GLOBAL COOPERATION NEWSLETTER
June 2008
In this edition:

Social Protection in the Asian Region
Understanding Global Social Policy – New Book
Aid and Accountability
Trends in Sustainable Development 2008-2009
UN Guides in French
Latest Nasty Email Fraud
ICSW 33rd Global Conference

Social Protection in the Asian Region

The South East Asia and Pacific Region of ICSW has released a draft discussion
paper on social protection. The paper is entitled Social Protection in ASEAN: Issues
and Challenges for ASEAN and its Member Countries. It is in top news on ourwebsite www.icsw.org
The paper was released by ICSW at the ASEAN Government - NGO Forum held in
Vietnam recently. The paper was prepared for ICSW by Paguman Singh.
“Governments must develop and implement policies to ensure that all people haveadequate economic and social protection during unemployment, ill health,maternity, child rearing, widowhood, disability and old age”
The World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen 1995.
Economic and social pressures in ASEAN
ASEAN countries, while developing economically and recovering from the financial
institutions crisis of the late 1990’s, are nevertheless generally facing the pressuresof globalization and ageing. It is generally accepted that globalization has madesocial protection safety nets more essential for at least four reasons.
• cushioning the burden of restructuring;• increasing the legitimacy and acceptability of economic reforms;• enabling risk taking by individuals and firms through providing a floor level
income in the case of losses; and• countering the effects of workforce mobility, urbanisation and migration oflabour which tend to break down traditional, family and community based social
protection systems.
In addition, ageing populations also put pressure on traditional social protection
systems as more people in the younger generation are increasingly less able toprovide for the greater number of older family and community members.

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Developing social security protection systems
In the face of these pressures, developing countries need to carefully examine thedesign of social security protection systems so as to move, even if slowly over anumber of decades, in the right direction.
After examining social protection needs for the next millennium, primarily to ensure
the long term sustainability and viability of existing pension and provident funds,
the International Labour Organization (1994) recommended the implementation ofa multi pillar system of social protection.
ILO and World Bank three pillar approach
The first and most important social assistance pillar is the “safety net” pillar which
comprises universal rights based programs which are non-contributory being
financed from tax revenues. These payments are means tested against income
and assets so they are targeted to the most vulnerable and needy. They arepublicly managed or administered by the government or its agencies.
The second pillar is the social insurance or saving pillar where individuals
contribute a portion of their income into individual or personal accounts for future
income protection. There is usually an employer contribution to these accounts aswell – especially for public sector employees. The programs provide for income
replacement and benefits in kind for the contingencies of unemployment, sickness,maternity, employment injury and pensions for the long term contingencies of oldage, invalidity and survivorship.
The third pillar is the individual voluntary, private insurance pillar designed toprovide additional coverage to those who can afford the premiums.
Developing social protection systems is urgent because of long lead times
As ASEAN countries have increasingly embraced globalization, it is not surprisingthat social protection has become an important public policy issue in recent years.
However, priority has been given to stability and economic growth and socialpolicies, to address the social consequences, languish a distant second.
These challenges and the problems they create have to be addressed throughstructural changes and the provision of formal social protection and social security
systems. Such systems have a long lead-time before they can provide adequate
retirement income support in a sustainable manner and address the short term
protection for sickness, maternity and survivorship needs. Hence, there isconsiderable urgency in initiating the reform process. The traditional view thatsocial security payments are handouts that are inconsistent with the values of Asiansociety and threaten the family and its support system has to be challenged as it isfounded on a lack in the understanding of social security concepts.
Public sector, but not private sector, second pillar protection
Most ASEAN countries, with the exception of Cambodia, have relatively developed,second pillar schemes covering public sector employees. Governments, being thelargest employer, have created relatively generous retirement schemes for their
public employees and have generally provided them and their families with medical
treatment coverage as well. However, the general public does not enjoy similarcoverage.
In the main, ASEAN countries do not have first pillar, universal coverage, safety net
provisions for the general population despite the fact that all countries have madecommitments to extending social protection. However, policies for extending social
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protection in most ASEAN countries are either weak or vague and lack an integrated
view of old age income protection, health and other needs.
Conclusion
The social protection that is in place throughout ASEAN countries is very limited andis characterised by:• fragmented administration with various ministries, departments andorganizations providing the protection;• coverage limited to a small proportion of the formal sector; and• focused mainly on old age protection.
There are several issues and challenges that emerge from the analysis of social
security systems in ASEAN. In each country the local contexts, political,
demographic and other conditions differ and hence the challenges and issues also
differ. However, there are enough similarities in the prevailing economic and social
challenges for ASEAN to take a more determined interest, and perhaps it is theMinisters for Social Welfare and Social Development (or their equivalent) who
should lead this process.
ASEAN countries and their governments need to review their present systems andconsider what policy changes are necessary to implement better social security
protection provisions in each ASEAN country.
Each country will first need to address the limitations of their respective system

Understanding Global Social Policy – New Book

Edited by Nicola Yeates
As a field of study, global social policy has grown in strength and remit over the last
decade and offers a fresh set of perspectives on contemporary debates within social
policy. This book is the first student-aimed textbook that comprehensively engages
with this field of study, examining the key theoretical and policy debates andissues.
Written by an international team of leading social policy analysts, it examines theimpact of the prefix 'global' on the ways in which social policy as a field of study isconstructed and explores how the globalising strategies of state and non-state
actors intersect with social policy concerns, evaluating their impacts upon social
welfare.
https://www.policypress.org.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=&products_id=1
334 or http://www.policypress.org.uk

Turning theframeworktables:aidandaccountability

undertheParis

European Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD), April 2008. The report isbased on analysis of aid effectiveness as the result of research in seven countries,conducted by southern and northern civil society organizations and coordinated by
the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad). The report focuses onprogress against two principles of the Paris Declaration – ownership andaccountability.

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Trends in Sustainable Development 2008-2009

The report "Trends in Sustainable Development 2008-2009" finds that efforts toreduce poverty and improve food security in developing countries are hampered bydeclining support for strong agricultural growth, long considered a hallmark ofsuccessful poverty reduction strategies. Strong agricultural growth is four times
more effective than growth in other sectors in benefiting the poorest half of thepopulation. You can download the report for free at:
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/publications/trends2008/

UN Guides in French

The UN Non Government Liaison Service (NGLS) has produced two of its flagshippublications in French. International Decision-making and Negotiations at theUnited Nations: A Guide and UN System Engagement with NGOs, Civil Society, thePrivate Sector and Other Actors: A Compendium are now both available inFrench. For more information in English
http://www.un-ngls.org/site/article.php3?id_article=6 in Spanish
http://www.un-ngls.org/site/article.php3?id_article=139 and French
http://www.un-ngls.org/site/article_fr.php3?id_article=516 click here

Latest Nasty Email Fraud

I thought I should draw your attention to the latest practice of the nasty people whoplay on our good nature. The perpetuators somehow steal a real email address andcontents and then write to people in the contacts. The subject line is something like
“An Emergency....Please I Need Your Help”. The message is very personal. They
come from the address of some one you know. Your colleague says he or she isstranded and needs money to pay the hotel bill. They perpetuators give the name,address, email and phone of a hotel. Don’t reply.

2008 ICSW 33rd Global Conference on Social Welfare – 80thAnniversary

Only days now to the opening on the 30th June. You will find the latest on speakers
and the programme at http://www.icsw2008.org/Dates: 30th June to 4th July 2008 Venue: Tours, France Contact Information:
globalconference@cnas-icsw.org The theme of the conference is Social Work,Social Protection and Social Development: Where have we been? Where are wegoing?
The content of this Global Newsletter may be freely reproduced or cited provided
the source is acknowledged. Views expressed in this publication are not necessarily
the policy of ICSW.
Newsletter Editor: Denys Correll – Executive Director. ICSW C/- MOVISIENetherlands Centre for Social Development
PO Box 19129
3501 DC Utrecht
Netherlands
Website www.icsw.org Email: icsw@icsw.org

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