Working Group Looks Forward to a People-Centered ASEAN Charter

Manila, Philippines- As work on the final draft of the ASEAN Charter is progressing, so is civil society’s interest in its contents. Ambassador Rosario Manolo, head of the ASEAN High-Level Task Force (HLTF) that is tasked with preparing the draft, met with Philippine civil society groups to orient them on the draft’s developments. Deputy Secretary-General Ray Paolo Santiago and Program Officer Maita Chan-Gonzaga of the Working Group secretariat attended the session held at the Blas F. Ople Hall of the Department of Foreign Affairs in March 5, 2007.

Manalo informed the groups that the HLTF wanted to produce a document that was “people-oriented”. As such, a region-wide consultation will be held on March 27, 2007, just one day shy from the HLTF meeting in Manila. HLTF members that are expected to be present are Ambassador Manalo, Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak of Malaysia, and a special assistant to the ASEAN secretary-general. Each ASEAN member-state is entitled to send six NGO representatives to the consultation, two participants from each of the 3 pillars of ASEAN (security, economic, socio-cultural). The Working Group will be present in the activity.

“We are thankful that the HLTF is open to consulting with civil society. The Working Group will indeed continue to engage Ambassador Manalo and other members of the HLTF where we can,” says Santiago. He adds, “If the HLTF wants a document that is people-centered, then they must conduct consultations where they can, and include references to human rights and the establishment of a regional human rights mechanism in the draft Charter.”

The final draft of the Charter will be presented by the HLTF to ASEAN heads of state in November 2007. They were tasked to create the draft after the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu after the Eminent Person’s Group for an ASEAN Charter (EPG), composed of former statesmen and esteemed leaders from the region, submitted a report on their recommendations for inclusion in the Charter. In the statement, the EPG recognized the creation of an ASEAN human rights mechanism as “a worthy idea that should be pursued”.