Malaysia is one of Asia's biggest employers of foreign labour. But recently, cases of deaths, abuse and forced labour have come to light. What is going on? Who is protecting these migrant workers?
Leaders of the 10 members of
the organization, known as Asean, agreed to establish a free-trade zone by 2015,
intensify their fight against terrorism, protect the region’s migrant workers
and improve their campaign against H.I.V./AIDS. They also agreed to draft a new
charter with broad enforcement powers — a break from the 40-year-old group’s
tradition of consensus and noninterference.
<P>“We want to advance the
sense of community in our shared interest to look after each other in terms of
justice, economic development and common security,” President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo of the Philippines said during her speech at the opening of the meeting.</P><P>Mrs.
Arroyo emphasized Asean’s drive to expand trade, “to create one of the
world’s greatest trading blocs.”</P><P>But the group failed to find
common ground on Myanmar, formerly Burma. On Friday, China and Russia vetoed a
United States resolution in the United Nations Security Council that criticized
Myanmar’s persecution of opposition groups.</P><P>“How are we going
to help you if you are not making progress?” Indonesia’s president,
Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono, told Myanmar’s officials late Friday, according
to Reuters.</P><P>Nitya Pibulsonggram, Thailand’s foreign minister, told
reporters on Saturday that Asean should redouble its efforts “to see what
we can do to help one another,” to give the Myanmar issue what he called
“a regional focus” rather than “have it internationalized.”</P><P>Asean’s
new charter, which will be drafted this year, is expected to include mechanisms
to monitor and enforce agreements among members, along the lines of the European
Union’s charter.</P><P>Two years ago, Asean formed a body called the Eminent
Persons Group to create guidelines for the new charter. On Friday, it released
a list of 28 recommendations, including the “strengthening of democratic
values, good governance, rejection of unconstitutional and undemocratic changes
of government, respect of the rule of law, including international humanitarian
law, human rights and fundamental freedoms.”</P><P>In a sense, the charter
is a bid to remain relevant as the economic power of China and India grows, something
the group itself acknowledged. “While the Asean charter will bring about
a long overdue legal framework, Asean must reposition itself,” it said in
a statement. “It must address the growing challenges and opportunities of
regional integration, the major shifts in the Asian landscape brought about by
the rise of China and India, and Asia’s widening links with the rest of the
world.” China and India are not members of Asean.</P><P>Asean leaders also
signed a counterterrorism agreement that, among other things, makes it obligatory
for each member country to share information about terrorist suspects and possibly
allow their extradition. The accord called on members to disrupt terrorist financing
and to train counterterrorism forces.</P><P>Southeast Asia is home to some of
the world’s deadliest terrorist groups, among them Jemaah Islamiyah, which
has links to Al Qaeda, and Abu Sayyaf, a group in the southern Philippines.</P><P>Asean’s
members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.</P><P>Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/world/asia/14asean.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1168750800&en=72349414d72afb25&ei=5094&partner=homepage%3Cbr%3E&oref=slogin
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