4 - The ASEAN Charter: The Case for Ratification

Summary

The ASEAN Charter has been received with mixed sentiments by the governments and peoples of ASEAN. On the one hand the signing of the ASEAN Charter is seen as an important milestone for the Association, which, at forty, is ready to become a tighter and more rules-based organization. Some of the new purposes and principles contained in the Charter also reflect the changing character of ASEAN, from an association that was only concerned with managing interstate relations to one that also cares about how member states should conduct themselves internally.

On the other hand, the ASEAN Charter has also been greeted with disappointment and dismay in some quarter because the initial promise of a more progressive ASEAN turns out be quite hollow. ASEAN has come under strong criticisms for its unwillingness and inability to deal with gross human rights abuses in its midst, notably in one of its member countries, Myanmar. The expectations that the ASEAN Charter will contain provisions which will enable ASEAN to deal firmly with members that violate the Association's basic purposes and principles, such as promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedom, have been dashed by the final content of the Charter.

At the time of writing, Indonesia has not yet ratified the Charter, since unlike in some of the other member states of ASEAN where governments can rush the ratification process, in Indonesia, ratification of international agreements and treaties must be done by the DPR (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat) or People's House of Representatives. Internal debates about whether Indonesia should ratify the ASEAN Charter in its present form or not started as soon as it was signed by ASEAN Heads of States/Governments in Singapore on 29 November 2007. The general expectation amongst the ASEAN leaders is that the ASEAN Charter will be ratified by all ten members of ASEAN before the next ASEAN Summit at the end of 2008.

Some groups in ASEAN, notably in Indonesia and the Philippines, have argued that the ASEAN Charter should not be ratified in its present form because it has not gone far enough in providing ASEAN with the necessary power to sanction noncomplying members, as decision making is still basically made through consensus, and the principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs has been enshrined in the Charter.