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ASEAN foreign ministers agree on Charter, mull Myanmar, N. Korea+

Jul 30 11:03 AM US/Eastern
   
(AP) - MANILA, July 30 (Kyodo)

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations agreed Monday to create a human rights body as part of a Charter to strengthen the 40-year-old grouping and dealt mainly with regional concerns such as Myanmar's lack of democracy and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula at their annual meeting here.

The ministers reached a consensus to mandate the provision of a human rights body in the ASEAN Charter after overcoming earlier resistance from Myanmar.

The Charter is expected to boost the 10-member group's standing on the international stage by transforming it into a rules-based organization.

ASEAN members Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have been pushing for bolder changes to ASEAN in the charter, including the establishment of a human rights body. On the other hand, Singapore along with Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar had earlier expressed various reservations over the human rights mechanism, sources said. All members eventually went along with the proposal, with Myanmar dropping its opposition only on Monday.

The region is a hodgepodge of political systems -- a military junta in Myanmar, socialist governments in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, a sultanate in Brunei, democratic governments in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia and to a lesser extent Singapore. Thailand has been under de facto military rule since the ouster of Thaksin Shinawatra's elected government last year.

A task force assigned to draft the charter will continue to work on the details and the final charter is expected to be adopted by ASEAN leaders at their Singapore summit in November.

At a dinner Sunday night, Myanmar's Foreign Minister Nyan Win came under fire from other ASEAN foreign ministers for the junta's slow progress toward democracy and its continued detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Reflecting these sentiments in a joint statement issued at the end of their meeting, the ministers "expressed concern on the pace of the national reconciliation process and urged Myanmar to show tangible process that would lead to a peaceful transition to democracy in the near future."

The statement also voiced concern "on the detention of all political detainees and reiterate our calls for their early release."

However, on a softer note, the statement also acknowledged that the military junta "has tried to address the many and complex changes she is facing."

ASEAN, which depends heavily on foreign investment and trade with the United States and Europe, fears that Myanmar's intransigence will worsen its relations with the West.

On the North Korean denuclearization process, it welcomed North Korea's move to shut down the Yongbyon nuclear facility earlier this month, expressed support for the six-party talks and called for humanitarian assistance for North Korea.

As in past years, Monday's meeting, which involves only ASEAN ministers, will be followed in the next several days by a series of other meetings with major trade partners, including a meeting involving ministers from Japan, China and South Korea on Tuesday and a ministerial gathering Thursday of the soon-to-be 26-member ASEAN Regional Forum on security in the Asia-Pacific region.

ASEAN foreign ministers agree on Charter, mull Myanmar, N. Korea+ (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QMVS700&show_article=1&catnum=0)

Asean agrees on landmark charter
By Michael Barker
BBC News, Manila

Ministers from South-East Asian countries have reached agreement on a landmark draft charter.

The document gives the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) a set of binding rules for the first time in the bloc's 40-year existence.

The agreement comes after nearly two years of deliberations among members.

It includes a contentious provision to set up a commission monitoring human rights in the region - despite strong misgivings from some Asean countries.

Credibility boost

With governments in the region running the gamut from fully-fledged democracies to a military dictatorship, finding consensus on a human rights commission was always going to be a tough sell.

Burma (Myanmar) - a country which has been heavily criticised for rights abuses in the past - had strongly opposed the commission right up to Monday's ministerial meeting in Manila.

It eventually gave grudging 11th-hour approval in the face of clamour from other members.

Diplomatic sources said Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam also had misgivings - fearing human rights probes could result in violations of the group's strict policy of non-interference in each others' affairs.

However the charter is seen as crucial for giving Asean - previously regarded as a mere talk shop - credibility and bargaining power on the world stage.

It will also help smooth the way for the group's aim of full economic integration.

The next step for the bloc - which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - is to formally adopt the landmark charter at its summit in November.

Asean agrees on landmark charter (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6921722.stm)

ASEAN Charter to Include Human Rights Commission
By Nancy-Amelia Collins
Manila
30 July 2007

Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have agreed during their annual meeting in Manila to create a human rights body in the draft of ASEAN's first ever charter. VOA correspondent Nancy-Amelia Collins is in the Philippine capital and brings us this report.

The agreement moves the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, closer to having its first charter.

The deal reached Monday by the foreign ministers of the 10 ASEAN members overcame fierce objections from Burma's military government.

Burma, which has long been condemned by many governments, including the European Union and the United States, for its poor human rights record, initially objected to the creation of the human rights commission.

Some other ASEAN members want to avoid close scrutiny of human rights, including Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, which all have authoritarian or single-party governments.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo says the details will need to be worked out later but confirmed a consensus had been reached to include the rights body in the organization's charter.

"We have to establish a sense of reference and discuss specifics, however, we did establish a human rights body."

ASEAN is drafting its first charter so it can become a more rules-based organization similar to the European Union. The charter, which needs to be ratified during a leader's meeting in November, will bestow a legal identity to ASEAN for international negotiations and transactions.

Among other things, the charter promotes free trade and economic integration and incorporates a 10-year-old treaty banning nuclear weapons in the region.

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stressed the importance of the grouping for regional security.

"Historically the European Union has shown how a region beset by conflict can become a force for peace and security and prosperity," said Arrroyo. "So, too, in our region that has faced many of the same historic divisions. A more united region will aid in the same. ASEAN has proven that it can make a difference for peace and security in Asia."

The ASEAN countries are the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, Laos, Brunei, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The foreign ministers will spend the next two days meeting with other Asian nations and leading partners, including the U.S., before holding the ASEAN Regional Forum on Thursday.

ASEAN Charter to Include Human Rights Commission (http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-30-voa21.cfm)

There are alot of 10-member groups going around these days. I wonder if satan isn't attempting to set things up so as to either confuse us or foil God's plan by attempting to use part of it.