JAKARTA – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations announced Wednesday it has revamped the structure of its secretariat as part of its bid to form an EU-style community by 2015.
The restructuring will see the Jakarta-based secretariat divided into four separate departments covering economic, political and security, community and corporate, and social-cultural affairs, a media statement said.
The move, overseen by Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan, is aimed at creating “the nerve-centre of a strong and confident ASEAN Community” by 2015, it said.
ASEAN member states last year ratified a new charter for the grouping transforming it into a legal entity, setting the state for the creation of a single free trade area for the region’s 500 million people.
The charter is aimed at giving ASEAN, often dismissed as a talking-shop, greater clout in international negotiations, but critics argue that some member states will continue to get away with gross human rights abuses.
ASEAN consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.–Agence France-Presse
July 2025
Nutrition Month
“Give us much more than P50 increase
for proper nutrition!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
July
3 July – International Day of Cooperatives
3 July – International Plastic Bag Free Day
5 July – World Youth Skills Day
7 July – Global Forgiveness Day
11 July – World Population Day
17 July – World Day for International Justice
28 July – World Nature Conservation Day
30 July – World Day against Trafficking in Persons
Monthly Observances:
Schools Safety Month
Nutrition Month
National Disaster Consciousness Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 2: Cultural Communities Week
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise
Development Week
Week 3: National Science and
Technology Week
National Disability Prevention and
Rehabilitation Week
July 1-7:
National Culture Consciousness Week
July 13-19:
Philippines Business Week
Week ending last Saturday of July:
Arbor Week
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
