by MKM and SEACA for CSOs in Brunei, which is the current chair of the ASEAN. ###