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SINGAPORE: Brunei, Laos and Malaysia have joined Singapore in
ratifying the Association of Southeast Asian Nations charter that
provides for the creation of a human rights body, diplomats said
Wednesday.
All 10 Asean members are expected to ratify the
landmark charter by the time the grouping holds its annual summit in
Thailand in December, Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said.
Diplomatic sources said, however, that there are
doubts that all members will approve the charter this year because
of disputes due to reports of human rights violations in
military-ruled Myanmar.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo last year
warned that her country would be hesitant to ratify the Asean
charter if Myanmar refuses to embrace democracy and free opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Also, a Southeast Asian diplomat said the
charter is likely to face tough times in the parliament of
democracies like the Philippines and Indonesia.
The Asean charter, signed in Singapore last
year, aims to commit the member countries to promote human rights
and democratic ideals, and sets out the principles and rules for
members.
It also transforms the Asean, formed in 1967,
into a legal entity— a move that will give the group greater clout
in international negotiations.
Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan received
the “instruments of ratification” from Laos and Malaysia on the
sidelines of a foreign ministers’ retreat that ended here
Wednesday, a Singapore foreign ministry statement said.
Surin also acknowledged receipt of Brunei’s
ratification, which was sent by correspondence on February 15.
Singapore, the current Asean chair, was the first country to ratify
the charter.
“We expect this [charter] to be fully ratified
at the next summit in Bangkok in December this year,” Yeo told
reporters at the end of their retreat.
The ministers agreed to draft the terms of
reference for a committee that will study the establishment of the
human rights body and a dispute settlement mechanism, Yeo added.
The terms will be tabled at the ministers’
annual gathering in July.
Yeo said that once the charter is ratified, all
Asean member states would appoint ambassadors to the group’s
headquarters in Jakarta, similar to the arrangement of the United
Nations in New York.
-- AFP
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