ASEAN Agrees to Blueprint for Asean Charter
Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have authorized the drawing up of a charter that would give their organization a legal basis for the first time since it was founded four decades ago.
Leader of the Eminent Persons group (EPG) tasked to draft the proposed Asean Charter, Fidel Ramos said in a briefing on Thursday that the Charter will guarantee that the grouping will remain relevant in the coming decades and remain a driving force in regional cooperation.
Aside from its commitment to the founding principles, salient points of the proposed Charter are the continued promotion of peace and stability through the strengthening of democratic institutions, insuring sustainable development and prosperity through closer regional economic integration, promotion of timely and effective responses to non-traditional and trans-border challenges such as international terrorism and fostering of the region's rich cultural heritage.
The current policy-making body of Asean, the Asean Summit, will be replaced by an Asean Council made up of the heads of states with three ministerial-level councils reporting to the various leaders. The councils will oversee the three main components of the bloc: political, security and economic and socio-cultural issues.
The draft guidelines calling for a shift from the non-interference approach in each member's domestic affairs will easily be the most watched and anticipated provision of the proposed Charter. The draft called for sanctions but not expulsion of members who violate the Asean's policies which would be a major departure for an organization that prides itself on non-interference on member's domestic affairs.
Also, instead of unanimity, a two-thirds vote of the members might be enough to decide on issues depending on its sensitivity and importance.
ASEAN has always been run on a consensus basis. This was feasible at the group's founding in 1967, when it consisted of only five member-nations. But now it has 10 members representing a population of more than 560 million people with widely differing levels of wealth and development.
Another proposal of the Charter is the creation of a rules-based organization more akin to the European Union (EU) and the acceleration of the Asean Community by 2015 in security and socio-cultural affairs from the current deadline of 2020.
The timetable for the formation of an economic union had been accelerated to 2015.
The leaders formally endorsed the report on the charter framework on12 January 2007. Officials hope to have a final charter ready for approval when the next summit is held in Singapore at the end of 2007.
Leader of the Eminent Persons group (EPG) tasked to draft the proposed Asean Charter, Fidel Ramos said in a briefing on Thursday that the Charter will guarantee that the grouping will remain relevant in the coming decades and remain a driving force in regional cooperation.
Aside from its commitment to the founding principles, salient points of the proposed Charter are the continued promotion of peace and stability through the strengthening of democratic institutions, insuring sustainable development and prosperity through closer regional economic integration, promotion of timely and effective responses to non-traditional and trans-border challenges such as international terrorism and fostering of the region's rich cultural heritage.
The current policy-making body of Asean, the Asean Summit, will be replaced by an Asean Council made up of the heads of states with three ministerial-level councils reporting to the various leaders. The councils will oversee the three main components of the bloc: political, security and economic and socio-cultural issues.
The draft guidelines calling for a shift from the non-interference approach in each member's domestic affairs will easily be the most watched and anticipated provision of the proposed Charter. The draft called for sanctions but not expulsion of members who violate the Asean's policies which would be a major departure for an organization that prides itself on non-interference on member's domestic affairs.
Also, instead of unanimity, a two-thirds vote of the members might be enough to decide on issues depending on its sensitivity and importance.
ASEAN has always been run on a consensus basis. This was feasible at the group's founding in 1967, when it consisted of only five member-nations. But now it has 10 members representing a population of more than 560 million people with widely differing levels of wealth and development.
Another proposal of the Charter is the creation of a rules-based organization more akin to the European Union (EU) and the acceleration of the Asean Community by 2015 in security and socio-cultural affairs from the current deadline of 2020.
The timetable for the formation of an economic union had been accelerated to 2015.
The leaders formally endorsed the report on the charter framework on12 January 2007. Officials hope to have a final charter ready for approval when the next summit is held in Singapore at the end of 2007.
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