A regional human rights commission was created yesterday with the approval of Southeast Asian foreign ministers. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said that among the issues on which there was agreement among the ASEAN Foreign Ministers is the inclusion of a provision in the ASEAN Charter that mandates the creation of a human rights body. The commission was created over the protests of Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Some ASEAN countries fear scrutiny of their human rights record, and the group has traditionally held to a cardinal policy of noninterference in each other’s affairs. Human rights groups complain that this noninterference principle fostered undemocratic governments in the region. Romulo revealed that the creation of such a body would give ASEAN "more credibility in the international community."

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said that they have agreed that there will be a human rights body and it was made with the consensus of everyone involve. He was also hopeful that the charter will be signed come this November in Singapore when it will take over the chairmanship of ASEAN. Yeo is also optimistic about the settlement of the details and that everything will work out by the time the ASEAN leaders hold their annual summit in November.

Noncompliance with ASEAN rules were left to the discretion of the presidents and prime ministers concerned. Lingering disputes over human rights and ASEAN’s long tradition of keeping out of each other’s internal affairs, have left key issues unresolved as the regional bloc prepares to approve the charter.

About 90% of the charter has already been approved and agreed upon by the the diplomats despite failure to agree upon some salient matters like how to operate under the new charter and punishment or sanction those that do not abide by the new rules.