The first five months of 2009 were a challenging time for the organs of international organisations charged with excluding member states for violations of democracy and human rights. In January the leaders of ECOWAS decided to bar the military leaders of Guinea from attending meetings of the organisation; in May the military regime of Fiji was suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum; and in the space of ten days in March, both the AU and SADC suspended Madagascar following an unconstitutional change of government. As the year progressed, other organisations were faced with difficult decisions – ASEAN again came under pressure to exclude Burma's military regime, particularly now that the ASEAN Charter obligates members to act in accordance with ‘democracy and constitutional government’ and ‘the promotion and protection of human rights’. In September the Commonwealth fully suspended Fiji from membership due to human rights violations and the failure of the military regime to achieve satisfactory progress in returning to democracy. Towards the end of the year the European Commission published its annual strategy document on the enlargement of the EU. The document discussed the applicants' progress during 2009 in terms of compliance with democracy and the rule of law, and human rights and the protection of minorities. Even in the most recent membership decision of the UN, the admission of Montenegro in June 2006, General Assembly members commented favourably on Montenegro's democratic credentials and its commitment to a multiethnic society, suggesting that such attributes bolstered its claim to membership.