The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Dec. 16 commemorated the first anniversary of the ASEAN Charter by hosting the 2nd ASEAN Secretariat Policy Forum at its secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Present at the forum titled “The ASEAN Charter: One Year On”, were ASEAN General Secretary Surin Pitsuwan, ambassadors of the ASEAN countries based in Jakarta, heads of permanent missions to ASEAN, and many other diplomats.

In his opening remarks, Pitsuwan said the charter reflects aspiration of the governments and people of the ASEAN member nations in building the ASEAN Community by 2015 in three pillars: politics-security, economy, and culture-society.

The bloc has, over the past year, made progress especially in developing mechanisms towards an integrated ASEAN, he said, adding that the group however faced various difficulties and challenges.

The general secretary stressed that it was time for all the ASEAN member countries to make greater efforts to bring the charter into life.

Singaporean Ambassador Tun Musa Hitam, Chairman of the Eminent Persons Group, and a number of other diplomats hailed the establishment of the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights as the most outstanding results of the implementation of the charter.

They also pointed to agreements on diplomatic privileges and exemptions for individuals who perform the ASEAN’s official tasks within the region and strides in building the ASEAN Economic Community.

ASEAN groups include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam./.