Meeting of the SEANWFZ Commission

Several legal instruments relating to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty that are expected to be signed during the 45th AMM/PMC/19TH ARF/2ND EAS FMM would be considered by the Meeting of the SEANWFZ Commission to be held in Phnom Penh on Sunday, 8 July, 2012.

The Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States attending the Commission are expected to give the go-ahead for three main legal instruments to be signed.

The first instrument is the Statement on the Protocol to the Treaty on Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ). Through this Statement, the States Parties to the Treaty welcome the agreement of the five Nuclear Weapon States – China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the UK and the US - to sign the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty. The Statement will be signed by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers on 9 July. A day later, on 10 July, the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN and the Foreign Minister of China will sign the MOU Between the State Parties to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and China on the Treaty and Its Protocol. The MOU will clarify the understanding among the States Parties, i.e. ASEAN Member States and China, on the application of the Treaty and the Protocol. And finally, on 12 July, the five NWS will sign the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty. The Protocol is a legal instrument for the five Nuclear Weapon States to respect and recognize the goal and objective of the 1995 SEANWFZ Treaty. The signing of the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty is a testament to their support and recognition of the Treaty. 

The SEANWFZ Commission would also consider the progress on the Implementation of the Plan of Action to Strengthen the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (2007-2012)

ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting with AICHR

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) will be submitting the draft ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM)  when the AICHR Representatives meet the Foreign Ministers on Sunday, 8 July 2012, at the Peace Palace in Phnom Penh. The Meeting is part of the whole series of Meetings of the 45thAMM/Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC)/19TH ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)/2ND East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign  Ministers Meeting (EAS FMM) that will be held in Phnom Penh from 8 July to 13 July 2012.

Under its TOR Article 4.2, AICHR is mandated “To develop an ASEAN Human Rights Declaration with a view to establishing a framework for human rights cooperation through various ASEAN conventions and other instruments dealing with human rights”. This landmark document will reflect ASEAN’s aspirations and commitments to the promotion and protection of human rights.

AICHR will also be submitting their 2012 AICHR Annual Report which details AICHR’s activities, the challenges AICHR faced in the past year and what AICHR plans to do for the year ahead.

ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM)

Senior Officials from the ASEAN Member States would be arriving in Phnom Penh tomorrow to prepare for the series of meetings of the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN. The 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM)/Post-Ministerial Conferences (PMC)/19th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)/2nd East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers Meeting will kick off this Sunday, 8 July 2012 and conclude on Friday, 13th July 2012 at the Peace Palace.

The ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (ASEAN SOM) on 6-7 July 2012 is expected to discuss the preparations for each of the meetings including the issues to be discussed at the Foreign Ministers’ meetings. These include the progress of ASEAN Community-building such as the draft Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Institute of Peace and Reconciliation (AIPR), draft ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of the Parties to the South China Sea. The progress of the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan II is also on the agenda of the SOM. 

The officials would also be considering the relevant instruments for the accession of the European Union and the United Kingdom to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. Several instruments involving the signing by the Nuclear Weapon States to the Protocol of the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) would also be considered.