On the historic occasion of the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2007, the leaders of the ten-member countries signed the ASEAN Charter. This is an important milestone for the regional group as the Charter will make ASEAN stronger, more united and more effective. The Charter embodies the ASEAN community's purposes and principles, organs and decision-making process; a new legal personality; a system for the settlement of disputes; and an ASEAN Human Rights Body.

The Making of the ASEAN Charter captures the insiders' views of the drafting of the Charter and hence is a must-read for anyone interested in ASEAN, international law and the art and science of negotiations

Contents:

Foreword
Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General ASEAN

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1
Heart Labour
Pengiran Dato Paduka Osman Patra, Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam

Chapter 2
Facing Unfair Criticisms
Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi bin Abdul Razak, Ambassador-At-Large,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia

Chapter 3
The Jewel in My Crown
Aung Bwa, Director-General (Rtd.) ASEAN-Myanmar,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Union of Myanmar

Chapter 4
Drafting ASEAN's Tomorrow: The Eminent Persons Group and the ASEAN Charter
Rosario Gonzalez-Manalo, Special Envoy of the President for the ASEAN Charter, Republic of the Philippines

Chapter 5
The Negotiating Process
Tommy Koh, Ambassador-At-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

Chapter 6
The ASEAN Charter Dispute Settlement Mechanisms
Walter Woon, Attorney-General, Singapore

Chapter 7
The Thai Perspective
Pradap Pibulsonggram, Deputy Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand

Chapter 8
The Making of the ASEAN Charter in My Fresh Memories Nguyen Trung Thanh, Ambassador, The Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Singapore

Chapter 9
At Close Quarters with the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter
Ong Keng Yong, Ambassador-At-Large, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Singapore

Chapter 10
In Defence of the ASEAN Charter
Termsak Chalermpalanupap, Special Assistant to ASEAN Secretary-General

Chapter 11
A Long Journey
Dian Triansyah Djani, Director-General for ASEAN Cooperation, Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia

Chapter 12
A Personal Reflection
Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and International Cooperation of Cambodia

Chapter 13
A New Turning Point in the Relations Among the Southeast Asian States
Bounkeut Sangsomak, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Annex 2
ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies

Annex 3
Entities Associated with ASEAN

Annex 4
ASEAN Flag

Annex 5
ASEAN Emblem

Annex 6
List of Members of the High Level Task Force

Annex 7
List of HLTF Meetings

Media Reports:

The Straits Times. 2009. Charter will help Asean in global crisis: George Yeo. 25 February

Channel News Asia. 2008. ASEAN leaders to discuss human rights at upcoming summit . 24 February

Radio 93.8 Live. 2006. ASEAN Human Rights Body to be discussed during Thai summit this weekend . 24 February

The Straits Times. 2009. Book on Asean launched . 23 February

Koh, Tommy, Rosario Gonzalez-Manalo & Walter Woon, eds. 2009. The Making of the ASEAN Charter. Singapore: Institute of Policy Studies and World Scientific Publishing Co. Ltd.

(214 pages, ISBN-13 978-981-283-390-7, ISBN 981-283-390-0)