ASEAN DECLARATION ON FOSTERING THE CIVIL SERVICE’S ADAPTABILITY TO THE NEW CHALLENGES

WE, the Heads of Civil Service of Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (hereinafter referred to as ASEAN) consist of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam;

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of civil service as the backbone of good governance, national development and regional cooperation as stipulated in the ASEAN Declaration on the Role of Civil Service as a Catalyst for Achieving ASEAN Community Vision 2025 adopted at the 30th ASEAN Summit on 30 April 2017 in Manila, the Philippines;

REAFFIRMING the commitment of building an agile, efficient, and people- centered civil service as agreed in the ASEAN Statement on Promotion of Good Governance and Acceleration of an Agile Civil Service in a Digital Economy adopted and signed at the 3rd ASEAN Heads of Civil Service Retreat on 23 August 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand;

FURTHER REAFFIRMING the pivotal role and contribution of civil service in the implementation of strategies and measures in the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and its Implementation Plan adopted at the 37th ASEAN Summit on 12 November 2020;

RECALLING the importance to develop effective upstream preventive policies and initiatives through the promotion of a culture of good governance at all levels as enshrined by the ASEAN Declaration on Culture of Prevention for a Peaceful, Inclusive, Resilient, Healthy and Harmonious Society;

RECOGNISING the far reaching adverse impacts of the unprecedented global pandemic of COVID-19 on the livelihoods and health of ASEAN people and our economies;

FURTHER RECOGNISING the mounting uncertainties brought by global trends of fourth industrial revolution, climate change and ageing societies, international political and economic environment, regional non-traditional issues, and internal challenges in ASEAN Member States which require cohesive and holistic responses by the civil service;

ACKNOWLEDGING it is imperative for ASEAN Member States to strengthen their civil service to be more resilient and adaptive to new challenges in the future, and to be a catalyst of good governance and sustainable development in ASEAN and its Member States;

HEREBY AGREE TO ENDEAVOR TO:
  1. Promote a more adaptive and transformative leadership in civil service for effective and timely response policies and measures to the changing environments and challenges, and take advantage of opportunities for the benefits of ASEAN people;
  2. Promote continuous skills development of civil servants through platforms/initiatives such as the ASEAN Resource Centers (ARCs) and ASEAN Network of Public Service Training Institutes (PSTIs), so as to ensure their competencies would remain relevant amidst the changing environments;
  3. Improve efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery through modernisation, reform, and simplification of administrative procedures by focusing on solving bottlenecks and shortcomings, and creating open systems for participation of all stakeholders;
  4. Promote digital government, digital economy and digital society in the region and simultaneously, accelerate the development of policy and legal frameworks for digital applications so as to take advantage of the advancement of digital technology, minimize the limitations and risks arising from it, and protect data privacy;
  5. Further promote cross-sectoral and cross-pillar cooperation and coordination on promotion of good governance contributing to building an ASEAN Community that engages and benefits the people, and is inclusive, sustainable, resilient and dynamic.

WE tasked the ASEAN Cooperation on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM) Senior Officials Meeting to undertake the necessary actions to implement the commitments contained in this Declaration.

ADOPTED on the Thirtieth Day of June in the Year Two Thousand Twenty One, in a single original copy, in the English language.