BACKGROUND OF THE ROUNDTABLE

1. The Expert Roundtable Discussion on the “Road to Ratification and Implementation of the ASEAN Charter” was jointly organized by the ASEAN Studies Centre (ASC), Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, and the Habibie Center, Indonesia, on 17 July 2008 in Jakarta. The objective of the expert discussion was to help illuminate the provisions of the ASEAN Charter.

2. The Expert Roundtable Discussion was organized to provide a platform for ASEAN representatives, scholars, the media, members of the Indonesian Parliament, Indonesian officials, the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Foundation, and other opinion-makers to voice their views on the ASEAN Charter. The List of Participants appears in ANNEX 1.

THE ASEAN CHARTER

3. The idea of drafting an ASEAN Charter was proposed during the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane in 2004. One year later, the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur appointed the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and asked the EPG to produce “bold and visionary” ideas and recommendations for the projected Charter. The EPG Report was submitted to ASEAN leaders at their Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, in January 2007. This paved the way for the appointment of the High Level Task Force (HLTF) of government officials of ASEAN during the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Manila in 2006 to draft the Charter.

4. In November 2007, ASEAN leaders signed a historic Charter, designed to help bring the region together as one community. The Charter elaborates on principles and rules for ASEAN and gives the Association a stronger collective voice in the international community while promoting compliance with ASEAN agreements.

5. The Charter calls for the establishment of ASEAN Community Councils covering political and security, economic, and sociocultural matters; codifies ASEAN norms not only for interstate relations, but also for the internal governance of states; places on ASEAN leaders the responsibility for making decisions in case consensus fails at lower levels; expands somewhat the mandate and authority of the ASEAN Secretariat and the Secretary General, particularly on matters of compliance; restructures the ASEAN organization, and confers legal personality on the Association.