VietNamNet Bridge – ASEAN renews its commitments to the
promotion and implementation of the rule of law at the national and
international levels in accordance with the fundamental principles of the Charter
of the United Nations (UN).
This was stated by Ambassador Le
Hoai Trung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, on behalf of ASEAN
at the 6th Committee of the UN General Assembly 67 Session on Agenda Item 83
“The rule of law at international and national levels”, in New York on October
10.
Trung emphasised the bloc’s views
that “efforts of the international community in implementing the rule of law
must be based on principles of national ownership, sovereign equality of
States, peaceful settlement of disputes, adherence to a rules-based regime and
respect for territorial integrity.”
He affirmed that adherence to the
rule of law constitutes firm legal foundations for the collective responses and
solutions needed to deal with the many challenges that the international
community is now facing.
Aligned with the principles of
the UN Charter, full implementation of the rule of law at national and
international levels is fundamental to efforts towards a durable peace,
peaceful settlement of disputes, effective protection of human rights and
sustainable economic development, the Vietnamese ambassador said.
Trung elaborated that in the past
year, with the UN’s coordination, concrete progress and endeavour have been
made to realise the central role that the rule of law is taking on the national
and international stages.
He went on: “In this regard,
ASEAN highly appreciates the High-level Meeting on the rule of law under the
auspices of the UN on September 24, 2012 as well as the outcome of the Meeting
which indicates very strong and solemn commitments of all nations in the world
to uphold and implement the rule of law and principles enshrined in the Charter
of the United Nations.
ASEAN also believes that during
this session of the Sixth Committee we should focus on discussing the ways to
realise the commitments made at the High-Level Meeting on the Rule of Law at
national and international levels.
Towards the year 2015 when an ASEAN
Community is established and under this year’s theme of “ASEAN: One Community,
One Destiny”, ASEAN is intensifying efforts aimed at building a rules-based,
people-centred, and fully integrated organisation through the implementation of
the ASEAN Charter.
The ASEAN’s Leaders at the 20th
ASEAN Summit Meeting in Cambodia in April this year emphasised that ASEAN has
come a long way in overcoming many challenges and has achieved much based on
ASEAN’s fundamental principles, such as mutual respect for the independence,
sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all
nations.
The Leaders also expressed
satisfaction with the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Charter,
particularly on the development and adoption of various rules and procedures
for its operationalisation, such as the Agreement on the Privileges and
Immunities of ASEAN, the Protocol to the ASEAN Charter on Dispute Settlement
Mechanism, Rules of Authorization for Legal Transactions under Domestic Laws,
Rules of Procedure for the Conclusion of International Agreements by ASEAN and
Rules of Procedure for the Interpretation for the ASEAN Charter.
Being a people-centred Community,
in the past year ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on
Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection
of the Rights of the Women and Children (ACWC), have stepped up their efforts
to promote the work of ASEAN in the field of Human Rights, including drafting
an important document on human rights, namely the ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration (AHRD). The Declaration, which would be adopted at the 21st ASEAN
Summit in November 2012, is to be a political document that reflects the
aspirations and commitments of ASEAN to the promotion and protection of human
rights.
In the ASEAN’s view, the rule of
law is also an effective tool to promote sustainable economic development. With
this in mind, the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA), which
entered into force recently, contains comprehensive and improved provisions at
par with international best practices on investment liberalisation, protection,
facilitation and promotion.
Through the Agreement, ASEAN aims
to create a free and open investment environment for ASEAN member states and to
promote further cooperation in this field with other partners.
Committed to stability and
security in the region, in addition to effective implementation of the
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) signed between
ASEAN and China, recently ASEAN Senior Officials have made another step forward
to agree on the basic elements of a Regional Code of Conduct in the East Sea
(COC), which would be an important document aimed at promoting peaceful
settlement of international disputes, mutual trust and lasting peace and
stability in the region.
In this regard, ASEAN noted the
growing interests of other countries to accede to ASEAN’s key legal documents
such as the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) and to
respect the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (SEANWFZ).”
The Vietnamese diplomat
reiterated ASEAN’s commitment to the building of a community of Southeast Asian
nations that is firmly grounded upon the rule of law at national, regional and
international levels.
“A rules-based, people-centred
and more integrated Community would enable us to play a greater role in the
advancement of the rule of law, and to promote prosperity and security in the
region as well as to be an effective partner of the UN and other countries,”
Trung concluded.
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