2007年VOA标准英语-ASEAN Agrees to Draft Charter For First Time in

By Douglas Bakshian
Cebu, Philippines
13 January 2007

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have authorized¹ the drawing up of a charter that would give their organization a legal basis for the first time since it was founded four decades ago. Douglas Bakshian reports from the ASEAN summit in the Philippine city of Cebu.

 

ASEAN leaders wave as they pose for a group photo prior to the official opening of the ASEAN summit,  13 Jan 2007

The summit endorsed² a charter framework that was drawn³ up by a group of former and current senior ASEAN officials. The document is designed to make ASEAN a more modern, effective and credible⁴ organization.

 

ASEAN has always been run on a consensus⁵ basis. This was feasible at the group's founding in 1967, when it consisted of only five member-nations. But now it has 10 members representing a population of more than 560 million people. These nations are at widely differing levels of wealth and development, and consensus is not always easy to achieve. More formal processes were needed.

 

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos, the head of the panel drafting the charter, says ASEAN must keep in step with the times.

 

"This is now the 21st century, 39-and-a-half years after the Bangkok Declaration of 1967 (ASEAN's founding). The world has changed…. And so with that as the reality today, we must understand that ASEAN must transform into a more credible institution with a legal personality," said Ramos.

 

Since its inception⁶, ASEAN has also operated on the principle of non-interference in member nations' domestic affairs. But the Burmese government's harsh political repression⁷ has embarrassed the other governments, and they have pressed Burma to move more quickly towards democracy.

Malaysia's former deputy prime minister, Musa Hitam, also of the draft charter group, says a consensus system is no longer enough in a case like this.

 

"The consensus system of decision-making is to be retained. But in more serious, important matters, if consensus could not be achieved, voting is provided for," he said.

 

The charter would include systems to monitor and enforce agreements, to establish panels that can reach binding⁸ decisions on disputes, and to sanction members for major breaches¹⁰ of the rules.

"And if there is a serious breach⁹ of fundamental provisions of the charter, then our recommendation is that the ASEAN leaders should be empowered to take measures to redress¹¹ such non-compliance," explained Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar. "These measures may include the temporary suspension of the rights and privileges of membership. And of course, in extreme cases, expulsion is not to be ruled out."

 

The leaders formally endorsed the report on the charter framework Saturday. Officials hope to have a final charter ready for approval when the next summit is held in Singapore at the end of this year.

1 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

2 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 credible   

adj.可信任的，可靠的

参考例句：

• The news report is hardly credible.这则新闻报道令人难以置信。
• Is there a credible alternative to the nuclear deterrent?是否有可以取代核威慑力量的可靠办法？

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

6 inception   

n.开端，开始，取得学位

参考例句：

• The programme has been successful since its inception.这个方案自开始实施以来一直卓有成效。
• Julia's worked for that company from its inception.自从那家公司开办以来，朱莉娅一直在那儿工作。

7 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。

8 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

9 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

10 breaches   

破坏( breach的名词复数 )； 破裂； 缺口； 违背

参考例句：

• He imposed heavy penalties for breaches of oath or pledges. 他对违反誓言和保证的行为给予严厉的惩罚。
• This renders all breaches of morality before marriage very uncommon. 这样一来，婚前败坏道德的事就少见了。

11 redress   

n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除

参考例句：

• He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
• Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。