ASEAN urged to set rules on human rights

ASEAN urged to set rules on human rights

Jasbint Singh, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia's leader urged Southeast Asian nations to establish common guidelines for human rights and democracy as a step toward a European Union-style integration of the region's varied political and economic systems.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should set up benchmarks for good governance and the elimination of corruption.

"ASEAN must be seen as a pro-active and progressive regional organization fully attuned to current international concerns," Abdullah told a conference on strengthening the 10-member grouping.

Last year, ASEAN leaders launched an ambitious attempt to pull their diverse governments -- which include an absolute monarchy in Brunei, communist governments in Vietnam and Laos, and fledgling democracies in Thailand and the Philippines -- into a Europe-style economic community by 2020.

Malaysia will take over as chairman of ASEAN next year. About 120 people, mostly Malaysian senior government officials and academics, took part in the conference.

Abdullah said ASEAN countries "must be seen to be managing effectively any intra-regional problem which affects ASEAN credibility" in the region or abroad.

However, he did not address international concerns about alleged human rights abuses in Myanmar, which threaten to scuttle a planned summit between ASEAN and the European Union in October.

The EU demands that Myanmar, an ASEAN member, be kept out of the summit because of its military regime's refusal to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.

Abdullah said ASEAN must adhere to a common set of values on matters such as human rights and good governance in moving toward the EU-style integration.

"There must be adherence by community members to a common set of community values," Abdullah said. "These will help in establishing standards of good conduct among community members and ... provide credibility for ASEAN to take its rightful place in the international community."

Abdullah said ASEAN should merge law enforcement and counterterrorism centers in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia into a regional institution.

He also proposed a "network of national peacekeeping centers" to "coordinate to provide a pool of trained personnel capable of providing peacekeeping services at the regional or international level." He did not elaborate.

ASEAN's members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.