Bhurban Declaration Evolving South Asia Fraternity
May 15-20, 2005, Islamabad-Bhurbhan |
We, the members of parliaments from the member countries of SAARC, representing all major parties and from all shades of opinion in our parliaments, having met at SAFMA's 'South Asian Parliament: Evolving South Asian Fraternity', from May 15- 20, 2005, at Islamabad-Bhurban, Pakistan, have arrived at the following vision and cooperative, equitable and strategic understanding on meeting the challenges of the 21st Century and globalisation and ushering in a new era of South Asian Fraternal Partnership:
1. South Asia is at a historic moment of unprecedented potential for transforming its economic and social conditions and, together with China, emerging as two large economies in the next two decades, playing a key role not only in the global economy, but also in the development of human civilisation in the 21st century. Yet the world cannot be sustained by economic growth alone. Human life is threatened with environmental crises, conflicts, endemic poverty, natural calamities and an arms race.
2. Our societies have a rich cultural tradition of unity in diversity, creative growth through human solidarity and harmony with nature. In bringing these aspects of their culture in facing contemporary challenges, the people of this region could bring a new consciousness and institutions to the global market mechanism that can take the world on to a new trajectory of cooperative, sustainable development and human security. Global cooperation in environmental protection, poverty reduction and defusing the flash points of social conflict and an end to violence, terrorism and repression will become the essential underpinning of sustainable development and human security in this century. Thus it is not the military muscle of a state/region that will be the emblem of status, but its contribution to meeting the challenge of peace, overcoming global poverty, protecting the planet from environmental disaster and contributing to humanizing the world and advancement of its people.
3. The global environment provides a historically unprecedented scale of capital flows, trade opportunities, information and technologies, which, if utilized, can dramatically transform the material and social conditions of life of the countries of South Asia. A vision is efficacious to the extent that it can be concretized. This requires bringing to bear the new consciousness of South Asian Cooperative and Equitable Partnership to undertake specific policy actions. Apart from implementing the decision at the Islamabad SAARC Summit to establish a South
Asian Free Trade Area, SAARC Social Charter, ISACPA Report on Poverty Alleviation, three broad areas for deepening economic cooperation can be identified for the purposes of specific policy action: (1) Energy Cooperation and Water Management and Conservation within South Asia; (2) Increased investment for accelerating economic growth, especially in physical and social infrastructures; (3) Restructuring growth for faster poverty eradication and human resource development.
4. With the most contiguous region of the world, a common history to share and similarities of cultures, South Asia has fewer baggage(s) to shed than Europe or the Far East. It is now booming with the ideas of regional cooperation that take a wholist approach towards the collective good of the region as they increasingly find state-centric and security-centered approaches inconsistent with the interest of our 1.4 billion people and the imperatives of our times.
5. Remarkable concurrence of views expressed by the elected representatives of our peoples at SAFMA's Forum of South Asian Parliament reflect the immense urge of our peoples to outgrow the past and take a leap into a future that is free from want and conflict. Certain stages of history can be skipped, so can various evolutionary stages through which, for example, the European Union had to pass in the 20th Century. The intrastate conflicts and interstate disputes must move from management to resolution in a result-oriented process that must at the same time allow, rather than hinder, regional cooperation to address the demands of our peoples. The lines of conflicts must change into the bridges of friendship and the fenced-borders must gradually soften before the urge of South Asians to become a fraternal and indivisible community of people with nation states, while keeping their sovereign equality, joining hands in submitting before the will of their real sovereigns -- The People.
6. The steps can be simultaneously taken, in an integrated and well calibrated sequencing and realistic stages, towards South Asian Free Trade Area, South Asian Union, (Tourism/Environment/Water/Energy/Communication /Information/Economic), South Asian Tariffs and Customs Union, South Asian Monetary Union, South Asian Bank and Development Fund, South Asian Collective Security and South Asian Parliament. However, to take a leap forward, there will have to be no hegemon, nor ganging up by the small against the big-one. A new paradigm of equitable partnership must evolve to reshape our all-sided relations.
7. Welcoming the current peace process between India and Pakistan with its two-fold objectives: the exploration of all options for a final settlement of the J&K question in an atmosphere free of violence, terrorism and normalization of bilateral relations while implementing their joint statements of January 6, 2004, September 24, 2004 and April 18, 2005 in their letter and spirit. Appreciating the efforts by India and Pakistan to undertake nuclear and conventional military confidence-building measures, we urge them to put in place a comprehensive regime of CBMs that will ensure a nuclear-tension free subcontinent. We endorse the demands of India and Pakistan for negotiations with the other nuclear
weapons powers to promote global non-proliferation and effective nuclear disarmament.
Appeal to all countries in the region to put in place comprehensive sustainable dialogue mechanisms for resolving all bilateral disputes. While India and Pakistan today have a composite dialogue in place which has gathered momentum, similar exercises are needed, for example between India and Bangladesh.
Sharing the aspirations of our people for a better life and collectively face the challenges posed by globalization and meeting the demands of the WTO regime, have reached a broader consensus to pursue the following agenda and goals:
1. South Asian Free Trade Area
The agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) requires effective implementation, expanding the space for trade and, more importantly, economic collaboration, investment and development. If South Asia's economies are to be integrated, it presupposes development of transnational communication networks and physical infrastructure and monetary cooperation involving greater coordination among the governments and the central banks. In spite of limited complementarities in trade-able items, due to similar comparative advantages, expansion of trade warrants vertical and horizontal integration of industries and investment in joint ventures by public and private sectors. However, trade and investment will not move ahead unless tariffs are lowered, the negative-list kept to most minimum, para and non-tariff barriers removed and standards harmonized.
Streamlining borders transactions through trade facilitation at sub-regional junctions, special attention needs to be focused on promoting border trade. Increase in efficiency within the sub-region often spills over into trade outside the region as well, because improving customs or improving efficiency of ports helps both intraregional trade and international trade.
2. South Asian Customs, Tariffs and Monetary Union
This will, subsequently and gradually, translate into a South Asian Customs and Tariffs Union which may lead to a common exchange rate policy that will, eventually, necessitate the creation of a South Asian Monetary Union underwritten by macro-economic management and harmonization of trade, fiscal and monetary policies at the regional level.
No less important is the cooperation in the transport and communication sectors envisaging an integrated transport infrastructure that allows uninterrupted travel across and beyond our region and communication highways, facilitating free movement of people, goods and flow of information across the region and beyond, connecting South Asia with Central, South Western and South East Asia. Not only do rail and road links between Pakistan and India need to be rehabilitated, a system of connectivity will have to be constructed especially for the railways and the truckers will have to be issued special permits.
Nevertheless, the Indian and Pakistani governments must agree to transit of trade between Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal and India and Central Asia. For
promotion of trade the countries will have to facilitate cross border movement of people and goods. Visa and custom facilities will have to be simplified.
3. Water Sharing and Management
Increasingly, the governments and concerned institutions are realizing the need to address acute shortage of energy and water, incidence of drought and floods that often bring miseries to the people and, at times, states into conflict. The distribution and management of water resources, though quite a divisive issue among the upper and lower riparian regions across states, needs to be undertaken amicably without depriving the lower and upper riparian regions of their due to avoid a conflict over water issues which must not be politicized.
The bilateral treaties, such as Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan and the Treaty over Ganges between Bangladesh and India must be respected and upheld in letter and spirit. The Mahakali Treaty between Nepal and India may be implemented by removing reservations of either side. The quadrangle of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal may take up an integrated approach to manage water resources while keeping the interests of upper and lower riparian, on the one hand, and India and Pakistan must overcome their differences over Tulbul, Baglihar and Kishanganga projects within the framework of the IWT, on the other.
There are other major water related problems that need to be addressed on a priority basis with water cooperation among the member countries of SAARC to enhance water and food security. There is a great hydro-power potential in Bhutan and Nepal that can be utilized by other countries of the region. However, that would involve the need for a common or bilateral grid, on which all concerned countries would have to agree.
4. South Asian Energy Grid
Similarly, the energy cooperation should evolve into a South Asian Energy Grid with integrated electricity and gas systems. As India and Pakistan now agree, and they must move forward, the gas and oil pipelines can run from Central Asia, Gulf, Iran and Myanmar through Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to whole of South Asia and beyond. In this context of developing energy markets, power trading in the region calls for establishment of high voltage interconnections between the national grids of the countries. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should cooperate in transportation of gas and jointly developing, trading and sharing of energy.
5. South Asian Development Bank
Given a low rate of investment to GDP ratio, South Asia must create attractive environment for investment in high value-added manufacturing lines and trans-regional projects. Enhanced investment flows, both from within and outside the region, would culminate in production facilities located across the region through integrated production systems. Shares of both national and regional companies would be quoted on our stock exchanges as capital moves without hindrance across national boundaries to underwrite investment in joint ventures and projects in any part of our region through a South Asian Development Bank.
6. Addressing LDCs' Concerns
However, economic cooperation and trade would not produce tangible results unless the concerns of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are genuinely addressed, the negative-list is minimized, tariffs are substantially brought down and non-tariff and para-tariff barriers lifted, the economies are gradually opened up with a recourse to investment-trade linkage that takes care of trade deficits between partners through investment flows and capital account, vertical and horizontal integration of industries that benefits from relative advantages and economies of scale. The time frame envisaged in the agreement on SAFTA must be strictly adhered to.
7. South Asian Cooperative Security
We resolve to get out of the straitjacket of enmity, overcome obsession with over-demanding militaristic security paradigms and look beyond the traditional notions of security and focus on an integrated South Asian Cooperative Security that recognizes interdependence and mutuality of interests. The states ought to act in their enlightened self-interest to resolve their conflicts and differences through peaceful means and to the mutual benefit of our peoples. The choice is often, erroneously, posed between regional cooperation and conflict resolution. We urge all our states to simultaneously move forward to address long-standing political disputes through peaceful means. The main obstacle to regional cooperation and economic integration remains political and strategic. Therefore, we the elected representatives of the people vow to be courageous, flexible and consistent to resolve interstate and intrastate conflicts and dismantle political barriers to regional economic takeoff
Countering the widespread threat of terrorism, the SAARC countries must implement the current protocol for cooperation against terrorism and bring it in line with the international norms. The regional efforts against terrorism must also include measures to combat the spread of small arms and light weapons, narcotics trafficking, smuggling, organized crimes and criminal mafias. This will require exchanges and interaction between the national intelligence and security agencies with their counterparts across the border and greater interaction between the armed forces and military establishments in the region.
The conference strongly emphasizes the principle that there can be no intervention in the internal affairs of any nation in the subcontinent. Yet, given the implications of internal conflicts for regional security as a whole, the SAARC must pay greater attention to the relationship between internal and regional security. It calls on both parties to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka to take immediate steps towards a revival of the stalled peace process and creation of an interim administration in the Tamil-dominated regions while securing integrity of the country and the rights of minorities there.
Without prejudice to the current positions of the SAARC governments on amending the SAARC charter, the conference calls upon the SAARC to initiate a study on mechanisms for cooperative security in the region. Given the increasingly intrusive nature of the international system, it is imperative that the region develop its own security and Conflict Resolution Mechanisms. In this context, the conference calls upon the SAARC to consider the establishment of a SAARC Security Forum on the lines of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Advancing the SAARC charter, the conference welcomes the decision, in principle, of the Islamabad SAARC summit to establish procedures for cooperation with other countries and organizations. Given the increasing interdependence among regions, cooperation with neighboring countries, such as China, Afghanistan and Myanmar and Central Asia, and other regional organizations, it is an essential future activity for SAARC.
8. South Asian Human Security
Beyond cooperative security, South Asian nations must ultimately move towards South Asian Human Security by placing people -their well being and rights to peaceful life and development-at the centre of security concerns, rather than intensifying the arms race. To include the excluded, governments of South Asia should take concrete steps to implement the SAARC Social Charter and give priority to poverty eradication by implementing ISACPA Report on Poverty Alleviation and meeting the Millennium Development Goals. This can be done by increased investment, enhanced economic growth and development, which do not necessarily translate into poverty alleviation unless structured to address the root-causes of poverty and give priority to human resource development, employment generation and empowerment of the dispossessed, women and poor in particular.
9. South Asian Parliament
The participants overwhelmingly endorsed the view to initiate a process of moving towards the creation of an institutional interactive mechanism for parliamentarians of South Asia keeping in mind the concept of a South Asian Parliament. A full fledged SAP may take a decade or two, but it is time to initiate moves in that direction. To begin with, the conference proposes: a) Creation of an Intra-Parliamentary Union in South Asia; b) SAARC may in principle agree to create a South Asian Parliament and appoint a group of experts, responsible before the SAARC Speakers Forum, to prepare a comprehensive report and a timeframe to establish it in stages and through an evolutionary process; c) The SAARC Speakers Forum should be activated and; d) To begin with, SAP may be set up as a deliberative and consultative body, not as a legislative body, so as to create regional opinion on and build regional pressures on the issues pending for implementation at the SAARC level. This deliberative body may work within the SAARC agenda. By ultimately creating a South Asian Parliament, the evolution of a regional South Asian identity, without in any sense compromising on or conflicting with respective national identities and sovereignty of nation-states of the region.
10. South Asian Human Rights Code
It is imperative for the South Asian countries to agree to and set up institutions under the Paris Principles and purposefully set about creating the required mechanisms to implement all internationally recognized fundamental human, civil and democratic rights. The Proposed Draft on Human Rights Code for South Asia presented before the conference will be circulated among the human rights bodies of the region and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and other human rights bodies in the region will be requested to develop broader understanding among the major stakeholders to develop a regional framework at the level of SAARC and its member countries.
11. People to People Contact
The prevailing barriers to cross-border movements make neither commercial nor logistical sense and originate in the pathologies of interstate, as well as domestic, politics. There is an urgent need to allow greater interaction among the policy-makers, parliamentarians, businessmen, media practitioners, professionals, youth and the leaders of civil society. To enable it to happen, it is necessary that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, who have the most restrictive visa regimes, drastically revise their visa policy and remove impediments to free movement of people. All-country visas may be granted at separate South Asian counters on arrival at the airports and on all border-crossings.
12. South Asian Information Society
To overcome information deficit in the region, it is essential that all restrictions on access to and free flow of information are removed forthwith and media persons and products are allowed free movement across frontiers. In this regard, SAFMA's Protocols on 'Free Movement of Media Persons and Media Products' and 'Freedom of Information' must be adopted by the national legislatures/governments and the SAARC. The parliamentarians also pledged to provide bipartisan support to ensure press freedom, legislate and implement right to know and protect right to express and ensured SAFMA to jointly lobby with its national chapters to bring appropriate changes in the respective media laws that in any way hinder press freedom. The media, on their part, should rise above national divides, avoid demonization and give special attention to the coverage of the countries of South Asia that remain under-reported. Given the rising numbers of South Asian Cyber citizenry, there is an urgent need to upgrade, integrate and facilitate cyber connectivity and accessibility.
13. Culture and Tourism
The scope of collaboration in the sphere of culture, tourism, sports, education, health, research, human resource development and environment is infinite. At the level of SAARC, measures should be taken to promote cultural exchanges, tourism, health and education services and research in all fields.
14. On Nepal
The Conference expressed its serious concern over the arrest of a former Nepalese member of parliament while he was about to board the plane to Pakistan to attend this Conference. Protesting his arrest, other parliamentarians from Nepal also decided to stay back. The absence of the parliamentarians from Nepal denied the Conference of their invaluable inputs. In solidarity, the Conference calls upon Nepal to restore all fundamental rights and civil liberties, announce a ceasefire with the Maoists, initiate early political negotiations to come up with a sustainable process to end the conflict in the country and restore multi-party democracy.
Let a South Asian fraternity benefit from the fruits of a new era of peace in which our people could become the master of their destiny while contributing tremendously to the progress of whole humanity regardless of geography, ethnicity, nationhood, gender, creed and color. This is a historic moment when the people of South Asia have recognized that they have a new tryst with destiny. They are affirming that their security and well being lies not in interstate conflict but in their peaceful resolution and cooperation. Let the governments hearken to the call of their people.
We, the parliamentarians, acknowledge and appreciate the role being played by SAFMA in developing understanding, promoting regional cooperation, bringing people together and demanding access to and free flow of information in our region and propose to it holding of a follow-up SAFMA's South Asian Parliament in May 2007.
