Asia Centre Develops Partnerships in New Zealand
Asia Centre has built two partnerships around impact projects on Fake News and the Rohingya refugee crisis in Southeast Asia during its New Zealand outreach from 21-31 October 2018 to seek out collaboration opportunities. Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, Asia Centre, kicked off the first leg of the trip as an Activist-in-Residence at the Massey University-Center for Culture-Centered Approach (CARE) on October 23rd-26th. One focus during this residency was to collaborate with CARE on “Communication, Democracy and Freedom in Asia” highlighting the “Fake News” challenge to democracy. The issues were delivered in the form of a public lecture and around a co-authored CARE White Paper with Professor Mohan Dutta, Director of CARE. Dr. Gomez was also a keynote speaker on “Fake News” and its impact on diversity at Inclusive New Zealand Conference on 30-31 October 2018. The conference entitled “Our Space – Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora” centred around creating vibrant and inclusive communities. The conference brought together community organisations, academics, local authorities and individuals with lived experience to share their experiences, build networks and strengthen partnerships. Michael White, CEO of Inclusive New Zealand and an Asia Centre associate facilitated the opportunity. Both CARE and Inclusive New Zealand have agreed to be partners for Asia Centre’s International Conference on Fake News and Elections in Asia, 10-12 July 2018. In relation to the Rohingya refugee project, on 23 October 2018, Dr. Gomez, during his activist-in-residence at CARE, Massey University, conducted a workshop on developing an advocacy strategy at the ASEAN level on the issue. On October 31st, Dr Gomez gave a well-attended talk titled the “Rohingya Crisis: Is Human Rights Advocacy Working?” to the Political Science and International Relations Programme of Victoria University of Wellington. During his time there, Dr Gomez was interviewed by Lynda Chanwai-Earle, a researcher from Asia Media Centre at the Asia New Zealand Foundation. The article entitled Key Issues: Rohingya Crisis featured the role of ASEAN in the refugee crisis. Dr. Gomez also interacted with Dr Murdoch Stephens of the Doing Our Bit campaign to double the quota of Rohingya refugees to New Zealand. Dr. Gomez also took time on 29 October 2018 to engage with Pacific issues by attending the Council for International Development, Pacific Reset: How will it change the way we work? Asia Centre will be building on these partnerships and projects and will be announcing details of progress as things develop.
Asia Centre Participates in Workshop on Freedom of Religion or Belief
3 November 2018 – Dr. Robin Ramcharan analysed the role of youth interaction with religious leaders in constraining religious extremism during a workshop on freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), organised by the Rule of Law Program of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and its partners in Singapore, from 29 to 30 October 2018. He noted analysis worldwide that showed the impact of marginalization and of religious-dissonance on the progression of youth from their regular lives towards extremist thoughts and sometimes violence. Research has shown that religious leaders can play a vital role in youths’ search for theological consistency in their particular environments and in critically thinking about their own faiths, especially in a world awash with fake news on the internet. Globally, the international community’s peacebuilding experience has led to calls for the integration of religious leaders in post-conflict peacebuilding and in sustaining peace. The mere instrumentalisation of religious leaders in support of liberal goals is seen to be insufficient for laying the foundations for peace. Asia Centre thus continues to engage in regional discussions and with emerging networks on FoRB in Southeast Asia. It aims to produce an updated regional analysis on FoRB in the Universal Periodic Review process as revealed in the third cycle. FoRB and fake news is also set to feature in the Centre’s conference on Fake News and Elections in Asia, to be held from 10 to 12 July 2019 in Bangkok. Email contact@asiacentre.org to submit abstracts or to partner for the conference. ***
Asia Centre’s Japan Outreach
As part of Asia Centre’s regional outreach, Dr. James Gomez, Chair, Board of Directors, Asia Centre visited Tokyo, Japan during the first week of October 2018. This visit builds on a series of activities over the last three years the Centre has undertaken with Japanese academia, civil society and other supporting institutions. During the visit, on 2 October, Dr. Gomez was invited by Professor Yasushi Katsuma to lecture on “Fake News and Elections in Southeast Asia” for the graduate students at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University in Tokyo. One of the main discussion points was around the question “should mainstream media and it’s journalists be held legally accountable rather then getting away with apologies for publishing fake news?” The public lecture was part Asia Centre’s efforts to engage with Japanese academia on the issue of fake news in the run up to its 2019 conference. On the civil society front, 3 October, Dr. Gomez met with Mr. Hideki Wakabayashi, Executive Director, a tokyo-based Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, and discussed Asia Centre’s participation in the G20 NGO summit for April 2019. Asia Centre is also a host to its first Japanese intern, Kasumi Shiraishi, a postgraduate student in International Relations at Waseda University, Japan who is undertaking a review of fake news and cyber security legislation in East Asia and corresponding with Japanese university on the Centre’s Fake News conference. Other visitors included Dr. Junko Nakajima, a dentist from Nagano, who wrote to Dr. Gomez about Singapore’s longest serving political prisoner Dr. Chia Thye Poh. Dr. Nakajima and her sister visited Sentosa some 27 years ago and had tea with Dr. Chia at his house in Fort Siloso. A poignant story, Dr. Nakajima shared her photos and letter with Asia Centre. Asia Centre’s outreach in Japan, comes on the back of its cooperation in 2017, with the Japan Foundation in Bangkok to host an intellectual exchange programme on Japan-ASEAN Relations which featured academic Dr. Takashi Tsukamoto and lawyer and Asia Centre Associate Akiko Sato. Earlier in the year, the Centre representatives visited and held discussion with the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Bangkok Director, Dr. Kunaiki Yamashita. In 2016, Asia Centre’s Dr. Robin Ramcharan facilitated a Focus on Life discussion and networking session New York-based Japanese photographer and anti-death penalty activist Toshi Kazama. The Japan outreach is part of a series regional activities undertaken by the Asia Centre to highlight its work and build partnerships.
The Rohingya Crisis: A Long, Tortuous Road to Security and Justice
One year after the start of the latest mass exodus of Rohingya fleeing violence and persecution by the Myanmar Government and military, the prospects of a deepening humanitarian crisis and of achieving justice are prolonged indefinitely into the future. This is the grim conclusion drawn from Asia Centre’s one day conference on The Rohingya Crisis: A Multidimensional Tragedy, on 24 August 2018. Participants noted a number of salient points as follows. Very few of the refugees have returned to their homes in Rakhine state, despite an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh, which hosts around one million Rohingya ‘refugees’. Failing security and citizenship guarantees, the Rohingya people themselves will not return from fear for their security. The humanitarian needs – food, shelter, sanitation and other basic necessities – are dire. Valiant efforts and financing by the international community will be increasingly strained, while little or no humanitarian assistance impact by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was poignantly noted. The impact of the mass exodus to Bangladesh, including displacement of the latter’s indigenous communities, was discussed. The pursuit of justice for the victims and accountability for crimes perpetrated – “a classic case of ethnic cleansing” – will be hard to achieve as Myanmar enjoys the protective cover of ASEAN’s non-interference principle, regional commercial interests in Myanmar and a regional geopolitical climate that does not favour the protection of human rights. In this climate, the importance of creating a global repository of evidence of crimes was noted. National efforts, such as the United States’ Treasury Department’s use of its recently adopted ‘Magnitsky Act’, in mid-August 2018, to impose sanctions on four Myanmar security officials and two military units may bear fruit in the long run. The US State Department was considering whether the term “genocide” was applicable to what has occurred. It was noted at the conference that the use of the term “genocide” is problematic as the threshold for proving this is very high – performance of acts with “intent” to get rid of a group. The formal use of this term by the international community must trigger intervention. Abuse of the term followed by inaction serves to diminish its credibility and utility. The future of Rohingya in Myanmar, it was noted, required overcoming deep-seated prejudices of the majority’s ‘xenophobia’ against the Rohingya and other minority communities. The achievement of the Responsibility to Protect of the Myanmar government under international human rights law will only be achieved with a more positive attitude among younger generations towards the Rohingya. The impact of the crisis on youth – the destruction of young friendships between members of different communities – was brought home to participants in a screening of the film Sitwe (2017) by acclaimed filmmaker, Jeanne Hallacy. A strong role for education and deconstruction of negative stereotypes was posited by the Australia-based Asia-Pacific Centre for R2P. Experts participating in the conference came from around the world, including Australia, Bangladesh, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Local civil society, international organisations, graduate students and media also participated. Asia Centre will continue its engagement with the Rohingya crisis during its conference on Fake News and Elections in Asia, 10-12 July 2019, where the issue of the impact of hate, fake and partisan news on minorities and ethnic conflict will be featured.
3rd International Conference (2018): Business and Human Rights: Holding Governments Accountable in Asia
The duty of the State to protect human rights and regulate the behaviour of business organizations was the focal point of discussions at Asia Centre’s International Conference on Business and Human Rights: Holding Governments Accountable in Asia (BHR Conference), held on 12 and 13 July 2018 in Bangkok. The focus on the duty of the State was deemed important by the conference participants as Asian countries increasingly consider the development of national action plans (NAPs) on BHR. Experts from around the world analysed the multifaceted linkages between business operations and international human rights norms but circled back to point to the duty of the State to protect. They highlighted policy and legislative challenges affecting the capacity of states to uphold such norms as stipulated in Pillar One of the UN Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on Business and Human Rights. Asia Centre Conferences: Designed for Discourse The conference hosted over 50 participants from a variety of organisations including universities, NGOs and INGOs. The conference’s program can be found here. During the nine panels, a variety of interconnected topics in relation to business and human rights were presented, questioned and discussed. Watch the conference’s video here. The compiled conference procedure is available here. Day one The first day’s presentations discussed BHR perspectives on a regional basis, national strategies and policies, the interaction of Multinational Corporations, and accountability in infrastructure, development and consumer-oriented business. While NAPs on BHR by Governments are welcome, Dr. Seree Nonthasoot, Thailand’s representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), reminded participants in his guest appearance, NAPs should not provide a means for States to neglect their existing obligations under international law. Likewise, participants pointed out that voluntarist corporate social responsibility (CSR) undertakings by business organisations are not the same as a human rights based approach in the UNGPs. Many at the two day conference felt that on occasions CSR was just a publicity tool that companies used for branding purposes and not a commitment to human rights principles. Day two On the second day, the accountability of labour rights violations and indigenous and land rights were noted. The conversations continued over environmental protection as well as technologies and innovation in the business sector. Presentations were made by over 40 specialists on a broad range of issues such as the interdependence of the three pillars (protect, respect and remedy) of the UNGPs. They also discussed violations of land rights, indigenous peoples’ rights, mining, environment and labour rights. The increasing impact of Chinese business interests in Southeast Asia was also raised. Wrapping up – Humanity at the centre of discussions To wrap up the proceedings, a closing panel considered innovative, cutting edge research on the relationship between human rights and architecture, artificial intelligence and smart cities. Participants discussed the need to place the human being at the centre of all discussions as society becomes dominated by innovation and technology. The BHR Conference, in partnership with Forum Asia and Thammasat University ASEAN-China program and supported by the Taiwan Democracy Foundation, is the third human rights conference by Asia Centre that reviewed the contemporary challenges in Southeast Asia and the wider region through evidence-based research. The conference inspired Asia Centre’s publication Business and Human Rights in Asia: Duty of The State to Protect. It examines the State’s duty to protect amidst rising concern over the human rights impact of business organisations in Asia.
Dissecting the 2018 Election in Malaysia: The End of Cronyism?
The key challenge of undoing six decades of cronyism, patronage and money politics was a central point highlighted during Asia Centre’s roundtable discussion on the Malaysian elections held in May 2018. Despite the political earthquake, the end of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) rule in Malaysia after 61 years and the defeat of former Prime Minister Najib’s government, fundamental change is not guaranteed. All speakers at the roundtable, held on 22 June 2018 at Asia Centre, observed this critical point. It remains to be seen if the new government of Pakatan Harapan (PH) can usher out the politics of ‘money, race and patronage’. After all, PH is led by a member of the old guard, 92-year old PM Mahathir, who had mentored former PM Najib and helped to build up that system. PM-in-waiting, 70-year-old Anwar Ibrahim, has forged an alliance of convenience with his former mentor and tormentor, Mahathir. Should Anwar be designated PM, is he likely to bring fundamental change? The desire for change among a large percentage of the youth was raised as a factor tipping the balance in favour of PH, which appeared on the political scene at the perfect time. Another key immediate factor was the disaffection of voters with the well-documented corruption scandals rocking former PM Najib, which resulted in a drift towards authoritarianism and harassment of political opposition to his Government. Creeping authoritarianism, including recent attempts to stifle freedom of expression through hastily passed ‘fake news laws’ prior to the election, was a noticeable feature of the Najib’s rule over the past decade, amidst other longer term factors affecting the election. Already in the 2013 election, it became apparent that minority groups, notably Malaysian Chinese,were less willing to accept the national affirmative action plan that has privileged the Bumiputra. Indigenous peoples, such as the Orang Asli, also have become wary of their routine treatment by politicians as ‘second class’ citizens. Splits in the BN coalition had begun to appear well before May 2018. In addition, the new administration will need to contend with an economy that has featured rising costs of living in recent years. Resolute action to tackle these deeper problems will be a drawn out affair, especially in the uncertain leadership transition that is set to take place in two years, with Anwar assuming the mantle of Prime Minister, while his family presumably gives way as he succeeds. The rich discussion was moderated by Dr. Robin Ramcharan of Asia Centre. The discussion was animated by expert commentators from Malaysia and the UK: Dr. Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani (PhD), Professor of Politics and International Relations at the School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM); Mr. Lutfi Hakim, independent consultant and an associate of IMAN Research, where he was previously a research lead; Dr. Victor Karunen, lecturer and former UN official with UNICEF; and Mr. Scott Edwards, doctoral candidate at the University of Birmingham’s Institute for Cooperation, Conflict, and Security (ICCS). The roundtable set the scene at Asia Centre’s third anniversary celebrations, where Asia Centre announced its new branch in Malaysia. The second Centre in Johor Bahru will be rolled out over 2018-2019. All expressions of interest for collaboration in Malaysia can be sent to contact@asiacentre.co.th. Left to Right: Asia Centre co-founder and Chairman, Board of Directors Dr. James Gomez; Dr. Victor Karunan; Mr. Lutfi Hakim; Prof. Dr. Mohd Azizuddin bin Mohd Sani; Mr. Scott Edwards; Asia Centre co-founder and Executive Director Dr. Robin Ramcharan Photos from the event are available here. This event was held with the support of the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
Asia Centre announces Malaysia branch
Asia Centre has initiated plans to establish a second branch in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The new branch will complement and extend the reach of programmes currently organized by Asia Centre Thailand in Bangkok. The announcement of Asia Centre Malaysia was made by Dr. James Gomez, Chairman, Board of Directors of Asia Centre, on the occasion of the Centre’s third anniversary in Bangkok. He noted that the timing for a second Centre in Malaysia is ripe, as the political developments in the country point to opportunities for more robust conversations. Johor Bahru was selected as the preferred location for the Centre’s second branch because of its strategic location, 330 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur and 18 kilometers from Singapore’s Second Link Bridge. Within Johor Bahru, the new branch will be situated less than two kilometres from EduCity at Iskandar Puteri, four kilometers from Puteri Harbour, and 25 kilometres from the old city centre and the Woodlands Causeway to Singapore. By locating in Johor Bahru, Asia Centre Malaysia aims to be part of the ecosystem of higher education institutions in EduCity, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore, as well as the not-for-profit sector in both Malaysia and Singapore. Asia Centre Malaysia will be housed in a new shop lot complex in the Medini township of Iskandar Puteri in Johor Bahru. The three-storey building has a total floor area of 300sqm, and sports a contemporary design and large balcony on the third floor. Prospective plans for Asia Centre Malaysia include a café, bookshop, co-working spaces, a meeting room and an administrative hub to support the organising of conferences, seminars, workshops, exhibitions and film screenings. Dr Gomez noted that the hard infrastructural developments in Johor Bahru were insufficient for establishing a truly international city, and that a social dimension with robust intellectual conversations is needed. He said that Asia Centre intends to contribute to the intellectual and cultural life of the city through regionally-themed activities and working with local, regional and international partners. Asia Centre Malaysia will be established over the next two years. From July to December 2018, work will involve registration and associated legal compliance. In 2019, outreach in Malaysia will be undertaken, a concept note will be developed, some advisers will be appointed and an interior design firm will be contracted to begin work. Renovation work is expected to continue through into 2020 with the start of some activities to roll out the Centre. This will lead to the appointment of a coordinator and a regular activities at the Centre in Malaysia. While independent, with its own programme of work and governance structure, Asia Centre Malaysia will work with Asia Centre Thailand for economies of scale to further the organisation’s long-term goals of serving as a Think-Tank, Meeting Space, Project Partner and Social Enterprise in the region. The establishment of a second branch in Malaysia signals strong, steady growth for the Asia Centre social enterprise brand first established in 2015. We welcome expressions of interest for collaboration and partnership for activities in Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere in the region. To explore avenues for potential collaboration, do reach out to us at info@asiacentre.org Front side First floor 2nd floor 3nd floor
Asia Centre recruits new talent at Webster University’s Career and Internship Fair
Asia Centre had the opportunity to showcase its internship programme at the annual Webster University Thailand Career and Internship Fair on 4 April 2018. Asia Centre offers two forms of internship: Research, which focuses on researching and preparing evidence to inform reports, articles and conference papers; and Communications, which involves social media promotion, business planning, and creating marketing strategies. Both kinds of internship were met with enthusiasm, and several Webster University students submitted applications at the Fair. Further information on the programme, including the application form, is available here. Students from the Master of Arts in International Relations and Master of Business Administration showed a keen interest in pursuing internships at Asia Centre and in learning more about its work on human rights in Southeast Asia. Our Conference Manager, Elise Schuster, from Australia, was Asia Centre’s representative at the Fair. She introduced the Centre to the students, explained its ongoing human rights program, highlighted its forthcoming events, and emphasised the key role that both research and communications interns play in undertaking all these activities. Elise is herself a research intern, and was able to share her own experiences with potential applicants, including her research and planning for the upcoming International Conference on Business & Human Rights: Holding Governments Accountable in Asia, to be held on 12-13 July 2018. Asia Centre thanks Webster University Thailand for once again hosting a highly successful and enjoyable Career and Internship Fair.
The Rohingya Crisis: Asia Centre Deliberates Solutions to the Crisis at Conference in Bangladesh
Asia Centre contributed to the search for solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar and Bangaldesh during the International Conference on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis: Towards Sustainable Solutions, held in Dhaka from 2-3 April 2018. The conference revealed Bangladesh’s pressing search for assistance with the humanitarian crisis, its concern over the implications – economic, ecological, political and social – of hosting over one million Rohingya for the long term, and its search for durable solutions (e.g. safe repatriation), which ultimately lie in Myanmar. In this context, Dr. Robin Ramcharan examined the role of ASEAN in the crisis. He noted the challenges for ASEAN in addressing the humanitarian tragedy that has unfolded as over 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017. He noted that while some ASEAN leaders were quite concerned with the plight of the Rohingya, ASEAN’s response has been timid, limited to statements at ASEAN Summits and hosting some of the refugees. He noted that for ASEAN to make more decisive contributions to resolving the crisis, it needed to overcome its adherence to non-interference, to move towards a new decision-making model for such crisis situations, and to live up to the norms adopted in the ASEAN Charter, namely, good governance, rule of law and human rights. The Bangladeshi government, think-tanks and civil society representatives at the conference all raised the issue of compensation to the host state occasioned by hosting large-scale refugee movements. One Bangladeshi legal scholar sought to make the case for ‘State responsibility for compensation’ to the host state resulting from such large scale refugee movements. Additional salient points made by participants at the conference were: 1) The right of return of the Rohingya will likely remain unfulfilled for a long time since the conditions for safe return to Myanmar are not present; 2) The Rohingya in the camps need full assistance from the international community; 3) Bangladesh also needs full support as they deal with the massive influx of refugees, their various needs and the environmental impact; 4) A full understanding of the crisis requires an appreciation of the geopolitics of the region, featuring competition between China and India for influence in Myanmar; 5) The need to address the root causes of the crisis, among which is the issue of citizenship for the Rohingya; and 6) The need for accountability for violations of human rights in Myanmar. Asia Centre contributed to the drafting of the Dhaka Declaration issued at the end of the Conference on 3 April, which was organised by the Centre for Genocide Studies of the University of Dhaka, the Centre for Peace and Justice at BRAC University and ActionAid Bangladesh. It called for, inter alia, the “UN and the international community to use diplomatic channels to provide sufficient humanitarian assistance and other support to ensure protection and rights of Rohingya women, children and other vulnerable groups”. The Declaration also called on the international community to comprehensively investigate the ongoing acts of genocide, mass atrocities, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar. It called for the prosecution and punishment of those offenders responsible for such violations. Asia Centre will continue to address the above issues during its forthcoming conference, The Rohingya Crisis: A Multidimensional Tragedy, on 24 August 2018. Researchers at this conference will examine the deeper roots of the current crisis in Myanmar.
3rd Benedict Anderson Memorial Roundtable: Gender and Nationalism in Asia
In discussions on contemporary South-East Asian politics, a gap exists between the growing discourse on nationalism and national leadership and the gendered perspective on Benedict Anderson’s narrative on nationalism. To address this gap, a diverse and experienced panel, together with an audience of around 35 attendees, held a ‘conversation’ on multiple interconnected issues surrounding feminism, nationalist expression, political control, and women’s leadership in the post-modern political landscape. The occasion was the annual Benedict Anderson Memorial Roundtable, held on 19 January 2018. Asia Centre hosts the annual Benedict Anderson Memorial Roundtable to honour the significance of the late professor’s contribution to studies of nationalism and South-East Asia, and to continue the debate around nationalism in its contemporary contexts. The inaugural Roundtable was held on 30 January 2016, with the theme Debating Imagined Communities: A Tribute to Benedict Anderson. The second Roundtable, held on 18 January 2017, centred on the topic Nationalism, Citizenship and Statelessness: Current Issues and Developments in Asia. The third Roundtable, entitled Gender and Nationalism in Asia: from Scholarship to Leadership, provided the forum to articulate and critically examine the separation of discussions on nationalism and Benedict Anderson’s work on nationalism, as seen through a gendered lens. The event was moderated by Ms Puja Singh, a teacher, speaker and doctoral candidate. She opened with a gendered reflection on Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson’s landmark work on nationalism, inviting the audience to consider women’s identity in relation not only to men, but also to ‘nation’. Ms Emerlynne Gil, the senior international legal advisor on South-East Asia at the International Commission of Jurists’ Asia and Pacific Regional Office, argued that in post-colonial contexts, women’s political emancipation often lags behind emancipation from foreign oppression, despite the efforts of feminists within anti-colonial struggles. She argued that this disconnect remains an ongoing feature of the Congress of the Philippines, where the relatively high proportion of female politicians obscures the patriarchal forces that place them in positions of leadership and, thus, hinders the promotion of a feminist agenda. Dr Duanghathai Buranajaroenkij, a professor at Mahidol University’s Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, discussed her research on the growing political activism of pro-monarchist women in Bangkok and Muslim women in Thailand’s Deep South. While their entry into the political sphere is facilitated by the adoption of identities “approved” by male leaders and family members, such as overt patriotism or conservative Islamic dress, women continue to find new ways to exercise power and agency in creating space for their political participation. Dr Rosalia Sciortino Sumaryono, Associate Professor at Mahidol University’s Institute for Population and Social Research, highlighted the absence of a gendered perspective in not only Benedict Anderson’s work, but in national governments, human rights agendas, and discourses on power and nationalism. She argued that the election of more female leaders is insufficient to further the feminist agenda; these female leaders must also possess a new vision for the future, while democracy and women’s leadership within the family must be promoted. Her Excellency Saida Muna Tasneem, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of Thailand, noted that although numerous female leaders in South-East Asia are elected through their family connections, many have inherited nationalist sentiments from their fathers and husbands, who had themselves used nationalism to mobilise public opinion against imperial powers. She highlighted the success of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangladesh’s founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in balancing nationalism and ethnic identity through encouraging ethnic minorities to use their own languages but to use Bangla in schools. In the following discussion, the panel debated the symbolism of the hijab, its contested meaning in the context of pan-Islamic fundamentalism, and its exemplification of a broader equation of nationalism with an imposition of ‘sameness’ and growing intolerance of diversity. The panel reflected on the contributions of women in leadership roles to the promotion of feminism and women’s rights. They explored and emphasised the importance of ensuring that gender perspectives are not crowded out by emerging issues, such as the Rohingya crisis or the urgency of post-conflict statebuilding, but are instead utilised to examine these issues in greater depth. Through this continued application of a feminist agenda, the gap between discourses on rising nationalism, gendered understandings of national identity and women’s leadership can be bridged. This year’s Roundtable continued Asia Centre’s ongoing commitment to facilitating gender-centred discussion and debate around the human rights agenda. Previous events have focused on Entering Femininity: Reporting Rituals and Violations, which examined practices of female genital mutilation, and Celebrating Women in Law, featuring a panel of female lawyers who discussed access to justice in Southeast Asia. .