Southeast Asian Conference on Social Protection
and the Universalization of Socio-Economic Security
April 6-7, 2010
Communique
To Live, to Live in Dignity, and to Live Well
I.
Who we are and why we are here
We come from community-based organizations, social movements, NGOs, universities and
development organizations working at the local, national, regional and global levels. Amongst us
are activists, advocates, campaigners, feminists, academics and researchers, policy-makers,
development professionals and practitioners, and representatives of donor organizations.
We come from Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
We are brought together by our steadfast desire to end poverty and inequality that impact on the
lives of poor and marginalized women, men, and children, especially those with disabilities. We are
alarmed that the global crisis is further exacerbating poverty, social and gender inequality, social
exclusion and vulnerabilities around the world. We are challenged to find fundamental, long-term
and innovative solutions to ensuring the enjoyment of rights, well-being and human security. We
are guided by the spirit of self-critical reflection, dialogue and active engagement. We have
committed to share what we know, learn from each other’s experiences, and inspire and support
one another in a common journey.
We have come here to:
1. Share and develop analyses of the global financial crisis and its impacts on poverty and
inequality at the regional and global levels;
2. Discuss the role and relevance of Social Protection (SP) in the context of the global crisis and
analyze to what extent country-level SP systems are able to protect the poor from impacts of
the crisis;
3. Introduce the notion of universalizing Socio-Economic Security (USES) and analyze key
challenges for ensuring SP in developing countries, informed by the broader debate between
universalizing and targeting;
4. Discuss SP and USES taking into account the women and gender dimensions;
5. Share ‘best practice’ experiences of state-provided SP, and best practice SP systems promoted
at local government level;
6. Develop policy positions/ recommendations, innovative programs and alternative SP schemes at
the national, regional and local levels and come up with an action plan to promote these policy
positions; and
7. Discuss the critical role of NGOs and social movements in advocating social protection, and build
an anti-poverty network around this agenda and platform for action.
II.
Our Vision for Our Societies and Social Protection for All
While we gather here to specifically discuss social protection and the universalization of socioeconomic security, we are inspired by a shared vision. We envision
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a society where all people live a life of dignity, free from hunger, fear, violence or
discrimination
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a society where women, men and children, regardless of status, sex and sexual orientation,
race, religion or creed, age, talent or ability, enjoy their rights and entitlements as equal
citizens of this planet,
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a society where we live in dignity, live well and live in harmony with other human beings
and the mother earth.
This vision marks the point of departure from which we journey together to articulate, advocate,
and struggle to realize a strategic and transformative social protection agenda that is universal as
well as relevant and responsive to the needs of the people in Southeast Asia.
Our notion of social protection is anchored on our understanding of a rights-based approach honed
largely by our experiences on the ground and our claim that sustainable development cannot be
achieved without protecting the rights of the poor and the marginalized. We believe that what lies
at the heart of our democratic project and development agenda is the struggle to address the issues
of poverty, social and gender inequality, discrimination and all forms of social exclusion.
Universal social protection for social transformation includes addressing vulnerability associated
with being poor (for which special assistance is needed), vulnerability with the risk of becoming poor
(for which social insurance is needed), and social injustice arising from structural inequalities and
the abuse of power (for which social equity is needed)1. Apart from economic risks, transformative
social protection addresses social risks through policies and other measures that can correct such
conditions.
III. Our Context and the Issues and Challenges We Face
Listening to one another and reflecting on the insights and wisdom of a variety of resource persons,
we lament the state of socio-economic security in the region. We note, in particular, the following
issues:
1. The staggering scale of poverty and inequality, especially exacerbated by the impacts of the
food, financial, and climate crises, as well as longstanding debt burdens, natural disasters
and conflict;
2. The problems that arise out of or attendant to both long-standing as well as current poverty
reduction schemes, programs, policies and practices, many of which, under the catchphrase
and policy of ‘targeting’ have either failed to deliver their promises or have opened up new
problems and challenges;
3. The old and new forms of social exclusion and vulnerabilities, many of which are linked to
neoliberal policies, to our societies’ exposure to and integration into an increasingly
globalized economy, and to dominant development paradigms and practices that value
profit more than people and privilege the market over the commons and the public sphere;
Devereux S. and R. Sabates-Wheeler (2004), ‘Transformative Social Protection’ IDS Working Paper No.232,
October
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4. The gendered dimensions of poverty and inequality, on the one hand, and, on the other
hand, those of current and dominant poverty-reduction strategies some of which have
served to deepen the gender divide or reinforced traditional patriarchal values and
practices;
5. The rapid decline of the state’s role in providing social protection and in serving as the
vanguard duty bearer and protector of human rights, and, to a certain extent, the weakened
or precarious role of international and inter-governmental institutions in further
strengthening rights-based international norms and standards in the face of the dominance
of free market-based policies and practices;
6. The obstacles to achieving universal protection posed by weak governance, corruption and
state abuse;
7. The urgent need to raise public awareness of these issues and uphold the right to access
public information.
We note that while social protection policies and practices are in place and have improved in several
countries in the region, we face many obstacles in ensuring social protection for all, and especially
for those who need it the most. Too often, social protection is left captive to policy debates on
resource allocation in budget priorities, or fall disturbingly short of addressing the structural causes
of poverty, social justice and inequality. In Indonesia, for example, where decentralization has been
pursued for some years, the burden of raising revenues for the implementation of social policy is left
to local governments. Similarly, in Thailand, where social policies have been introduced, ‘budget
allocation’ is posed as an issue whenever social development is pitted against the ‘urgency’ of
economic development. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the way social protection programs have
been conceptualized and practiced show that structural causes of poverty and inequality continue to
be largely ignored.
Over-all, we have also learned and observed that the current policy of ‘targeting,’ increasingly
espoused and imposed by development agencies and many of our governments, has proven to be
inefficient and oftentimes, not cost effective, and has either undermined development strategies to
address poverty and inequality, or narrowed down, constrained and limited their focus and agenda.
In the face of all these issues and concerns, we underscore the relevance of advocating a universalist
approach to social policy and socio-economic security – of social protection for all – within which the
specific needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups could be addressed.
III.
IV. Ways Forward
While the current state of socio-economic security in many of our countries is disturbing, we note
many signs of hope and good practices. Many of such practices – the setting up of self-help groups
and community-based campaign networks, for example -- have been generated/ initiated by
ordinary citizens’ groups and grassroots organizations. While we continue to build on these as the
basis for advancing the social protection agenda, we acknowledge that these are not enough. In
order for social movements, citizens’ groups, trade unions and non-government organizations to
reclaim and further expand and deepen the democratic space, we need to more vigorously build
broader alliances at the local and national levels and engage the public arena. Recognizing too that
we cannot do these alone, and that the international community has an important role to play, we
must bring these agendas and actions beyond our national borders, build cross-border alliances and
launch regional and global campaigns.
We know that we have set before us a daunting challenge, one that is perhaps matched only in scale
and complexity by our vision for an alternative future. How to journey towards such alternative
vision? The best and only way would be to journey together in mutual accompaniment and support,
knowing that as we go along, we are guided by the many and diverse footprints of those who
journeyed before us.
We commit to the following platform of action:
A. Information and Knowledge Sharing
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Document current situation in each country and how the issue of financing is addressed
Document and share best practices such as stories of how local communities are empowered;
provide links such that stories and information are shared;
Conduct gender analysis of issues in various sectors;
Encourage citizen journalism and the drafting of People's Manifestos; training for this could be
facilitated by our network
Open up the democratic space for more communication avenues, like a community television
program, and social networking
B. Advocacy and Capacity Building
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Advocate for social protection of migrant workers and campaign for the signing of the
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of Their Families, especially among the receiving countries
Campaign for social policy on women and men that addresses specific needs on reproductive
health issues such as cervic cancer, prostate cancer, etc.
Ensure social protection for people with disabilities and the informal sector;
Campaign for universal access to basic services so that every person in every country has access
to clean water, health and education services; access to such services should not be based on
citizenship
Ensure marginalized sector representation and capacity-building for local government
employees in program implementation
Develop labor unions and other independent CSOs who can mobilize support and campaign for
social protection
Ensure technical and capacity support to enable us to engage with the government in social
protection policy development
Campaign for a rights-based approach in policy development
Mobilize existing networks and alliances such as Social Watch, GCAP, TSPA, SPA, and those of
the indigenous people and people with disabilities; Social Watch could become the focal point;
can also gather information
Develop initiatives from the local to national and regional levels; bring back the bottom-top
approach to program building and public awareness of these programs;
Advocate for debt cancellation; funds used for debt servicing should instead be spent on
achieving MDGs;
Strengthen existing budget monitoring movements
Create or strengthen local networks on social protection; develop internships and initiatives like
a local organizations academy
Lobby the ASEAN to set a minimum percentage of national budget or GDP that ASEAN countries
should spend on social protection;
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Engage regional structures and arenas such as the ASEAN, ADB, GMS (Greater Mekong sub
region); campaign and lobby for an ASEAN Social Cultural Community to address social
protection issues and come up with a 5-year plan;
C. Networking at the National and Regional Level
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Build strong mechanisms for partnership between the government, civil society, academe and
the business sector; lay down the context of social protection in such fora
A legal mandate could be developed for the business sector to provide social protection
programs; develop strategies for challenging neo-liberalists to engage in social protection
programs;
Focus on the implementation of social protection programs and making them sustainable
Work towards a clear definition of state obligation vis-a-vis the rights of the people
Facilitate sharing of analysis of problems on the implementation of social protection and best
practices from each country
Explore how to link human security vis-a-vis the rights for human development
Engage the ASEAN summit on social pillars and utilize it as an opportunity for exchange
D. Immediate Steps
 Request Social Watch to serve as the focal point for the advocacy for social
protection/universalizing socio-economic security (USES)
 Engage governments at the national level for expanded notion and practice of transformative
and strategic social protection/USES
 Engage the relevant pillars in ASEAN (same as above)