Open Letter to the ASEAN Government

H.E. Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi,

We are about to celebrate the 53rd founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in August 2020, but amidst a pandemic and ongoing human rights violations, there is nothing to celebrate. While ASEAN spends millions to celebrate, thousands of people are dying from COVID-19, climate disasters, and other injustices. Despite efforts to silence our voices and minimize the crises Southeast Asia faces, we see the human rights abuses clearly and we know you see them too.

While ASEAN celebrates, the region is suffering from the following crises:

• Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Singapore are experiencing record-breaking climate-induced floods and fires, destroying millions of hectares of land and causing the air to become hazardous, killing thousands and uprooting millions.
• Meanwhile, Indonesia’s proposed Omnibus bill threatens to remove or revoke at least 70 existing laws including environmental and climate policies, which is especially dangerous as Indonesia ranks 4th in the world for emissions.
• The Mekong River drought, caused by the Chinese Government and exacerbated by climate change, is devastating the economy and livelihood of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
• The Philippines is the second most dangerous country in the world for environmental defenders with hundreds of indigenous peoples and environment defenders killed every year, including the bombing and forcible shutdown of Lumad schools for indigenous people and declarations like the Terror Law that eliminate the right to free speech.
• The Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources is allowing the Philippines to be illegally occupied and exploited by Chinese mining companies.
• Southeast Asia has already suffered devastating economic loss due to COVID-19 and climate change, worsening already rampant poverty and unemployment.
• COVID-19 is surging, with cases in the region expected to top 500,000 while governments fail to deliver adequate aid, testing and treatment.
• The Philippines’ main health insurance provider PhilHealth is wallowing in corruption including 15 billion stolen in fraud by PhilHealth executives and overpricing of COVID-19 test kits.
• Government officials have yet to release how the South East Asia Clean Energy Facility (SEACEF) fund of 2.5 billion USD for clean energy will be distributed.
• More coal-fired power plants have been approved for construction in many ASEAN countries despite the growing renewable energy industry which will provide cleaner sources of energy, foster affordability and accessibility for marginalized communities, and generate more jobs that are also safer.

Now is not the time to celebrate. Now is the time to declare a climate emergency, address the pandemic, and address the social and environmental issues that have plagued Southeast Asia for decades.

We demand the following:

• Regional declaration of climate emergency followed by immediate radical climate action
• Immediate relief for communities and people impacted by COVID-19 and climate-induced disasters.
• Accountability from leaders and the ASEAN government for their human rights abuses and inaction on the COVID-19 pandemic
• An end to laws like the Terror Act that infringe on the right to free speech and protest
• An end to widespread institutional corruption like that of Philhealth
• Transparency for the 2.5 billion dollars allocated as climate funds
• Immediate divestment from fossil fuels and commitment to reaching 100% clean energy by 2030.
• Immediate investment to greener industries providing more sustainable sources of energy such as renewable energy
• Provide safeguards for the just transition of workers in unsustainable companies, such as coal-fired power plants, to greener industries

Written by Zero Hour Southeast Asia
Sign the Open Letter here: bit.ly/ASEANOpenLetter more information at zerohourasean.org and thisiszerohour.org