NEW YORK, July 19 (PNA) — Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. introduced before the UN General Assembly Wednesday, the first-ever commemorative resolution by a regional organization, entitled “Commemoration on the fiftieth anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations” (A/71/L.76).
The resolution was adopted by consensus with 67 Member States as co-sponsors.
“Fifty years ago, when ASEAN was established by the Bangkok Declaration of 08 August 1967, the Founding Fathers envisioned an organization with the primary objective of promoting regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter,” Ambassador Locsin said before the 92nd Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.
The resolution seeks to raise awareness of ASEAN as a regional organization that promotes multilateralism and regional peace, stability and prosperity, and highlights complementarities between the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2025: Forging Ahead Together and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Ambassador Locsin stressed that ASEAN continues to see a growing interest of Member States to link with ASEAN through the designation of over 80 Ambassadors to ASEAN in Jakarta (Secretariat). “We look forward to developing friendly relations and mutually beneficial ties with other Members of the United Nations in accordance with the ASEAN Charter,” Ambassador Locsin added.
The resolution was sponsored by the 10 ASEAN Member States, together with 57 UN Member States, including ASEAN Dialogue Partners, members of the European Union and by partners from across the regions of the Asia-Pacific, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean.
“This resolution not only commemorates 50 years of ASEAN, but also celebrates 50 years of robust partnerships, pioneering initiatives and the power of possibilities through constructive engagements with the Members of the United Nations, to achieve our collective goals of inclusive growth and sustained peace,” Ambassador Locsin concluded.
ASEAN is home to over 630 million people, almost 9 percent of the world population. The ASEAN Community was formally established in December 2015 with a vision for a politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible, people-oriented and people-centered community, underpinned by three (3) Pillars: the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC). (DFA-PR/PNA)