On 15 September 2008, Dr. Mun Patanotai, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, in his capacity as Special Envoy of the Royal Thai Government to the Special ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, attended a ceremony to welcome the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Also participating in the event were Dr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, Foreign Ministers and representatives from ASEAN Member States, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, and invited guests, which included the diplomatic corps in Jakarta.
The main objective of the event was to welcome and raise public awareness of the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter, the organization’s highest legislation. The ceremony begun by a minute of silence in memory of H.E. Mr. Ali Alatas, member of the Eminent Persons’ Group for the ASEAN Charter and former Foreign Minister of Indonesia, who passed away last week. The newly dispatched ASEAN Anthem, entitled “The ASEAN Way” was played for the first time at an official ASEAN function. Following the opening ceremony, Dr. Mun Patanotai, in his capacity as the ASEAN Chairman, and President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivered their statements to welcome the Charter’s entry into force.
In his statement, Dr. Mun stressed the importance of an urgent implementation of the provisions stipulated in the ASEAN Charter, including the operationalisation of a number of organs and mechanisms established and strengthened by the Charter, such as the ASEAN Human Rights Body, ASEAN Community Councils and ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanism. These organs would provide benefits for the peoples of ASEAN and lay foundation for ASEAN to achieve its goal of an establishment of the ASEAN Community by 2015.
ASEAN Charter was signed by Leaders of ASEAN Member States last year. It enters into force today after Thailand, the tenth country which ratified the Charter, submitted its instrument of ratification to the Secretary-General of ASEAN on 15 November 2008.
ASEAN Charter provides legal entity for ASEAN to make it a more ruled-based, effective and instrumental framework organization. The Charter also aims to transform ASEAN into a more people-centred organization by a reform and establishment of a number of institutions and mechanisms within ASEAN to protect and promote benefits of ASEAN peoples, such as the ASEAN Human Rights Body and the three ASEAN Community Councils.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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