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{{Short description|Charter of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations}}
{{EngvarB|date=February 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox treaty
| name = The ASEAN Charter
| long_name =
| image = Association of Southeast Asian Nations (orthographic projection).svg
| image_width = 250px
| image_alt = 
| caption = Member states shown in green
| type =
| context =
| date_drafted =
| date_signed = {{Start date|df=yes|2007|11|20}}
| location_signed = [[Singapore]]
| date_sealed =
| date_effective = December 2008
| condition_effective = Ratification by all states
| signatories = 10
| parties = 10 (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
| ratifiers = 
| depositor = Secretary-General of ASEAN
| language = English
| wikisource = 
}}

The '''ASEAN Charter'''<ref name=Charter>{{cite book|title=The ASEAN Charter |date=Dec 2007 |publisher=ASEAN Secretariat |location=Jakarta |isbn=978-979-3496-62-7 |url=http://www.asean.org/images/2012/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923185415/http://www.asean.org/images/2012/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-09-23 |access-date=20 May 2015 }}</ref> is a constituent instrument of the [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations]] (ASEAN). It was adopted at the 13th ASEAN Summit in November 2007.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080321012408/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/22/content_7129449.htm "Indonesian ministers asked to follow up ASEAN summit results"], ''[[Xinhua]]'', 22 Nov 2007.</ref>

The intention to draft the Charter had been formally proposed at the 11th [[ASEAN Summit]] held in December 2005 in [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]]. Ten ASEAN leaders, one from each member state, called the [[ASEAN Eminent Persons Group]] (EPG) were assigned to produce recommendations for the drafting of the charter.

At the 12th ASEAN Summit held in January 2007 in [[Cebu City|Cebu]], the [[Philippines]], several basic proposals were made public. ASEAN leaders agreed during the summit to set up a "high level task force on the drafting of the ASEAN Charter" composed of ten high level government officials from the ten member countries. The task force then held 13 meetings during 2007.

==The Charter==
Principles set out in the charter include:
* Emphasis on the centrality of ASEAN in regional co-operation.
* Respect for the principles of [[territorial integrity]], [[sovereignty]], non-interference and national identities of ASEAN members.
* Promoting regional peace and identity, peaceful settlements of disputes through dialogue and consultation, and the renunciation of aggression.
* Upholding international law with respect to [[human rights]], [[social justice]] and multilateral trade.
* Encouraging regional integration of trade.
* Appointment of a [[secretary-general]] and [[permanent representative]]s of ASEAN.
* Establish a human rights body and an unresolved dispute mechanism, to be formalized at [[ASEAN Summit]]s.
* Development of friendly external relations and a position with the [[United Nations|UN]] (like the [[European Union|EU]])
* Increasing the number of ASEAN summits to twice a year and the ability to convene for emergencies.
* Reiterating the [[Flag of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations|ASEAN flag]]'s use, [[ASEAN Hymn|anthem]], [[Emblem of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations|emblem]], and national ASEAN day on 8 August.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! Member State!!Government [[Ratification]]!!Deposit of<br />Instrument of Ratification!!Signed by
|-
| {{flag|Singapore}}|| style="text-align:right;" |18 Dec 2007|| style="text-align:right;" |7 Jan 2008||Prime Minister
|-
| {{flag|Brunei Darussalam}}|| style="text-align:right;" |31 Jan 2008|| style="text-align:right;" |15 Feb 2008||Sultan
|-
| {{flag|Lao People's Democratic Republic}}|| style="text-align:right;" |14 Feb 2008|| style="text-align:right;" |20 Feb 2008||President
|-
| {{flag|Malaysia}}|| style="text-align:right;" |14 Feb 2008|| style="text-align:right;" |20 Feb 2008||Foreign Minister
|-
| {{flag|Vietnam}}|| style="text-align:right;" |14 Mar 2008|| style="text-align:right;" |19 Mar 2008||Minister of Foreign Affairs
|-
| {{flag|Cambodia}}|| style="text-align:right;" |25 Feb 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/26/content_7674381.htm |title=Cambodian National Assembly approves ASEAN Charter |publisher=News.xinhuanet.com |access-date=16 Dec 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081220181313/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/26/content_7674381.htm| archive-date= 20 December 2008 | url-status= dead}}</ref>|| style="text-align:right;" |18 Apr 2008||National Assembly
|-
| {{flag|Myanmar}}|| style="text-align:right;" |21 Jul 2008|| style="text-align:right;" |21 Jul 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24056268-2703,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080728130735/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24056268-2703,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 July 2008 |title=Burma ratifies ASEAN charter |publisher=[[The Australian]] |date=22 Jul 2008 |access-date=16 Dec 2008}}</ref>||Foreign Minister
|-
| {{flag|Philippines}}|| style="text-align:right;" |7 Oct 2008<ref>[http://www.gmanews.tv/story/125486/Senate-ratifies-Asean-charter "Philippine Senate ratifies ASEAN Charter"], 7 Oct 2008.</ref>|| style="text-align:right;" | 12 Nov 2008<ref name="bernama"/>||Senate
|-
| {{flag|Indonesia}}|| style="text-align:right;" |21 Oct 2008<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081210180421/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/21/content_10229587.htm "ASEAN Secretariat: ASEAN Charter fully ratified"], 21 Oct 2008.</ref>|| style="text-align:right;" | 13 Nov 2008<ref name="bernama"/>||President and the People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia
|-
| {{flag|Thailand}}|| style="text-align:right;" |16 Sep 2008<ref>[http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/09/18/national/national_30083643.php "Surin welcomes Thailand's ratification of Asean charter"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924103923/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/09/18/national/national_30083643.php |date=24 September 2008 }}, 16 Sep 2008.</ref>|| style="text-align:right;" | 14 Nov 2008<ref name="bernama">{{cite web |url=http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=371962 |title=Malaysian National News Agency: BERNAMA |publisher=Bernama.com.my |access-date=16 Dec 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114011854/http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=371962 |archive-date=14 January 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>||Parliament
|}

==Enactment==
The charter came into force in December 2008, thirty days after Thailand's delivery of the final instrument of ratification. Thailand's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador [[Don Pramudwinai]] deposited the document with ASEAN Secretary-General, [[Surin Pitsuwan]], at the Thai mission in New York on 14 November. He issued a statement saying, "This is certainly an occasion to celebrate for the 570 million people of ASEAN. This means that when the ASEAN leaders gather at their annual summit in mid December, the ASEAN Charter will have come into force." He referred to the charter coming into force after the 14th Summit in Chiang Mai, Thailand, from 13–18 December. In doing so he added that celebrations would follow not only for the full ratification of the charter but also the entering into force of the new basic law of ASEAN, "It will be a rules-based and people-oriented organization with its own legal personality".<ref name="bernama"/>

==Launch==
On 15 December 2008, the members of ASEAN met in the [[Indonesia]]n capital of [[Jakarta]] to launch the charter, signed in November 2007, with the aim of moving closer to "an EU-style community".<ref name=AFPCharter>{{cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gT16o2eXYrGL-35uoUD0fKcRPlDw|title='Momentous' day for ASEAN as charter comes into force|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=15 Dec 2008|access-date=16 Dec 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090114201405/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gT16o2eXYrGL-35uoUD0fKcRPlDw| archive-date= 14 January 2009 | url-status= dead}}</ref><ref name=BBCCharter>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7783073.stm|title=South East Asia to launch charter|author=Lucy Williamson|publisher=BBC|date=15 Dec 2008|access-date=16 Dec 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081216223650/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7783073.stm| archive-date= 16 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> The charter turned ASEAN into a legal entity and aimed to create a single free-trade area for the region encompassing 600 million people. [[President of Indonesia|Indonesian President]] [[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]] stated: "This is a momentous development...ASEAN is...transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift", he added, referring to climate change and economic upheaval. Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s".

The [[2008 financial crisis]] was identified as a threat to the goals envisioned by the charter.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/asean-launches-charter-under-shadow-of-crisis-idUSTRE4BE0NV/ |title=ASEAN launches charter under shadow of crisis | first1=Olivia |last1=Rondonuwu |last2=Suhartono | first2=Harry | work=[[Reuters]] | date=15 December 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081220192555/http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-37031520081215| archive-date=20 December 2008 | url-status=live}}</ref> The most controversial part of the charter was the proposed human rights body, details of which were to be hammered out at the summit in February 2009. The body would not have the power to impose sanctions or punish countries that violate citizens' rights and would therefore be limited in effectiveness, this is said to be the effect of the ASEAN Charter saying that it is supposed to not interfere with local political issue of the member states.<ref name=IHTCharter>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/15/asia/AS-ASEAN-Charter.php|title=ASEAN charter comes into force|work=International Herald Tribune|date=15 Dec 2008|access-date=16 Dec 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081218150438/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/15/asia/AS-ASEAN-Charter.php| archive-date= 18 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Bandung Conference#Declaration]] - principles of non-interference

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20240107072407/https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/images/archive/publications/ASEAN-Charter.pdf ASEAN Charter]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061220122355/http://www.iseas.edu.sg/Framing_ASEAN_Charter.pdf Framing the ASEAN charter: an ISEAS perspective]

{{Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)}}

[[Category:ASEAN laws]]
[[Category:Political charters]]
[[Category:Treaties concluded in 2007]]
[[Category:Treaties entered into force in 2008]]
[[Category:Treaties of Singapore]]
[[Category:Treaties of Brunei]]
[[Category:Treaties of Laos]]
[[Category:Treaties of Malaysia]]
[[Category:Treaties of Cambodia]]
[[Category:Treaties of Vietnam]]
[[Category:Treaties of Myanmar]]
[[Category:Treaties of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Treaties of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Treaties of Thailand]]
[[Category:ASEAN treaties|*]]
[[Category:Treaties establishing intergovernmental organizations]]
[[Category:2007 in Singapore]]

ASEAN Charter - Revision history

imported>Ultra 348 at 14:21, 16 April 2025