Editing ASEAN (section)

===The ASEAN Charter===
On 15 December 2008, the member states met in [[Jakarta]] to launch the charter signed in November 2007, to move closer to "an [[European Union|EU]]-style community".<ref name="AFPCharter">{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/momentous-day-for-asean-as-charter-comes-into-force-20081215-6yx4.html|title='Momentous' day for ASEAN as charter comes into force|website=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=15 December 2008|access-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> The charter formally established ASEAN as a legal entity, aiming to create a single trade bloc for a region encompassing 500 million people. Indonesian president [[Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono]] stated: "This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating, and transforming itself into a community. It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift". Referring to climate change and economic upheaval, he concluded: "Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s".

The [[2008 financial crisis]] was seen as a threat to the charter's goals,<ref name="ReutersCharter">{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-37031520081215|title=ASEAN launches charter under shadow of crisis|author1=Olivia Rondon |author2=Suhartono, Harry|work=Reuters |date=15 December 2008|access-date=16 December 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081220192555/http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-37031520081215| archive-date= 20 December 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref> and also set forth the idea of a proposed human rights body to be discussed at a future summit in February 2009. This proposition caused controversy, although the body would not have the power to impose sanctions or punish countries which violated citizens' rights and would, therefore, be limited in effectiveness.<ref name="IHTCharter">{{cite news|title=ASEAN charter comes into force |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/15/asia/AS-ASEAN-Charter.php |access-date=12 May 2015 |work=International Herald Tribune |via=Associated Press |date=15 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090210032138/http://iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/15/asia/AS-ASEAN-Charter.php |archive-date=10 February 2009 }}</ref> The body was established later in 2009 as the [[ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights]] (AICHR).

In November 2012, the commission adopted the [[ASEAN Human Rights Declaration]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wong|first1=Chun Han|title=Asean Human-Rights Pledge Leaves Critics Cool|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323353204578126803863141948|access-date=8 February 2015|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] Asia|date=18 November 2012|archive-date=30 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930053136/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323353204578126803863141948|url-status=live}}</ref> However, their human rights declaration has been critiqued widely by the international community, with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating that the declaration was worded in problematic ways that do not easily align with international norms. Likewise, the [[Human Rights Watch]] in the [[United States of America]] noted several important fundamental rights were omitted or not clearly established.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The ASEAN Political-Security Community and Its Dilemmas {{!}} The SAGE Handbook of Asian Foreign Policy – Credo Reference |url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/sageukasian/the_asean_political_security_community_and_its_dilemmas/0 |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=search.credoreference.com}}</ref>

The chairmanship of ASEAN rotates among the member states. [[Malaysia]] holds the position for 2025. Recent ASEAN chairs are as follows:<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASEAN Chairmanship Role |url=https://asean.org/category/chairmanship/ |access-date=January 15, 2025 |website=ASEAN Website}}</ref> 
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|+ASEAN Chairs
!Year
!Country
|-
|2008|| rowspan="2" |{{flag|Thailand}}
|-
|2009
|-
|2010||{{flag|Vietnam}}
|-
|2011||{{flag|Indonesia}}
|-
|2012||{{flag|Cambodia}}
|-
|2013||{{flag|Brunei}}
|-
|2014||{{flag|Myanmar}}
|-
|2015||{{flag|Malaysia}}
|-
|2016||{{flag|Laos}}
|-
|2017||{{flag|Philippines}}
|-
|2018||{{flag|Singapore}}
|-
|2019||{{flag|Thailand}}
|-
|2020||{{flag|Vietnam}}
|-
|2021||{{flag|Brunei}}
|-
|2022||{{flag|Cambodia}}
|-
|2023||{{flag|Indonesia}}
|-
|2024||{{flag|Laos}}
|-
|2025
|{{flag|Malaysia}}
|}