In my opinion, an inter-governmental organization needs to
accomplish two things to be well respected: 1) the ability to convince the
various stakeholders, each with their own interests and goals, to come to a
consensus and put it in writing as agreements, frameworks, etc and 2) the
strength to enforce them even if they may result in displeasure among some of
the stakeholders.
ASEAN as an organization has certainly come a long way.
While its founding was barely reported in the media and many were rather skeptical
in its ability to achieve something noteworthy, ASEAN now has its own charter
and can claim credits for numerous initiatives & mechanisms such as the
Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism (ESDM) and ASEAN Intergovernmental
Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). These are definitely no mean feat, taking
into consideration the diversity of the Member States that constitute ASEAN.
Hence, the natural step would have been to ask the question on whether they are
enforceable or whether they are binding at all.
A closer look at these initiatives & mechanisms would
give the impression that they are “toothless”. At this point, optimists like to
argue that although they are symbolic in nature, they nonetheless inform us of
the inspirations or the goals of the signatories. In other words, we should
applaud them for having the courage to put their signatures on something that
clearly contradict their domestic environments. Pessimists, on the other hand,
argue that precisely because signatories know very well that there will be no
consequences for deviation that they have no qualms in putting down their
signatures. Both arguments are plausible and you choose a side depending on your inclination.
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