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SINGAPORE (via PLDT)—Asean leaders on Tuesday signed the
historic Asean Charter envisioned to ensure the
relevance of the 40-year-old, 10-member grouping amid
regional changes brought about by globalized trade.
In his
opening plenary remarks at the Asean leaders’ summit on
Tuesday morning, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Loong called on Asean member-states to ratify the
document “so that it enters into force by the next
Summit in Bangkok.”
In what
appeared to be a subtle message to problematic Asean
members, Lee stressed the need for Asean to “gradually
adapt to a culture of compliance and implementation”
because “only then can we make sustained progress and
forge ahead as a grouping.” Lee said the signing of the
charter “is just the beginning of a longer, continuing
journey that all Asean members must take” as terms of
references, among others, would have to be drafted to
implement its provisions.
“We
gather here today with high hopes and aspirations. There
is much work to be done, and the road ahead will not be
easy. But I am confident that every member around the
table shares the vision for a new Asean, and the
commitment to make this vision a reality,” Lee said.
The
Asean Charter, he added, “will qualitatively change the
way we approach and think about Asean. It will make
Asean into a more effective and cohesive organization,
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
leaders later signed a Declaration on the Asean Charter
where they pledged “to faithfully respect the rights and
fulfill the obligations outlined in the provisions of
the Asean Charter,” to complete ratification as soon as
possible to enforce the document, and “to undertake all
appropriate measures in each member-country to implement
the Asean Charter.”
The
Charter, to be ratified by each member, binds
signatories to adhere to the principle of
noninterference, and to observe “respect for the right
of every member-state to lead its national existence
free from external interference, subversion and
coercion.”
Among
its guiding principles are democracy, the rule of law
and good governance, and respect for the protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as
renunciation of aggression and of the threat or use of
force or other actions in any manner inconsistent with
international law.
They
also pledged to keep the region free from nuclear
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and to
create a stable and highly competitive single market
through an Asean Economic Community.
The
Charter retains the “Asean way” of decision-making
through consultation and consensus but should this fail,
the matter would be raised to the foreign ministers, and
ultimately, to the leaders who would be meeting twice a
year and even more, as needed, for resolution.
Former
Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, a member of the
Eminent Persons Group (EPG) formed in 2005 to advise the
Asean on the crafting of the Charter, told reporters
that while the document had been partly diluted compared
to the EPG’s original recommendations submitted to the
leaders in Cebu earlier this year, it was still a
“momentous step forward.”
The EPG,
which includes former President Fidel Ramos—who was not
at the signing—had recommended sanctions against errant
members, including suspension and expulsion.
“Of
course there has been some watering down. On the whole,
what we have to see is that finally after 40 years we
have a Charter which is designed to give a legal base
and legal commitments, to Asean. It is designed to give
a stronger organizational structure and operational
effectiveness. So “think its a momentous step forward,”
he said.
Asked
about Myanmar, Alatas said: “Why worry now? Let’s go
step by step. Let’s ratify the Charter, then we have a
good basis.”
Ambassador Rosario Manalo, Philippine special envoy to
the High Level Task Force which worked on the Charter
for a year, said the President was very pleased with the
final draft which retained some Philippine initiatives,
including the creation of an Asean Human Rights Body.
Manalo
said that when the Charter was signed by the leaders,
“everybody felt that there was an achievement in Asean.
This is a positive step toward community building.”
Asked
whether the Charter would see through the protection of
human rights among Asean members, Foreign Affairs
Assistant Secretary Luis Cruz noted that the Charter
mentions human-rights protection three times: in the
preamble, the statement of purposes, and principles.
Besides
the creation of a human rights body, the other
Philippine initiatives in the Charter include the
provision in the preamble stating “an Asean Community
that is politically cohesive, economically integrated
and socially responsible”, and the Asean’s purpose of
pushing for “human-resource development through closer
cooperation in education, life-long learning, and
science and technology.”
The
Philippines also pushed for the inclusion of the Asean’s
declared purpose to “facilitate movement of business
persons, professionals, talents and labor” in
consideration of its migrant workers, the criteria on
the admission of new members, a greater role for the
Asean Secretary-General, and the creation of a Committee
of Permanent Representatives in Jakarta, among others. |
