Myanmar, government would allow them to return
to the country. The SecretaryGeneral
of ASEAN
immediately took action by appointing one of his
Deputies to lead the ASEAN Working Group on the
study of the Rohingyas. The Working Group was initially
designed to accommodate various agencies, aside from
the Member States, such as UNHCR, IOM, UNOCHA,
UNDP, relief agencies, human rights organizations,
and research groups. Four main tasks of the Working
Group were informally planned which included
identifying existing legal
instruments and policies
to deal with the issue and
recommending options
to some of ASEAN’s
various mechanisms such
as the ASEAN Ministerial
Meeting (AMM).30
After all, the plan for
establishing the Working
Group did not materialize due to a lack of consensus
among the Member States. ASEAN has kept quiet on
this matter and failed to carry out the “Responsibility
to Protect.”
The case of Cyclone Nargis is another example
maneuver around this issue of “protective human
security.” When Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in May
2008, ASEAN tried to provide humanitarian assistance
to Myanmar by creating a tripartite core group composed
of ASEAN, the United Nations and the government of
Myanmar. The government of Myanmar was, however,
initially reluctant to accept relief workers from foreign
countries and ASEAN could do little to control the
situation. Eventually ASEAN volunteers were created
on an ad hoc basis to assist with relief operations as
well as the rehabilitation of the disasteraffected
areas.
Although there are still strong reservations from the
Member States on “protective human security” in
ASEAN, the areas of humanitarian aid and disaster
relief have gradually been accepted in ASEAN.31
SYNERGY BETWEEN HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN
SECURITY IN ASEAN
As discussed in the previous sections, both human
rights and human security are core engines in the drive