ASEAN CHARTER HAS ACHIEVED MUCH BUT MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE

JAKARTA, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Asean has achieved much in the one year since
the Asean Charter came into force, but much more needs to be done in the coming
years before the region fulfils the Asean leaders' dream of an integrated Asean
Community by 2015.

This was the sentiment expressed by the three panellists at the 2nd Asean
Secretariat Policy Forum - "The Asean Charter: One Year On", held at the Asean
Secretariat, here, Wednesday.

The panel comprised Musa Hitam, chairman of the Eminent Persons Group on
the Charter, and ambassadors Rosario G. Manalo and Tommy Koh, chairpersons of
the High-Level Task Force on the Drafting of the Charter.

"All of them shared their thoughts with some 300 guests on not only their
experiences in working on the Charter process, but also how much Asean had
achieved in the past year since the Asean Charter came into force on Dec 15,
2008," the Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat concluded in a statement issued at
the end of the forum.

The panellists generally shared the view that the Charter, observed and
adopted last year by all 10 member countries of the regional grouping, had
benefited Asean.

"I would argue that the Charter is substantively a new document and has
already had an impact on Asean," ambassador Koh was quoted as saying, in
refuting critics who had described the Asean Charter as a paper tiger.

Ambassador Manalo was also positive on the impact of the Charter to date,
saying that the Charter was not perfect in current form and substance, but it
brought Asean to a new level.

Both ambassadors also lauded the many accomplishments since the Charter came
into force, one of which was the establishment of the Asean Intergovernmental
Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which was launched by the Asean leaders at
the 15th Asean Summit in Thailand in October 2009.

Describing it as a "process of evolution", they said the AICHR would have to
evolve at a pace comfortable to all the members of the Asean family, and it
would begin with education and the promotion of human rights and gradually take
up the more challenging task of protection.

Several other achievements in the wake of the Asean Charter, such as the
establishment of the Jakarta-based Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR)
to Asean which will coordinate a broad range of Asean issues, and the greater
involvement of parliamentarians, the business community, civil society
organisations and youths in making Asean a people-oriented organisation were
praised.

"However, the panellists also urged that Asean do a lot more on social
issues," the statement said.

Describing education as an equalising force and that Asean should support
the learning of Asean languages and student exchanges, ambassador Manalo
questioned how successful had Asean been in that area.

The issue of education was also on the mind of Musa, a former Malaysian
deputy prime minister, who voiced concern on the potential situation of a large
number of young people in the region who are educated but unemployed.

"Asean would need to prioritise human resource needs in the region and
organise the content of our teaching," he said, as quoted in the statement.

Other social issues such as health, the environment, disaster management and
labour mobility within Asean were also highlighted as important areas for
Asean to focus on.

"We have to do the things that we declare we would do and to fill the
stomachs of the people of Asean in order to enjoy the good life," said Musa.
-- BERNAMA