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ASEAN flags |
The ASEAN Charter is a consitution of sorts, with the idea formally tabled at the 11th ASEAN Summit held two years ago in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
After extensive consultation with various ASEAN sectors and stakeholders, including civil society organisations, businessmen, academics and parliamentarians, this historic document is ready to be signed by the 10 ASEAN leaders in 2007. The timing is significant as the year also marks a more mature ASEAN as its celebrates the 40th anniversary of its founding.
Through the Charter, ASEAN hopes to develop as a people-centred community. It will also serve as one of ASEAN’s core strategies to remain competitive, effective and credible in the changing regional landscape and to meet future challenges.
With the Charter, ASEAN plans to build an institutional framework that will facilitate a more focused and coordinated agenda. This will be supported by a thorough legal framework that will see cooperation and commitments in all areas among the member countries.
This means, ASEAN could develop a more powerful and integrated organisation as the Charter give a little more clout to its institutions to battle regional problems such as the haze problem or the SARS virus.
By making ASEAN a more rules-based organisation, the hope is that member countries will network, consult and find mutual accomodation and consensus the 'ASEAN way'. The 40-year old group will hold on to its principle of decision-making by consensus and non-interference in one another's internal affairs despite urging from the West to put more pressure on Myanmar's junta after its crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
The charter does call for the creation of a human rights body, but with no details or punitive measures for rogue members. So those who were hoping for a tougher ASEAN where members could be suspended or removed from the grouping may not see such an approach being adopted in the Charter.
By becoming more rules-based, the Charter will make the organisational structure of ASEAN and its decision-making process more co-ordinated. So apart from a Secretariat, ASEAN will have permanent representative from each member country, based in Jakarta. Additional support will be given to the secretariat through the Charter with four deputy secretaries-general assisting the Secretary-General.
Faced with competition from China and India, the Charter will deepen the integration of ASEAN, a move that's necessary. ASEAN's 10 members span the political and economic spectrum but jointly their $1 trillion economy is only slightly bigger than India's. So, the more rapidly ASEAN becomes an economic community, the better it will be to maintain its competitive edge against the two economic heavyweights.
The Charter would also ensure that ASEAN will continue to remain a key player in regional forums and serve as a visionary document to inspire future generations and engage them more closely in the future of the region.
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