1. To maintain and enhance peace, security and stability and further strengthen peace-oriented values in the region;
2. To enhance regional resilience by promoting greater political, security, economic and socio-cultural co-operation;
3. To preserve Southeast Asia as a Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and free of all other weapons of mass destruction;
4. To ensure that the peoples and Member States of Asean live in peace with the world at large in a just, democratic and harmonious environment;
5. To create a single market and production base which is stable, prosperous, highly competitive and economically integrated with effective facilitation for trade and investment in which there is free flow of goods, services and investment; facilitated movement of business persons, professionals, talents and labour; and freer flow of capital;
6. To alleviate poverty and narrow the development gap within Asean through mutual assistance and co-operation;
7. To strengthen democracy, enhance good governance and the rule of law, and to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, with due regard to the rights and responsibilities of the member states of Asean;
8. To respond effectively, in accordance with the principle of comprehensive security, to all forms of threats, transnational crimes and transboundary challenges;
9. To promote sustainable development so as to ensure the protection of the region’s environment, the sustainability of its natural resources, the preservation of its cultural heritage and the high quality of life of its peoples;
10. To develop human resources through closer co-operation in education and life-long learning, and in science and technology, for the empowerment of the peoples of Asean and for the strengthening of the Asean community;
11. To enhance the well-being and livelihood of the peoples of Asean by providing them with equitable access to opportunities for human development, social welfare and justice;
12. To strengthen co-operation in building a safe, secure and drug-free environment for the peoples of Asean;
13. To promote a people-oriented Asean in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate in, and benefit from, the process of Asean integration and community building;
14. To promote an Asean identity through the fostering of greater awareness of the diverse culture and heritage of the region; and
15. To maintain the centrality and proactive role of Asean as the primary driving force in its relations and co-operation with its external partners in a regional architecture that is open, transparent and inclusive. (Source: Asean Charter)
The Asean emblem
The Asean emblem represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic Asean.
The colours of the emblem – blue, red, white and yellow – represent the main colours of the crests of all the Asean member states.
The blue represents peace and stability.
Red depicts courage and dynamism.
White shows purity, and yellow symbolises prosperity.
The stalks of padi (rice) represent the dream of Asean’s founding fathers for an Asean comprising all the countries in Southeast Asia, bound together in friendship and solidarity.
The circle represents the unity of Asean. (Source: Asean Charter)
Terms of reference of the Asean Committees in the Third Countries and International Organisations (ACTC)
1. Each ACTC shall be the outpost of Asean in the capital of the host country or the city where the headquarters of the international organisation is located. It shall be responsible to and shall act upon to the instructions of the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting or bodies designated to act on its behalf.
2. Each ACTC shall maintain close contact and co-ordination with the CPR (Committee of Permanent Representatives), the Asean Secretariat, and where appropriate, with the Asean national Secretariat of the Asean Dialogue Co-ordinator concerned.
3. Each ACTC shall establish and maintain close contact and co-ordination with relevant officials of the foreign ministry and other government agencies of the host country or relevant departments of the international organisation concerned.
4. Each ACTC shall organise and/or support activities designed to promote Asean’s interests and identity in the host countries or international organisations concerned.
5. Each ACTC may make relevant recommendations on improving relations with the host country/ international organisation to the CPR/SOM through the Asean Secretariat.
6. Each ACTC shall make representations with the government of the host country or international organisation upon direction of the Asean foreign ministers meeting or bodies designated to act on its behalf. In the Case of the Asean Committees in New York, Geneva, Vienna, the relevant ACTCs shall represent Asean and speak on behalf of Asean in meetings of the UN, UN’s subsidiary bodies in New York, Geneva, Vienna, and UN’s specialised agencies upon instructions, where or when appropriate, from the Asean foreign ministers meetings or bodies designated to act on its behalf. (Adopted by the 43rd Asean Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi in 2010)