ASEM backs stepped up UN role

ASEM backs stepped up UN role

Associated Press, Hanoi

Asian and European leaders endorsed a stronger role for the United Nations and a multilateral approach to issues including terrorism, regional security and trade as their two-day summit drew to a close in Hanoi on Saturday.

While the leaders emphasized their unity in a joint communique issued at the meeting's end, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) forum has been overshadowed by the European Union's objections to new member Myanmar and its poor human rights record.

In the statement, the leaders said the United Nations should take a central role in confronting the challenges of terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and globalization.

Condemning terrorist attacks in Indonesia, Spain and Russia, the leaders "stressed that the fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive approach, collective efforts and international cooperation where the United Nations plays the leading role," the statement said.

The forum also urged "accelerated reform" of the United Nations and its Security Council to increase the world body's effectiveness.

The two days of closed sessions covered a wide range of issues, including Myanmar's human rights record, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, and Iraq's instability.

Declarations were also released on forming closer economic partnerships. Vietnam and the EU concluded a bilateral trade accord Saturday, giving Hanoi a major boost in its bid to join the World Trade Organization by next year.

In its final nine-page statement, the forum urged Myanmar's ruling junta to lift restrictions on political parties and allow an open debate about democratic reform.

The EU and Asian nations were deadlocked for months over Myanmar's participation at the summit, with the EU strongly objecting to human rights abuses by Myanmar's military junta and its detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

A last-minute compromise allowed Myanmar to be represented by a lower-level delegation but the EU imposed a deadline for the country's military rulers to release Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, from house arrest by this past Friday, or face further political and economic sanctions.

There has been no response from Myanmar about the deadline.

The joint statement also referred to Asian and European concern over the illicit trade related to nuclear material and repeated "strong resolve not to allow WMD and their means of delivery to fall into terrorist hands".

It expressed support for a peaceful resolution of the dispute over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. Other challenges include environmental degradation and climate change, the spread of infectious diseases, and the negative impact of globalization, the forum said.