ASEAN Charter

the ASEAN Charter

Members of ASEAN
Signed 20 November 2007
Location Singapore
Effective December 2008
Condition ratification by all states
Signatories 10
Parties 10 (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
Depositary Secretary-general of ASEAN
Language English

The ASEAN Charter is a constitution for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It was adopted at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007.[1]

The intention to draft the constitution had been formally tabled at the 11th ASEAN Summit held in December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Ten ASEAN leaders, one each from each member state, called the ASEAN Eminent Persons Group were assigned to produce recommendations of the drafting of the charter.

In the 12th ASEAN Summit held in January 2007 in Cebu, the Philippines, several basic proposals were made public. The ASEAN Leaders, therefore, agreed during the Summit to set up a "high level task force on the drafting of the ASEAN Charter" composed of 10 high level government officials from ten member countries.

The task force then held 13 meetings during 2007. Some of the proposals include the removal of non-interference policy that is central to the regional group since its formation in the 1960s, and to set up a human rights body.

The Charter

Principles set out in the charter include:

Member StateGovernment RatificationDeposit of
Instrument of Ratification		Signed by
 Singapore18 December 20077 January 2008Prime Minister
 Brunei31 January 200815 February 2008Sultan
 Laos14 February 200820 February 2008Prime Minister
 Malaysia14 February 200820 February 2008Foreign Minister
 Vietnam14 March 200819 March 2008Minister of Foreign Affairs
 Cambodia25 February 2008[2]18 April 2008National Assembly
 Burma (Myanmar)21 July 200821 July 2008[3]Foreign Minister
 Philippines7 October 2008[4] 12 November 2008[5]Senate
 Indonesia21 October 2008[6] 13 November 2008[5]The House of Representatives
 Thailand16 September 2008[7] 14 November 2008[5]Parliament

Enactment

The Charter came into force in December 2008, thirty days after Thailand's delivery of the final instrument of ratification. Thailand's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Don Pramudwinai, deposited the document with ASEAN secretary-general, Surin Pitsuwan, at the Thai mission in New York on 14 November. He issued a statement saying, "This is certainly an occasion to celebrate for the 570 million people of ASEAN. This means that when the ASEAN leaders gather at their annual summit in mid December, the ASEAN Charter will have come into force." He was referring to the charter coming into after the 14th Summit in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 13 to 18 December. In doing so he added that celebrations would follow not only for the full ratification of the charter but also the entering into force of the new basic law of ASEAN, "It will be a rules-based and people-oriented organisation with its own legal personality."[5]

Launch

On 15 December 2008, the members of ASEAN met in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to launch a charter, signed in November 2007, with the aim of moving closer to "an EU-style community".[8] The charter turns ASEAN into a legal entity and aims to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 500 million people. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated: "This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift," he added, referring to climate change and economic upheaval. Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s." The charter's aims included:

  1. "Respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states"
  2. "Peaceful settlement of disputes"
  3. "Non-interference in member states' internal affairs"
  4. "Right to live without external interference"[9]

However, the ongoing global financial crisis was stated as being a threat to the goals envisioned by the charter,[10] and also set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in February 2009. This proposal caused controversy, as the body would not have the power to impose sanctions or punish countries who violate citizens' rights and would therefore be limited in effectiveness.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Indonesian ministers asked to follow up ASEAN summit results", Xinhua, 22 November 2007.
  2. ↑ "Cambodian National Assembly approves ASEAN Charter". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  3. ↑ "Burma ratifies ASEAN charter | The Australian". Theaustralian.news.com.au. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  4. ↑ "Philippine Senate ratifies ASEAN Charter", 7 October 2008.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Malaysian National News Agency :: BERNAMA". Bernama.com.my. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  6. ↑ "ASEAN Secretariat: ASEAN Charter fully ratified", 21 October 2008.
  7. ↑ "Surin welcomes Thailand's ratification of Asean charter", 16 September 2008.
  8. ↑ "'Momentous' day for ASEAN as charter comes into force". Agence France-Presse. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  9. ↑ Lucy Williamson (15 December 2008). "South East Asia to launch charter". BBC. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  10. ↑ Olivia Rondonuwu and Suhartono, Harry (15 December 2008). "ASEAN launches charter under shadow of crisis". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  11. ↑ "ASEAN charter comes into force". International Herald Tribune. 15 December 2008. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2008.

External links