JCIE’s Democracy for the Future team organized a two-day program for a delegation of three members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) to Japan for a series of discussions with Japanese Diet members, NGOs, and organizations and experts addressing human rights issues in Myanmar. They also spoke with journalists at The Asahi Shimbun who reported on the visit here.

On this occasion, the team also hosted a roundtable discussion for the APHR and CALD delegation to meet with a multi-party group of Diet members on the role of legislators in upholding democratic governance and universal values in the Indo-Pacific. A total of 11 Diet members and representatives from three Diet member offices joined. In addition to the role of legislators, the participants discussed the situation in ASEAN countries and the impact of the cuts to US foreign aid.

This program illustrated the important role of parliamentary dialogue in promoting shared democratic principles and reinforced the need to develop consistent channels for policymaker engagement that can resonate across the region.