East Timor finally looks set to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. The country’s accession to the bloc has been a long time coming. More than a decade ago when I first moved to Dili, the Timorese capital, government officials and ordinary people regularly touted the opportunities ASEAN membership presents.
The economic motivation for East Timor’s bid to join ASEAN is as clear now as it was then, but in the current context, its membership will also bring a strong moral and democratic voice to the bloc.
As a country that rightly prides itself on a record of respect for human rights and democracy at home and support for movements aimed towards justice and self-determination abroad, East Timor will strike a different tone than many of ASEAN’s other members.
Rather than dimming its light to conform to ASEAN’s tired patterns of impunity regarding human rights abuses, East Timor can own its identity as a vibrant liberal democracy and use its platform within the bloc to influence its positioning. Nowhere is this more necessary than in ASEAN’s Myanmar policy, which has been paralysed by a deadlock for years.
In 2021 in the aftermath of the Myanmar army’s coup against the democratically elected government, ASEAN adopted the Five Point Consensus. This plan, which calls for the “immediate cessation of violence” and a commitment from warring parties to exercise “utmost restraint,” has been rendered ineffective due to consistent violations by the Myanmar junta and ASEAN’s indecisiveness in the face of such violations.
The subsequent diplomatic deadlock has left Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, which now numbers in the millions, with scant international backing as it fights for freedom from a brutal military regime. This is where East Timor’s history of overcoming oppression could play an instructive role.
Like Myanmar today, East Timor spent decades under violent military rule, which subjected the Timorese people to massacres, forced displacement and systemic violence. Only through the principled stance of the Timorese people and sustained international solidarity could they finally secure their independence in 2002.
This history of resilience and determination gives East Timor a deep understanding of the importance of global support in the fight for justice. The people of Myanmar are also demanding their right to self-determination, and East Timor must now stand and act in solidarity with them. One area where the Timorese government can show initiative is the involvement of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, which was formed by elected lawmakers removed in the 2021 coup and represents the people, has conferred jurisdiction on the ICC and has asked the court to investigate and prosecute crimes in Myanmar since 2002. However, the court has not acted on the NUG’s request, seemingly due to consternation over the NUG’s ability to represent Myanmar on the world stage.
In a situation such as this, it is incumbent on member states of the ICC to refer the situation to the chief prosecutor by making use of Article 14 of the Rome Statute, which allows them to request an investigation in a particular matter. As one of only two ASEAN members of the ICC, East Timor is in a unique position to make such a referral.
This would be a historically significant move and could also predicate a sea change in ASEAN’s approach to the Myanmar crisis, ensuring that accountability remains firmly in place in future peace negotiations. A referral to the ICC would also broaden the scope of the court’s existing jurisdiction in Myanmar and would focus international attention on the junta’s postcoup atrocities as well as its genocide of the Rohingya.
Critics may question whether a small island nation such as East Timor could have an impact on a crisis as complex and seemingly intractable as Myanmar’s. This overlooks, however, the power of small states to have an outsized influence on international affairs, especially in domains that require moral clarity rather than big power positioning.
We have seen this at the United Nations with Liechtenstein’s efforts to hold the permanent members of the UN Security Council to account over their veto powers, Ireland’s principled stance on Gaza and, in the Myanmar context, The Gambia’s leading role in seeking international justice for the Rohingya.
In a time when the major powers seem increasingly inward-looking and isolationist, space is opening up for smaller states to show the rest of the world what it means to lead by example.
Furthermore, East Timor’s leaders in referring Myanmar to the ICC would echo the international support it received during its own struggle for independence – thus allowing the country to “pay it forward”. In the 1990s, global advocacy and UN intervention played crucial roles in ending Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor. Now, East Timor can offer the same kind of solidarity and support to Myanmar, urging the international community to take stronger action against its military regime.
East Timor’s accession to ASEAN could be more than just a diplomatic formality. It could be a moment of transformative leadership – one in which a small nation with a history of profound struggle uses its newfound position to push for meaningful change. By invoking the legal mechanisms of the ICC, East Timor could not only help hold Myanmar’s junta accountable but also encourage ASEAN to take a stronger stand in support of democracy and human rights across the region.
With East Timor taking the initiative, ASEAN could become a regional force for justice – a force that no longer turns a blind eye to the suffering within its boundaries.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
