During two days, on 1 and 2 September 2006, parliamentarians from fourteen South East Asian and Asia-Pacific countries converged in Phuket, Thailand, to discuss the role of parliaments in security sector reform. This first ever such gathering in the region was convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF). It was hosted by the Senate of Thailand.
The parliamentarians, together with experts drawn from different walks of life, discussed the transformations in the evolving security environment brought about by globalisation, the growing interdependence between states and the emergence of new non-conventional threats. These threats include terrorism, transnational crime, and pandemics such as SARS. The growing use of the Internet and other information resources is making responding to these threat more complex. In the participants' view, the current security architecture in the region does not allow for the challenges to be addressed in an effective manner. They therefore called for innovative mechanisms to be devised to respond to these threats. In so doing, emphasis should be laid more on human security than on the current state-centric approach to security.
The military approach to fighting terrorism had not been entirely effective and that other means such as dialogue and inclusive political processes could go a long way in taking the steam off terrorism. Participants repeatedly called on the security forces to refrain from human rights abuses as oppression and repression inevitably fuel terrorism.
Parliamentarians at the seminar generally stressed that gone are the days when civilians were not allowed to deal with security matters. Security has become a collective responsibility and parliamentarians, as representatives of the people, must be involved in the oversight thereof in order to ensure transparency and accountability. They also have an important role to play in legislating provisions that guarantee fundamental rights in security operations. This is particularly important in the national context but also increasingly so in the international context where security forces are called upon to carry out peace-keeping duties in other countries.
In sum, security sector reform requires a new mindset, a change of attitudes by both the security forces and civilians in a constantly evolving environment which calls for flexible solutions that are anchored in human rights.
Unfortunately, recent events in Thailand have belied the strong message that came across during the seminar that, in a democracy worthy of the name, the security forces, including the police and the armed forces should be under civilian control. The IPU hopes that parliamentary democracy can be restored rapidly in this country.
The Phuket seminar nevertheless was useful in raising awareness within the parliamentary community in the region of the issues at stake and of ways in which parliaments can play a meaningful role in ensuring a responsible and effective attitude in the security sector. In this regard, the IPU received a strong mandate to continue to work with parliaments through, among other things, capacity-building for parliamentarians, assistance with drafting relevant legislation and providing an environment within its midst wherein security issues could be discussed in depth and relevant experiences shared.
