ASEAN
ASEAN signs historic charter
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The 40-year old Association of South East Asian Nations are set to sign a charter on Tuesday that speaks of democracy and human rights, and has an economic blueprint to create an EU-style free-trade bloc. (Report: S.Silke)
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
By AFP
Southeast Asian leaders on Tuesday signed a long-awaited charter aimed at transforming their bloc and committing the region's disparate nations to promoting human rights and democratic ideals.
The charter sets out principles and rules for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for the first time and creates a regional human rights body -- though without spelling out what authority the body will have.
The signing ceremony, which came at the end of summit talks among the bloc's 10 leaders, took place under the shadow of a diplomatic row sparked when Myanmar blocked a UN envoy from briefing the annual gathering.
"To make ASEAN strong and relevant, we must accelerate and deepen regional integration. The ASEAN charter is a crucial step in this process," summit host Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.
"It will make ASEAN into a more effective and cohesive organisation, with a rules-based governing framework, and streamlined decision-making processes. All this will pave the way for closer integration in the years ahead."
The charter is the result of a long and controversial drafting process that saw some of the strong recommendations by a group of ASEAN elder statesmen either watered down or dropped.
However, it commits ASEAN members "to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law, and to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms."
It also requires members to keep the region free of nuclear weapons, ease poverty, protect the environment and work toward an integrated market that allows for free flow of goods, services, investments and professionals.
Philippines President Gloria Arroyo warned her country might not ratify the charter unless Myanmar embraces democracy and democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is released -- in a major challenge to ASEAN's consensus-based approach.
"The expectation of the Philippines is that if Myanmar signs the charter, it is committed to returning to the path of democracy and releasing Aung San Suu Kyi," Arroyo told ASEAN leaders on Monday.
"Until the Philippines Congress sees that happen, it would have extreme difficulty in ratifying the ASEAN charter."
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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