INTRODUCTION

1. The Vision of an ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

Embedded in ASEAN Vision 2020, Declaration of ASEAN Concord I (1976), Declaration of ASEAN Concord II (2003) and the Hanoi Plan of Action (HPA) is ASEAN's goal of a community of cohesive, equitable and harmonious societies, bound together in solidarity for deeper understanding and cooperation. Its key features are:

1. • Equitable access to opportunities will be universal — rising above the barriers of religion, race, language, gender and social and cultural background;

2. • Human potentials are nurtured to the fullest, so that all individuals can participate meaningfully in a competitive world in a manner that gives paramount importance to their welfare and dignity;

3. • Norms of social and distributive justice are upheld by addressing issues of poverty and equity, and special care is given to vulnerable groups — children, youth, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities — who could be the subject of abuse, neglect and discrimination;

4. • The environment and natural resources are protected and managed to sustain development and as a legacy for future generations;

5. • Civil society is engaged in providing inputs for policy choices;

6. • People are healthy in mind and body and living in harmony in safe environments; and

7. • ASEAN citizens interact in a community conscious of its ties of history, aware of its cultural heritage and bound by a common regional identity.

The Imperatives of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

2. The ASCC reflects ASEAN's social agenda that is focused on poverty eradication and human development. It is linked inextricably with the economic and security pillars of the ASEAN Community. Social inequities can threaten economic development and in turn undermine political regimes. Economic instability can exacerbate poverty, unemployment, hunger, illness and disease. Social instability can emerge from environmental scarcity or the inequitable distribution among stakeholders of the use of environmental assets. Failure to address these critical and persistent social issues can further cause both economic and political dislocations.