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SINGAPORE - Myanmar will accede next week to the ASEAN Charter, which commits Southeast Asian nations to notions of democracy and human rights, Singapore's foreign minister said on Friday.
Myanmar's accession during an annual meeting of regional foreign ministers that begins in Singapore on Sunday will mean that just three of ASEAN's 10 members still need to ratify the deal.
"That leaves Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines," George Yeo said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. Singapore holds the rotating chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) but will hand over to Thailand this week.
ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan said recently he was hopeful the group would celebrate the charter's full ratification at its summit in Bangkok later this year.
The charter commits ASEAN members "to strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law, and to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms."
It was the result of a long and controversial drafting process that saw some of the strong recommendations from ASEAN elder statesmen watered down or dropped, including provisions on sanctions and expulsion.
The bloc has been widely criticised for its policy of "constructive engagement" regarding Myanmar, which is under EU and US sanctions over its human rights record.
Myanmar was also criticised internationally for its delay in allowing foreign aid into the country after a May 2 cyclone that left 138,000 people dead or missing.
It subsequently allowed aid workers to enter under an arrangement with ASEAN and the United Nations.
Surin said up to two million people remain in a "very precarious situation" but ASEAN remains confident there would be no "second wave of disaster - meaning diseases, hunger and loss of life because of lack of care and support from the international community".
Myanmar's foreign minister is expected to brief his peers about recent political developments in his country as well as the continuing post-cyclone efforts, a Southeast Asian diplomat told AFP.
"There is an expected statement on Myanmar in the joint communique. They (the Myanmar side) will talk about political developments," the official said.
Just seven days after the cyclone, Myanmar insisted on holding a referendum on a military-backed constitution. It said that despite the devastation, 98 per cent of voters turned out for the ballot and more than 92 per cent endorsed their constitution.
The opposition party of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, held under house arrest for most of the past 18 years, dismissed the referendum outcome as a "sham". - AFP/vm
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