Youth Collective Statement 2020

We, the young people of Southeast Asia, express our grave concern about the spread of the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) and its adverse effects on people’s well-being and on global socio-economic developments. We are deeply saddened by the loss of life and the suffering caused by the pandemic. We also express our gratitude to medical professionals, healthcare workers, researchers, scientists, and other frontline personnel for their invaluable efforts in response to COVID-19.

Building upon the existing efforts of Individual ASEAN Member States and that of the Southeast Asian Community in response to the pandemic, we further call for  practical rights-based actions that are inclusive and people-centred.

We call upon the ASEAN Governments and Leaders in Southeast Asia to:

1. Address youth unemployment exacerbated by the pandemic; adopt sufficient safety and health measures to protect all workers from contracting the COVID-19 at the workplace; and implement policies that allow all workers (including migrant workers) to access social security, humanitarian assistance, and emergency relief.
2. Address educational infrastructure gaps (especially in rural and digitally-disconnected areas) and invest in an inclusive education system for all youth, especially for youth living with disabilities; youth living in poverty; youth in conflict-affected areas; and other marginalised youth.
3. Reform and repeal rules and regulations which criminalize young people for voicing out their opinions and reporting on the COVID-19 situation. Also, repeal regulations in ASEAN Member States that criminalise and violate the right to freedom of expression, opinion, and the right to information; and to create a safe and enabling environment for people to exercise their rights without fear of reprisal.
4. Establish an independent ASEAN Inter-governmental body to uphold and protect the rights of people in migration and handle migration issues, including Refugee and Trafficking, with the right-based approach.
5. Strengthen political commitments to eliminate gender-based violence by enforcing survivor-centred mechanisms as well as imposing strict legal measures against perpetrators and provide gender-sensitive services in response to the increased rates of intimate partner violence during COVID-19.
6. Provide legal foundations to support the LGBTQI+ community as a vulnerable group and prohibit discrimination and violence against the LGBTQI+ community.
7. Ensure the mental wellbeing of people in Southeast Asia by investing in online systems that will provide psychiatric care and psychological services virtually, especially in remote communities where access to such services is limited.
8. Actively engage and include youth in the decision-making processes relating to the development of relevant COVID-19 measures.

We strongly encourage civil societies in Southeast Asia to:

1. Raise awareness to destigmatize conversations around mental health, gender-based violence, and LGBTQI+ rights, especially in the media, at workplaces and schools.
2. Increase community-based services for domestic violence, gender-based violence, cyber violence, and violence against marginalised communities, including LGBTQI+, Refugees, and religious minorities.
3. Demand transparency from the governments on their response to the pandemic, including plans, current and accurate reports, actions taken, and funds raised and disbursed. 
4. Promote media literacy to tackle and prevent the spread of fake news across the region.

We call Young People in Southeast Asia to:

1. Engage and participate in public policy processes in Southeast Asia.
2. Stand in solidarity with pro-democracy, people-centered, gender-sensitive, and rights-based youth movements across Southeast Asia.
3. Promote intersectional collaborations and remain active in organizing, mobilizing, and shaping spaces to lead; claim youth rights, and foster inclusive, people-centered and gender-sensitive communities in Southeast Asia.

We, the young people of Southeast Asia, believe in human rights, democracy, justice, freedom, and peace. We shall work together to ensure that either during and post COVID-19 community in Southeast Asia is an inclusive,  people-centered, gender-sensitive, and right-based community.

September 2020

Young Southeast Asians