Issues
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ASEAN's policies on transnational crime and counter-terrorism are the most relevant to policy laundering. Some of the relevant documents and statements are available on this web page. However, the rhetoric of these statements, press releases and other documents is highly equivocal and only vaguely hints at how some of the agreed schemes will be applied and operated. Concerns relating to the freedom of political association, the freedom of the press and transparency within some of the ASEAN member states will hamper the ability to decipher the implementation and consequences of policy laundering issues. It should also be kept in mind that ASEAN's success rate of cooperation in many of these matters is relatively low. Travel Surveillance The ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime in 1999 advised strengthening the integrity of travel documents. ASEANAPOL has also stated that it wishes to work closely with the issuing authorities concerning the security features of travel documents. As was the case with "Identity Documents," however, the issue of travel surveillance has largely been advocated during meetings with external partners. During the year of the 10th ASEAN Regional Forum, an Intersessional Meeting on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime chaired by Malaysia and the United States recommended establishing "cooperation" with private sector representatives, the example provided being a weekly meeting with an airline representative in order to collect information on passenger lists. In addition, the uniformity of travel documents with adequate security features including biometrics and the creation of travel and identity documents for seafarers was considered. The 12th ARF provided the "ARF Statement on Information Sharing and Information Exchange and Document Integrity and Security in Enhancing Cooperation to Combat Terrorism and Other Transnational Crimes." The Statement urges the widespread use of Machine Readable Travel Documents with incorporated biometrics, if possible. Identity Documents An assessment of the documents released by the ASEAN Secretariat seemingly demonstrates that policy making in this sphere is highly influenced by external relations. There are no specific references to national identity documents in publicly available communications pertaining solelycoo to the ten ASEAN member states. However, the ASEAN Regional Forum statements and documents contain several detailed mentions to identity documents. The Intersessional Meeting on Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime recommended the introduction of a smartcard as a means to increase security In addition, the 12th ARF provided the "ARF Statement on Information Sharing and Information Exchange and Document Integrity and Security in Enhancing Cooperation to Combat Terrorism and Other Transnational Crimes" which reiterates the call for national documents pertaining to internationally agreed standards and containing appropriate biometric identifiers. Terrorist Watch Lists The frequent mention of information exchange and sharing clearly requires some form of collation of such information although the ASEAN member states and external partners remain very silent on the content of this information and its method of storage. One clue is provided by the Manila Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Transnational Crime" in 1998 which calls for the establishment of arrangements for the systematic collection of data on manifestations of organised crime. This sounds perfectly legitimate, however the arguments mentioned in the Security/Law Enforcement section relating to ASEAN are repeated and the appalling human rights records and the criminalisation of political dissent cannot be overlooked when considering the content of any "systematic collection of data." Migration and Border Controls In the year of the 9th ASEAN Regional Forum (2001-2002), an "ASEAN Regional Forum Workshop on the Prevention of Terrorism" suggested enhanced cooperation on border control. This issue has also become a topic of discussion between ASEAN and the United States. The "Declaration for Cooperation to combat International Terrorism" between the two parties reveals an offer by the United States to provide assistance with border and immigration control challenges, although the declaration does not define in what capacity. Security/Law Enforcement Cooperation Information exchange or sharing and security cooperation is an initiative that has been endorsed since the "ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime" in 1997 and in subsequent communiqués in transnational crime and terrorism. While the details of the type of information that is exchanged are not abundantly clear from any of the ASEAN-published documents, it is likely that the identity of individuals and organisations that are suspected of having terrorist links are shared among the member states. The "Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters," ratified by eight of the member states of ASEAN in 2004, formalizes calls for enhanced legal co-operation and information exchange. Furthermore, external relations, for example within the ASEAN Regional Forum, have also focused on the international exchange of information, so it is highly probable that such information is available internationally, if not globally. Concerns relating to the dissemination of this information relate to the impartiality of the information providers, particularly in relation to terrorist activities. For example, Human Rights Watch reported after the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11th 2001 that Malaysia used its Internal Security Act to imprison pro-democracy supporters. Throughout ASEAN, some of the member states have long been suspected of criminalising political opposition and it is highly worrying to think that the names and details of certain categories of individuals are being distributed internationally and used by several other countries, either through legal-cooperation or intelligence sharing agreements or through ASEANAPOL. Financial Surveillance Within ASEAN, the "Manila Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Transnational Crime" in 1998 provides a starting point for policies relating to financial surveillance. The Declaration mandates for the securing the cooperation of financial institutions through regulations and mechanisms and the reporting of suspicious transactions to appropriate authorities. No guidance is provided as to what constitutes "suspicious transactions" or how cooperation of institutions should be secured. In 2001, the ASEAN "Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism" revisits the issue of financial surveillance and calls for the ratification of relevant UN anti-terrorist conventions, which of course includes the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Further, in addition to ministers from the ASEAN member states, ASEANAPOL expressed a commitment to promoting close cooperation between law enforcement authorities and financial institutions. The ASEAN Regional Forum has also provided a medium through which to advocate an increased role for financial surveillance. The "ARF Statement on Measures Against Terrorist Financing" published in 2002 requires the urgent implementation of all measures the UN has identified as mandatory to combat terrorist financing, cooperation with other international bodies including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and again reiterates the need for enhanced cooperation in the international exchange of information. |