외교부

WE, the Heads of State/Government of Brunei Darussalam, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Member Countries of ASEAN, on the occasion of the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu;
 
INSPIRED by One Vision, One Identity, the creation of One Community for ASEAN by the year 2020;  

EMBARKING on a momentous undertaking of establishing an ASEAN Community and facilitating its realisation by adopting an ASEAN Charter as stated in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter adopted at the 11th ASEAN Summit on 12 December 2005 in Kuala Lumpur;
 
CONSCIOUS that ASEAN has matured into a regional organisation and is expanding its role as an integrated regional economy and a  dynamic force in  maintaining regional peace and stability as envisaged in the Declaration of ASEAN  Concord II  (Bali Concord II) and its plans of action, roadmaps, and the ASEAN Vision 2020 which envisions ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward-looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in  partnership in dynamic development and in a community of caring societies;

MINDFUL of the immense opportunities and key challenges posed by ASEAN’s regional integration process, rapid globalisation and impact of new technologies, as well as the pressing need to strengthen and reinforce further the existing institutions of ASEAN by providing ASEAN with a legal personality and an efficient structure, which will facilitate the attainment of community objectives;

RECALLING our decision in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the  Establishment of the ASEAN Charter at the 11th ASEAN Summit   to establish the  Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on the ASEAN Charter, whom we mandated to examine and provide practical recommendations on the directions and nature of the ASEAN Charter relevant to the ASEAN Community as envisaged in the Bali Concord II and beyond, taking into account, but not limited to, the principles, values and objectives as contained in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter, and to consider their recommendations at our subsequent meetings;

NOTING that our Ministers have established a High Level Task Force to carry out the drafting of the ASEAN Charter based on the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Establishment of the ASEAN Charter and the recommendations of the EPG;

RECOGNISING the outstanding and comprehensive work of the EPG and its dedication and the efficiency with which it has carried out its mandate, producing the Report of the EPG on the ASEAN Charter;

ACKNOWLEDGING the earnest efforts of the EPG in actively consulting various ASEAN sectors and stakeholders, including  civil society organisations, businessmen, academics and parliamentarians on their views regarding what should be the  key components of an ASEAN Charter and the changes necessary to support the realisation of ASEAN’s community building;  

WE DO HEREBY AGREE :

FIRST, we are committed to establish an ASEAN Charter as a crowning achievement of 40 years of ASEAN to enable ASEAN to meet future challenges and opportunities.

SECOND, we reiterate our conviction that an ASEAN Charter will serve as a firm foundation in achieving one ASEAN Community by providing an enhanced institutional framework as well as conferring a legal personality to ASEAN.

THIRD, we endorse the Report of the EPG on the ASEAN Charter and agree that the High Level Task Force should commence the drafting of the ASEAN Charter based on our directions given at the 11th and 12th ASEAN Summits, the relevant ASEAN documents, together with the EPG recommendations, to be completed in time for the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2007.

DONE at Cebu, Philippines, this Thirteenth Day of January in the Year Two Thousand and Seven, in a single original copy in the English language.

For Brunei Darussalam:

HAJI HASSANAL BOLKIAH
Sultan of Brunei Darussalam

For the Kingdom of Cambodia:

SAMDECH HUN SEN
 Prime Minister

For the Republic of Indonesia:

DR. SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO
President

For the Lao People’s Democratic Republic:

BOUASONE BOUPHAVANH 
 Prime Minister

For Malaysia:

DATO’ SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI
Prime Minister

For the Union of Myanmar:

GENERAL SOE WIN
Prime Minister

For the Republic of the Philippines:

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President

For the Republic of Singapore:

LEE HSIEN LOONG
Prime Minister

For the Kingdom of Thailand:

GENERAL SURAYUD CHULANONT (RET.) 
Prime Minister

For the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam:

NGUYEN TAN DUNG
Prime Minister