4-3-08PHNOM PENH (AFP)--Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni has ratified a landmark new human rights charter aimed at transforming the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
The king ratified it on Monday, making Cambodia the sixth member of the bloc to do so, the ministry said in a statement.
The charter, signed in Singapore last year, aims to commit the region's disparate nations to promoting human rights and democratic ideals while setting out principles and rules for members.
"The Asean Charter is an historic milestone document," the ministry said.
"All Asean member countries are fully committed to bring the charter into force by the time of the next Asean summit in Thailand later this year," the statement added.
Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have already ratified the charter, which also transforms the 40-year-old Asean into a legal entity, giving it greater clout in international negotiations.
The bloc wants all 10 members to ratify it before an annual summit in Thailand in December.
The charter was the result of a long, controversial drafting process that saw some of the strong recommendations from elder statesmen watered down or dropped, including provisions on sanctions and expulsion.
Asean's original five members were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam joined later.
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