REPORT  
OF THE  WORKSHOP ON ASEAN DEFENCE ESTABLISHMENTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS (CSOs) COOPERATION ON NON-TRADITIONAL SECURITY (HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND DISASTER RELIEF) 

8-9 JUNE 2009
BANGKOK, THAILAND 

Introduction

1.  The ASEAN Defence Ministers at their 3^rd meeting in Pattaya, Thailand on 26 February 2009 adopted the concept paper on “ASEAN Defence Establishments and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Cooperation on Non-Traditional Security”. Pursuant to this, the Workshop on ASEAN Defence Establishments and CSOs Cooperation on Non-traditional Security: Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) was held on 8-9 June 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Workshop was co-hosted by the Ministry of Defence, Kingdom of Thailand and the Ministry of Defence, Malaysia.

2. The Workshop was attended by representatives from ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Secretariat, CSOs from ASEAN Member States as well as international CSOs based in Bangkok. The list of participants appears as ANNEX A.

3. General Vaipot Srinual, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Defence, Kingdom of Thailand and Dr.Haji Ismail bin Haji Ahmad, Undersecretary, Policy Division, Ministry of Defence, Malaysia, delivered the opening remarks. Their opening remarks are in ANNEXES B and C respectively.

4. Dr.Haji Ismail bin Haji Ahmad, Undersecretary, Policy Division, Ministry of Defence, Malaysia and General Ratchakrit Kanchanawat, Chief of Joint Staff, Royal Thai Armed Forces, delivered the closing remarks. Their closing remarks are in ANNEXES D and E respectively.

Objectives

5.  The objectives of this workshop were to explore and identify possible ways, mechanisms and cooperative approaches among ASEAN defence establishments and CSOs on HADR, and to deepen ASEAN defence establishments and CSOs cooperation through practical and concrete activities

Proceedings of the Workshop

6. The Workshop was held in three parts –  keynote addresses, plenary sessions, and break-up sessions. The keynote addresses were delivered by Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, Executive Director, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Thailand and Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood, President, MERCY Malaysia. The presentations of the keynote addresses are in ANNEXES F and G respectively.

7. The Workshop focused on four key areas, namely disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness, disaster response and disaster recovery/reconstruction. The Workshop noted that healthy progress had been made to develop and implement disaster management initiatives in the ASEAN region. The Workshop also noted the commitment of ASEAN Defence Ministers with regard to HADR as reflected in the 3^rd ADMM Joint Declaration. 

8. The Workshop recognised that no country could act alone to tackle the major humanitarian incidents and natural disasters. Extreme climate variations are  expected to increase. Therefore, governments must prepare themselves for this, which require joint efforts by all parties concerned. With rapid increase in the ASEAN population, many people will be forced to live in disaster-prone areas.

9. The Workshop noted that there are a large number of actors in humanitarian response operations such as disaster management authorities, militaries, UN specialised agencies, the CSOs, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements, as well as the media. Therefore, lack of coordination could result in overlapping roles and responsibilities among these actors.

10.  The Workshop recognised that armed forces and CSOs have different cultures and modus operandi. The former operate through the chain of command, while the latter work on a community-participatory approach.

Recommendations

11. The Workshop came up with recommendations on the four key areas of disaster management mentioned above. The recommendations included the need to promote trust and mutual understanding of cultures and modus operandi between the defence establishments and the CSOs through, amongst others, awareness-raising forums and dialogues.

12. The Workshop suggested that each Member State consider developing a directory of CSOs which outlines their roles, functions and capabilities. Each Member State could also develop its own accreditation standard of the CSOs. At a later stage, ASEAN Member States can explore the development of a list of ASEAN accredited CSOs in line with the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER).

13. The Workshop noted the important role that the CSOs could play in HADR and suggested that the participation of the CSOs in relevant ASEAN activities, such as training programmes and simulation exercises, could be increased. In this regard, the Workshop noted that there are on-going efforts to identify potential areas where the CSOs could work with ASEAN Member States, including the defence establishments, within the framework of AADMER.

14. The recommendations of the four break-up groups are at ANNEX H.

Conclusion

14.  The Workshop saw active participation from the ASEAN defence establishments and the CSOs. The discussions were frank and open, and held in a cordial atmosphere. The participants showed a high-level of enthusiasm to foster closer cooperation between the defence establishments and the CSOs in HADR.

15. The Workshop thanked Thailand and Malaysia for co-chairing the event and the Ministry of Defence, Kingdom of Thailand for the excellent arrangements.

ASEAN Secretariat

Ministry of Defence, Brunei Darussalam


Department of National Defence, The Republic of Philippines


Ministry of Defence, The Royal Thai Government