The Committee of Permanent Representatives link hands the ASEAN way with Indonesian
Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi and ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh during the
49th celebration of ASEAN Day in Jakarta.
ASEAN celebrated its 49th anniversary on 15 August 2016 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia through a series of events, including a panel discussion to increase awareness on the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children (ACTIP), a food festival featuring ASEAN and Dialogue Partners cuisine and various cultural performances.
The ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, and its accompanying document, the ASEAN Plan of Action (APA) is a landmark Agreement signed by the heads of governments in the 2015 ASEAN Leaders Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The panel discussion is a joint project of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in an effort to socialize the significant Convention among various stakeholders.
In his opening remarks, Secretary General Le Luong Minh emphasized that the Convention marks an ASEAN milestone in the continuing efforts at community-building after ASEAN declared itself as a politically cohesive, economically integrated and socially responsible community in 2015.
In the same vein, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno L.P. Marsudi highlighted the importance of the year 2016 not only as a prelude to the 50th anniversary of ASEAN in 2017 but as a year of maintaining momentum on ASEAN Community building. She stressed that it is important for ASEAN to work together to achieve regional goals with centrality and unity as core values.
Panel Discussion on ACTIP, APA
The CPR to ASEAN, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Secretariat spearheaded a panel discussion on the ACTIP and the ASEAN Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children.
DILG Director Leocadio Trovela joins CPR and AICHR Representatives in the Panel Discussion
on the ACTIP and the APA.
Dr. Dinna Wisnu, Indonesia’s AICHR Representative, discussed backgrounders on TIP in ASEAN. She emphasized the importance of using the human rights lens in addressing the problem as against treating it solely as a criminal matter, which focuses on law enforcement instead of prioritizing the human rights dimensions of the problem.
Ambassador Tan Hung Seng, Singapore’s Permanent Representative to ASEAN, highlighted the need to address TIP using the whole-of-government approach, what they call an ecosystem of stakeholders, involving concerned agencies in ASEAN Member States, as well as cooperating with regional and international bodies that deal with the issue.
Director Leocadio Trovela from the Department of the Interior and Local Government of the Philippines, representing the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) leader of the Philippines, discussed the significance of addresing TIP in a cross-sectoral manner, i.e., involving all concerned sectors and agencies in ASEAN that seek to address the problem. He presented the objectives and some features of the ACTIP. He mentioned that it is crucial for ASEAN Member States to ratify the ACTIP and pave the way for effective implementation of the ACTIP and APA.
Mr. Trovela shared the Philippine experience of organizing the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), which is an inter-agency body created to coordinate, monitor and implement the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003.
The SOMTC has been at the forefront of organizing workshops related to human trafficking and the socialization of the ACTIP. In January 2015, the Inter-Sectoral Workshop on the Labor Dimensions of Human Trafficking was held in Manila involving ASEAN criminal justice agencies and labor practitioners.
To date, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand, have ratified the ACTIP, which was signed by ASEAN leaders during the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015.
Cultural Events
ASEAN Day celebration also featured other events, such as cultural performances, a Batik fabric exhibition and an ASEAN Food Festival, which were all held at the ASEAN Secretariat.
Staff of the Philippine Mission to ASEAN and the Philippine Embassy to Indonesia explain to
Foreign Minister Retno how to make adobo and turon.
The Philippine Mission to ASEAN and the Philippine Embassy to Indonesia participated in the ASEAN Food Festival organized by the ASEAN Women’s Circle (AWC), by contributing food and managing a Philippine food stall. The stall featured chicken Adobo and banana Turon which were a favorite among the 400 or so guests. Proceeds from the food festival will go to charitable institutions in Indonesia.
The culinary event featured the traditional dishes of ASEAN Member States and Dialogue Partners.
END
