Internews Europe has recommended the creation of a regional forum and network for Southeast Asian organizations working across the range of freedom of expression and right to information issues.
Funding for activists to work on these issues has diminished, according to the report.
The 60-page report, “Freedom of Expression and Right to Information in ASEAN Countries,” examines freedom of expression across all 10 ASEAN nations, with a special focus on five countries – Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. Read the report issued May 9 by the London-based nongovernmental organization here or download a medium-resolution PDF format version of the report
“While a handful of FoE/RTI organisations well placed to receive funding and other support exist in the priority countries, numerous smaller organisations and individual activists also working towards FoE and RTI are more poorly networked and resourced – and are often unaware of the work of other entities,” according to the first of three findings.
It continues, “Furthermore, there is no effective FoE or RTI mechanism or initiative connecting any of these country-level actors with regional organisations, or vice versa.”
A second finding is that systematic collaboration on high-priority issues is “limited.” A summary says:
“Increased multi-stakeholder collaboration and cross-border sharing of information is urgently needed to counter key threats to FoE/RTI, such as the domino effect of regressive media and Internet laws across the region, the increase in online censorship, the deteriorating safety and security situation for journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs), and systemic self-censorship, especially on sensitive topics.
Donors, the report says, “are increasingly nesting their support for FoE/RTI initiatives under broader funding streams for governance or poverty alleviation, decreasing the overall funding available for FoE/ RTI, and leaving expert groups in the region with diminished resources, and little margin for error for experimentation.”
Another Call for Regional Forum
Apparently separately, delegates at a regional conference in Pakistan on investigative journalism and right to information agreed to establish a “South Asia Right to Information Forum” to raise a voice for peoples’ right to know, according to media reports.
The conference was organized by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP). According to a conference declaration: “The South Asia RTI Forum will clinically examine and assess the state of applicability and implementation of RTI laws in the region to overcome hurdles in the way that leads to empowerment of people in the region. Establishment of South Asia Right To Information Forum will go a long way in establishing sovereignty of the poor of the region and will help free flow of information across border.
FreedomInfo.org was unable to learn if the parallel conclusions were coordinated.
Text of Internews Report Recommendations
1. Establish or support a regional forum and network for organisations working across the range of FoE/RTI issues, bringing together expertise from key regional and national organisations, and following best-practice models from other areas of the world.
2. Support multi-country collaborations between diverse organisations tackling restrictive laws, for example ‘cybercrime’ laws, through the provision of technical assistance, skills, resources and networking. Establish or strengthen a lead regional organisation focused on online free expression.
3. Strengthen links between country-level organisations and existing regional resources to prioritise the safety and protection of journalists (e.g. the UN Safety Plan).
4. Support organisations working to end impunity through regional policy approaches.
5. Support nascent civil society organisations to develop strong links and exchanges with relevant organisations through cross-border exposure trips where country clusters exist.
6. Work with/through other regional networks to provide digital security training.
7. Investigate support for other forms of media such as documentary film and photography as entry environments.
8. Foster the development of a donors’ forum for Southeast Asia involving regional and international donors.
Filed under: What's New