Cambodia presents documents on ASEAN charter's ratification

JAKARTA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government handed documents on the country's ratification of the ASEAN Charter to ASEAN's Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan on Friday, according to local media Saturday.

Cambodia is the sixth country that has ratified the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Charter after Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, Antara news agency quoted Pitsuwan as saying before receiving the documents from the Cambodian envoy at a ceremony held at the ASEAN Secretariat here.

Pitsuwan praised Cambodia as one of the ASEAN's youngest members for being very active and having a strong commitment to accelerating ASEAN's regional integration.

Four other ASEAN member countries have not yet to ratify the charter, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar and Thailand.

It was just a matter of time for the four states to ratify the ASEAN Charter, Pitsuwan said.

The ASEAN Charter was signed on November 20, 2007 by the Leaders of the ASEAN's 10 member countries at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore coinciding with ASEAN's 40th anniversary.

The charter embodies the ASEAN members' resolve to become a more solid and integrated regional community.

Cambodia King Ratifies Asean Rights Charter,Says Ministry

PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni has ratified a landmark new human rights charter aimed at transforming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

The king ratified it on Monday, making Cambodia the sixth member of the bloc to do so, the ministry said in a statement.

The charter, signed in Singapore last year, aims to commit the region's disparate nations to promoting human rights and democratic ideals while setting out principles and rules for members.

"The Asean Charter is an historic milestone document," the ministry said.

"All Asean member countries are fully committed to bring the charter into force by the time of the next Asean summit in Thailand later this year," the statement added.

Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have already ratified the charter, which also transforms the 40-year-old Asean into a legal entity, giving it greater clout in international negotiations.

The bloc wants all 10 members to ratify it before an annual summit in Thailand in December.

The charter was the result of a long, controversial drafting process that saw some of the strong recommendations from elder statesmen watered down or dropped, including provisions on sanctions and expulsion.

Asean's original five members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam joined later.

Arroyo: [The Philippine] Senate won’t ratify ASEAN Charter if Suu Kyi isn't freed

January 26, 2008
By MARVIN SY
The Philippine Star

President Arroyo reiterated her call for Myanmar’s military junta to free detained political leader Aung San Suu Kyi as part of its commitment to institute democratic reforms.

Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) session of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the President warned Myanmar that the Philippine Senate would not ratify the ASEAN Charter if it fails to make good on its commitment.

The President noted that when the 10 heads of state, including Myanmar, signed the ASEAN Charter in Singapore last year, the military junta had in effect committed to institute political reforms.

Mrs. Arroyo emphasized that the first step in the reform process would be the release of Suu Kyi.

"We must see political reform. We must see Aung San Suu Kyi released. Our present ASEAN knows our position on this," the President said.

"Not only are we committed to seeing political reforms in Myanmar. Our Senate will not ratify the ASEAN Charter, unless they see real political reforms take place in Myanmar. So we must work together to make the tough choices to make ASEAN real and Aung San Suu Kyi free," she added.

The President has been a strong advocate for political reforms in Myanmar and the release of Suu Kyi from detention.

Opposition and administration senators were united in their call for Myanmar to follow the road map of democracy and release Suu Kyi immediately.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. has been pushing for means to compel Myanmar to become democratic and to release Suu Kyi, including the possible expulsion of the country from ASEAN.

However, several ASEAN nations have strongly adhered to the ASEAN’s policy of non-interference, which has prevented the group from taking any action against Myanmar.

ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Suu Kyi has been detained since the late 1980s and though she won the general election in 1990, she was barred from assuming office as Prime Minister by the military junta.