(in)Secure Societies: Redefining Civil Liberties in a changing Security Environment

28th I 29th I 30th January 2007

Background

The 'Cultures & Civilisations Dialogue' programme http://www.civdialogue.asef.org was established in 2003 by the Asia-Europe Foundation Department for Intellectual Exchange with the realisation that many cultural and civilisational issues need to be addressed in promoting greater understanding between the two regions of Asia and Europe . This programme facilitates leaders of civil society and government meeting, interacting and engaging with one another and with audiences in the opposite region. The relevance of the Cultures & Civilisations Dialogue programme was recently reinforced at the ASEM 6 Summit, where the leaders underlined that dialogue and cooperation among cultures and civilisations are essential means to prevent and overcome ignorance and prejudice.

The “Talks on the Hill” meeting series under this programme brings together 13-15 expert activists, journalists, academics and policymakers to discuss and brainstorm issues of pertinence to the two regions in an open, frank and intense setting. For this reason, “Talks on the Hill” are closed to the media (please see our Ground Rules for further details). The aim of this meeting series is to contribute to a better understanding of key issues on the topic and by doing so, to come up with real and useful policy-oriented recommendations that may be disseminated to the various governments of the ASEM process.

Since the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept-11 2001 and with each subsequent attack including those in Bali, Madrid, and London to name a few, concerns about security at airports, international organisations, on public transportation and other public places increasingly have come to the forefront of public debate.

Individual Governments have taken many steps to increase vigilance and have made significant investments into improved airport scanning and imaging technology, closed circuit cameras, mobile phone tracking systems and other methods of monitoring people, packages and vehicles. In some countries, old debates have reopened about issues such as the use of citizen identity cards with biometric data, to the legality of monitoring private information for example, library book withdrawal and bank records and Internet browsing. Other policies and laws have been adopted in various countries to address the security challenges posed by terrorism which have affected rights relating to fair trial, interrogation methods as well as the secret transfer of detainees to foreign detention centres. Other serious issues have arisen with respect to ‘racial profiling' in criminal investigation, stepped-up monitoring of migrants and close surveillance of places of religious worship and of religious adherents.

Such measures have alarmed civil society, parliaments and human rights activists and many people have been questioning the necessity of such encroachments into their personal privacy and information. Allegations of the systematic use of interrogation methods falling short of international human rights and humanitarian law, resort to secret flights and indiscriminate arrests, and of other serious human rights violations, signal that the debate over the balance to be struck between national security measures, in particular those aimed at the eradication of terrorist activities on the one hand, and the full enjoyment of human rights on the other, is far from over. The whole debate over anti-terrorism policies and human rights remains of particular concern to Asian and European Governments whose cooperation remains a sine qua non for addressing the issue.

With a view to coming up with concrete policy recommendations that can be fed into the ASEM Dialogue, this meeting will address, among others, the following issues:

• Is the current wave of tightened national security policy, law and practice redefining the relative spheres of private and public life?
  
• What implications could such measures have for the enjoyment of basic human rights and fundamental freedoms?
  
• Do stronger anti-terrorism measures necessarily require greater restrictions on basic rights and fundamental freedoms?
  
• How might renewed emphasis on counter-terrorism affect the quality of democracy?
  
• In the various Member States of ASEM, has the heightened concern over terrorism and national security affected the relationship among the Executive, legislative and judicial branches?
  
• Have ASEM Member States taken adequate care to ensure that individuals whose rights have been violated in the course of counter-terrorist measures have regular, concrete, institutionalized access to remedies?
  
• What role should the private sector be made to play with regard to criminal investigations into terrorist activity, for example, with regard to the sharing of private information?
  
• What should be the roles of international organisations, NGO's and advocacy groups on all the above issues?

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

In meeting the objective of serving as a mechanism to inform and deliver civil society recommendations to the governments of ASEM, the final report of this meeting will be tailored towards real policy issues and will be disseminated widely to the relevant Ministries and agencies. The final report will also be posted online on the dedicated Cultures & Civilisations Dialogue website at http://www.civdialogue.asef.org .

TARGET PARTICIPANT GROUP :

There will be 15 participants at the meeting, including legal experts, policymakers, activists, academics and journalists.

PICTURES OF THE MEETING (click on thumbnails for an expanded view)