4th Annual Convention of the Consortium of NTS-Asia
Date: 25–26 November
Venue: Traders Hotel, Singapore
Organised by: NTS-Asia Secretariat based in the RSIS Centre for NTS Studies
Executive Summary
The 4th Annual Convention of the Consortium of Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia (NTS-Asia) was held on 25–26 November 2010 at Traders Hotel, Singapore. As in previous years, the Annual Convention brought together the members of NTS-Asia to take stock of salient non-traditional security (NTS) issues in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to formulate ways forward to sustain the consortium’s activities.
The opening session began with welcome remarks by Ambassador Barry Desker, Dean of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS); opening remarks by Associate Professor Mely Caballero-Anthony, Secretary-General of NTS-Asia and Head of the RSIS Centre for NTS Studies; and brief remarks by Professor John Fitzgerald, Representative of the Ford Foundation in China. NTS-Asia was also privileged to have Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, Board Member of Sisters in Islam as the keynote speaker. An activist for gender and HIV/AIDS issues, Datin Paduka Marina delivered a comprehensive and enlightening address focused on gender and health security issues which was enhanced by her on-the-ground experiences.
The opening session was followed by several panel sessions on various topics: climate change and security; food security; conflict prevention and resolution; global architecture and NTS; human rights and human security; and transnational crime. In addition to covering a range of NTS themes, presentations within the panel sessions represented diverse sub-regional perspectives as well as views from various disciplines (from the technical as well as the social science streams). Such presentations reflect the consortium’s commitment to facilitating a multi-stakeholder process in addressing NTS issues.
This year, the Annual Convention made further progress in ensuring inclusivity in the discussions. First, the Annual Convention included the participation of NTS experts from as far as Latin America. Second, speakers who could not make it to Singapore for the Annual Convention were able to deliver their presentations via video recording. Of particular note were Dr Sania Nishtar, Founder and President of Heartfile, Pakistan, who gave a presentation on health and globalisation, and Professor Andrew Watson, former Representative of the Ford Foundation in China, who delivered brief remarks as an old friend of the NTS-Asia network. The latter video presentation, in particular, was a pleasant surprise for the founding members of NTS-Asia as Prof. Watson had played a significant role in the formation of the NTS-Asia network.
As with previous years, the Annual Convention concluded with a discussion among NTS-Asia members on the ways forward for the consortium. This year, the discussion revolved in particular around the deliberations of NTS-Asia’s Sustainability Working Group, which had been formed during the previous Annual Convention to advise on possible ways to sustain the activities of NTS-Asia in the future.
Presentations and Speeches delivered at the Convention
Speeches
Welcome Remarks
Amb. Barry Desker
Dean
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Opening Remarks
Assoc. Prof. Mely Caballero-Anthony
Secretary-General, NTS-Asia and
Head, Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Brief Remarks
Prof. John Fitzgerald
Representative
Ford Foundation, Beijing, China
Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir
Board Member
Sisters in Islam, Malaysia
Panel 1: Climate Change and Security
Reassessing the Security Challenges of Climate Change
Major General ANM Muniruzzaman (Retd)
President
Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS), Bangladesh
Climate Change and Human Insecurity: Migration as an Adaptation Strategy
Prof. Tasneem Siddiqui
Professor
Department of Political Science, and
Chair
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU)
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Land Management Issues under Climate Change
Prof. Ronald Hill
Honorary Professor in Ecology and Biodiversity
School of Biological Science, and
Honorary Professor in History
The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong
Trusteeship as a Response to Climate Change Anxieties
Prof. Peter De Souza
Director
Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS), India
Panel 2: Food Security
Food Security and Human Security Norms: Report of a Workshop
Prof. Lorraine Elliott
Department of International Relations, Australia National University, Canberra
Australia, and
Visiting Senior Fellow and Advisor to Climate Change, Environmental Security and Natural Disasters Programme
Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS),
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Emergent Issues in Asian Food Security
Prof. Paul Teng
Dean, Graduate Programmes and Research, National Institute of Education (NIE), and
Visiting Senior Fellow and Advisor to Food Security Programme
Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS),
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
&
Dr Margarita Escaler
Research Fellow
Graduate Programmes and Research Office
National Institute of Education (NIE)
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Fisheries, Food Security and Climate Change: The Whys, How and Whereto
Dr Maripaz Perez
Regional Director for Asia
&
Ms Majorie-Ann Dator
Research Specialist
The Worldfish Center, Philippines
Panel 3: Conflict Prevention and Resolution
Preventing Complex Emergencies: Implications for R2P in the Case of North Korean Contingency
Prof. Shin-Wha Lee
Professor
Department of Political Science and International Relations
Korea University, South Korea
R2P and Conflict Prevention in Asia: A Japanese Perspective
Dr Miki Honda
Assistant Professor
Waseda University, Japan
Some Reflections on the War-Displaced Population in Sri Lanka
Prof. R.A. Ariyaratne
Director
Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Sri Lanka
Mainstreaming Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Indonesia: An Update
Ms Lina Alexandra
Researcher
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Panel 4: Global Architecture and Non-Traditional Security
Changing Global Architecture: Possibilities and Challenges
Prof. Dennis Altman
Professor of Politics and
Director
Institute for Human Security (IHS)
La Trobe University, Australia
The Evolving Regional Architecture in East Asia: Challenge or Opportunity for NTS?
Dr Rizal Sukma
Executive Director
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta, Indonesia
Globalisation and Health
Dr Sania Nishtar
Founder and President
Heartfile, Pakistan
Panel 5: Human Rights and Human Security
Human Rights and Human Security of Virtual Stateless Groups in Bangladesh: The Rohingyas and the Biharis
Prof. Chowdhury Abrar
Professor
Department of International Relations and
Coordinator
Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU)
University of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Promoting Environmental Democracy to Combat the Security Challenge from Climate Change
Mr Shekh Mohammad Altafur Rahman
Executive Director
Human Security Alliance (HSA)
Bangkok, Thailand
(Paper presented by Mr Bradley Drummond
Associate Programme Officer, HSA)
Human Security in China and Capacity Building
Dr Gan Junxian
Senior Research Fellow
Center for Non-Traditional Security and Peaceful Development Studies (NTS-PD)
Zhejiang University, China
Women, Peace and Security: Ten Years of Resolution 1325
Dr Marcela Donadio
Executive Director
Red De Seguridad Y Defensa De America Latina (RESDAL), Buenos Aires, Argentina
Panel 6: Transnational Crime
From the Straits of Malacca to the Gulf of Aden: China's Counter-Piracy Strategy and Maritime Security
Assoc. Prof. Dong Wang
Associate Professor
School of International Studies
Peking University, China
Human Trafficking: An Overview for Southeast Asia
Prof. Herman Kraft
Executive Director
Institute for Strategic and Development Studies (ISDS), Inc., Philippines
Recasting the Human Trafficking Debate
Mr P.K. Hangzo
Associate Research Fellow
&
Ms Manpavan Joth Kaur
Research Analyst
Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS)
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Posted on: 25/11/2010 9:00:00 AM |
Topic: Other NTS Issues
