Government expects ASEAN Charter to be ratified by July

Tony Hotland , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 03/18/2008 1:13 AM | Headlines

The government expects the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter to be ratified by July after receiving informal approval from the House of Representatives, a Foreign Ministry official said.

"We held two discussions with the House members and, in summary, they will ratify the charter. They just wanted a more thorough explanation about the charter and its ramifications," I Gede Ngurah Swajaya, the ASEAN politics and security director at the ministry, said Monday.

"We will submit the documents to the House in April or May and we expect ratification by July," he said.

The House goes into recess in April. The Constitution mandates House approval for bilateral and multilateral treaties.

The two meetings, Ngurah said, took place on Feb. 10, with experts from think-thanks and universities, and on Feb. 18, with Foreign Ministry officials.

The House members were led by chairman of Commission I for defense, information, foreign and political affairs, Theo Sambuaga.

Ngurah said the House members discussed the decision-making process, sanctions and the creation of a human rights body as stipulated in the legally binding agreement. The agreement was signed by all 10 ASEAN members in Singapore in November last year to see the group become a legal entity.

The ratification deadline is November this year.

Ngurah said the group aimed to reach consensus when decision-making, however, there would be room for voting, even though it was not explicit in the charter.

"On sanctions, the secretary-general has a monitoring task and is obliged to report any non-compliance," said Ngurah.

"As for the human rights body, the charter states it involves the promotion and protection of rights. We're now drafting the terms of reference for this crucial body."

House Commission I expressed reservations about ratifying the charter, saying the government had not consulted the House before signing it.

"We informally consulted faction leaders before signing. Many apparently got no briefing from their faction," said Ngurah.

Commission I chairman Theo Sambuaga said the government was awaiting the submission of the documents and could not confirm a definite ratification.

"I can't say for sure we'll ratify it. Though I can say it will take less time to deliberate because we've met with various experts on the issue," he said.

Theo said the charter was a top priority for the commission, estimating a decision would come out in two to three weeks after the submission to the House.

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