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SINGAPORE - Myanmar will this week sign a new charter for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which commits members to promote human rights and democracy, Foreign Minister Nyan Win said Monday.
"We agree with the charter," Nyan Win told reporters following a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Singapore, at which the charter was formally adopted ahead of Tuesday's signing ceremony by the bloc's leaders. "We will sign, sure."
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 also provides for the creation of a human rights body in a region which was outraged by military-ruled Myanmar's bloody September crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which claimed at least 15 lives.
The charter however does not provide details on how the body will be formed, or what power it will have.
Analysts have said the charter, which marks the first time that ASEAN has codified its basic principles and organisational rules, will be meaningless if Myanmar cannot be held accountable for its alleged widespread abuses.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. - AFP/ir
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