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Why Indonesia was last to ratify the ASEAN Charter
It is something of an irony that Indonesia was the last of the 10 ASEAN member countries to ratify the ASEAN Charter, considering it was one of the first to propose its birth
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It is something of an irony that Indonesia was the last of the 10 ASEAN member countries to ratify the ASEAN Charter, considering it was one of the first to propose its birth.
Even military-ruled Myanmar, with its tainted reputation of human rights abuses, overtook Indonesia in signing the document that would make all members abide by its provisions, including the protection of rights.
But Myanmar and Indonesia are worlds apart: The latter is an emerging democracy while the former is a country with no democracy at all.
Indonesia's Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda once said it would be quite a challenge for Indonesia to complete the ratification of the ASEAN Charter as quickly as its peers, with the nation's "strong democracy" being behind all the hurdles.
Unlike other member states, Indonesia must obtain the approval of the House of Representatives before the president can go ahead with the ratification.
"The ratification process depends on the legal system of each ASEAN country," Hassan once said, adding that the ratification process in Indonesia and the Philippines would take longer than in any other member countries.
Ratifying the charter turned out to be quite easy for countries with democracy lagging behind Indonesia, whose parliament and civil society groups are known for their strong voices.
It took Indonesian lawmakers a year to finish the deliberation with many at loggerheads over the unclear authority of the regional human rights body and the lengthy decision-making mechanism in the charter.
The main concern was whether it would bring substantial benefits to Indonesians and if it would ensure that all members could be held accountable for any violations.
Experts have also added their voices to the chorus of disapproval, citing concerns the charter has been heavily watered down from its original form to accommodate the member states' varying levels of democracy, freedom of expression and human rights.
The lengthy process of hearings and consultations with lawmakers dragged on without much progress as, one by one, the other members signed up.
Singapore was able to put the charter into force immediately as its government has the power to ratify international treaties, and Malaysia had no difficulty with the ratification with ruling party UMNO dominating the parliament.
Vietnam, whose sole communist party appointed the same executives who signed the charter, had a smooth path to ratification and Cambodia, with Prime Minister Hun Sen in full control of the government, also had no problems.
The surprise came from Myanmar as many observers believed the junta would try to delay ratification over the human rights protection provisions. Yet somehow or other they signed it in July and left it with the ASEAN Secretariat during the ministerial meeting in Singapore the same month.
That stubborn Myanmar ratified the charter despite its poor rights record increased the pressure on Indonesia, as lawmakers and experts cast an even more pessimistic eye over the "toothless" charter: How much it would effectively improve the enforcement of human rights in the region?
When the House of Representatives finally ended the heated debate by ratifying the charter on Oct. 21, this last question remained unanswered. Only time will tell whether the charter will indeed help improve people's lives -- or whether it is just another scrap of paper from the elites' talkfest.
