ASEAN at 40 pledges human rights in Charter

Singapore, NU Online
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, along with other regional leaders, has signed in Singapore the much-awaited ASEAN Charter -- an agreement targeted to improve the livelihood of half a billion Southeast Asians.

But despite the landmark agreement signed Tuesday, the 13th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations has been marred by issues surrounding Myanmar -- a member country whose military junta has remained resistant to international pressures demanding democratic reforms.<>

The ASEAN Charter would see the 40-year old regional grouping become a formal organization and is aimed to transform ASEAN into a more cohesive and rules-based body.

The charter and ASEAN's new economic blueprint, aims to pave the way for an "integrated community" with a single market and production base in the region.

The timeframe provided for the changes is eight years.

The charter includes the open movement of goods, services and investments, and a freer flow of labor and capital.

The three communities formulated by the charter -- ASEAN's economic, security and social-cultural communities -- is expected to create stronger regional ties.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the charter would enable faster and deeper integration of member countries.

"It will make ASEAN a more effective and cohesive organization ... and will streamline decision making processes," he said.

Former Indonesian foreign minister Ali Alatas, who was part of the charter's formulating team, said ASEAN may have to change its name by 2015, the target date for integration.

Presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said the charter was historic, having "in a significant way enabled ASEAN to continue to be relevant regionally and globally".

The grouping's persistent principal of non interference -- which remains in the charter -- has drawn constant criticism that it is unable and unwilling to help victims of human rights violations in member countries.

Criticisms include from the days of Indonesia's Soeharto to today's Myanmar situation.

Dino said the Indonesian government would now concentrate on ensuring its immediate ratification of the charter."We all have the obligation to make it a living document," he said.

Theo L. Sambuaga, head of the legislature's commission I on defense, security and foreign affairs, and a Golkar member, said the most significant point of the charter was the promotion of democracy and human rights -- two concepts once regarded as "western" by a number of the region's leaders.

"The inclusion of a provision (for) a human rights body in the charter is most significant," Theo told The Jakarta Post from Jakarta.

Coordinator of Indonesia's NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy Rafendi Djamin, who was in Singapore to attend the summit, also asked for an immediate follow-up to the provision of human rights in the charter.

"Indonesia now is the region's most democratic country and the one with the best record of human rights," Rafendi said.

"We must take the lead (and) begin with the establishment of (a) human rights commission," he said.

Skeptics of the charter's ideals have pointed to various disputes among the diverse members, the latest being Indonesia's verdict on Monday against Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

Temasek was found guilty by the country's anti-monopoly body of breaching laws in the domestic mobile telecommunications industry.

"It's a good example of why full ASEAN integration remains a pipe dream," Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin said, Reuters reported. (dar)