September Holiday Assignment ____He chengwei ( 20 )

What is ASEAN?

 

 

 

ASEAN stands for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an organization that was founded on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand. Its original charter counted five member-countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Since then, five other nations have joined: Brunei in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999.

The member-countries are sprawled over an area of 1.74 million square miles (4.5 million square kilometers) with a combined population of 500 million people. Their annual gross domestic product is almost $700 billion US Dollars (USD), with a total trade of around $850 billion USD.

The ASEAN was set up to advance mutual interests in the region, including the acceleration of economic growth  social and cultural progress, and regional peace and stability. In line with those goals, the organization's leaders set up three "pillars" of governance in 2003: ASEAN Security, ASEAN Economic Community, and ASEAN Socio-cultural Community. 

 

At present, the group's foremost economic concern is to make the region a competitive force on the global stage. It proposes to do this by launching the region as a single market production base, resulting in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). The AFTA ensures that tariff and non-tariff barriers among member countries are eliminated, hopefully resulting in greater economic productivity.

 

The ASEAN also aims to unite the region and promote greater cross-cultural understanding through various educational and social programs. Examples of this include the ASEAN Work Programme for HIV and AIDS; ASEAN Occupational Safety and Health Network; ASEAN University Network (AUN) ASEAN Students Exchange Programme, Youth Cultural Forum, and the ASEAN Young Speakers Forum; among others.

 

As for regional peace and stability, it it interesting to note that since its inception, there have not been any armed confrontations between member countries, which is note-worthy considering there have been many long-standing arguments regarding land and marine borders in the region.

 

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-asean.htm

 

 

What is United Nations

 

 

The flag of the United Nations was adopted on October 20, 1947, and consists of the official emblem of the United Nations in white on a blue background. The emblem's design is described as:

A map of the world representing an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on the North Pole, inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalized branches of the olive tree, . . . The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude, and includes five concentric circles.

—Official Seal and Emblem of the United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, 15 October 1946^.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights
.
Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter, the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum for its 193 Member States to express their views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees.
The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe. Although best known for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many other ways the United Nations and its System (specialized agencies, funds and programmes) affect our lives and make the world a better place. The Organization works on a broad range of fundamental issues, from sustainable development, environment and refugees protection, disaster relief, counter terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, to promoting democracy, human rights, gender equality and the advancement of women, governance, economic and social development and international health, clearing landmines, expanding food production, and more, in order to achieve its goals and coordinate efforts for a safer world for this and future generations.

The UN has 4 main purposes

• To keep peace throughout the world;
• To develop friendly relations among nations;
• To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;
• To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.

Due to its unique international character, and the powers vested in its founding Charter, the Organization can take action on a wide range of issues, and provide a forum for its 193 Member States to express their views, through the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and other bodies and committees.
The work of the United Nations reaches every corner of the globe. Although best known for peacekeeping, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance, there are many other ways the United Nations and its System (specialized agencies, funds and programmes) affect our lives and make the world a better place. The Organization works on a broad range of fundamental issues, from sustainable development, environment and refugees protection, disaster relief, counter terrorism, disarmament and non-proliferation, to promoting democracy, human rights, gender equality and the advancement of women, governance, economic and social development and international health, clearing landmines, expanding food production, and more, in order to achieve its goals and coordinate efforts for a safer world for this and future generations.

 

http://www.un.org/en/mainbodies/

 

 

 

September Holiday Assignment- Mursalina Binte Ismail (6)

ASEAN
/ˈäsēˌän/

Abbreviation: Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

1.   What is ASEAN?

It is a geopolitical and economic organization consisting of Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines. It was formed on August 8, 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines due to the group’s common fear of communism, distrust of external powers and desire for economic development and nation building.
(source: http://internationalinvest.about.com/od/gettingstarted/a/What-Is-Asean-And-Who-Belongs-To-It.htm)

(Image source: http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/02196/regionalpeace.html)

What does the logo or the ASEAN Emblem represent?

It represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic ASEAN. The colours of the Emblem – blue, red, white and yellow- represent the main colours of the state 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 in the centre of the Emblem 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: http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-emblem)

AIMS AND PURPOSES

As set out in the ASEAN Declaration, the aims and purposes of ASEAN are:

1.  To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;

2.  To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;

3.  To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;

4.  To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;

5.  To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;

6.  To promote Southeast Asian studies; and

7.  To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.(source: http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean)

A summaries article on ASEAN: Haze Exposes ASEAN Failure

This year’s Trans boundary haze is worse than in previous years. It is bigger, blacker, thicker, and harder to clear. It caused air pollution indexes to soar to record levels in both Singapore and Malaysia.

Since the haze involves several countries in Southeast Asia, it is futile to put all blame and responsibility on Indonesia alone. What is needed is a regional intervention; and the only institution capable of fulfilling this crucial task is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

Resolving Trans boundary issues is one reason why ASEAN exists. Unfortunately, the current haze disaster reflects the utter failure of ASEAN as a regional grouping.

Indeed, ASEAN initiated various programs to prevent forest fires and Trans boundary haze pollution as early as the 1980s. It has three components: prevention, mitigation, and monitoring. Curiously, it assigned Malaysia to take the lead in prevention, Indonesia in mitigation, and Singapore in monitoring of haze – the three countries that are currently suffering.

In 1999, ASEAN adopted a “zero burning” policy targeted at plantation companies and timber concessionaires. In 2002, the landmark ASEAN Agreement on Trans boundary Haze Pollution was signed by the ten member countries.

In the past decade, ASEAN has spearheaded numerous activities to fight the haze scourge, which ranged from community level fire-fighting programs to high-level task force meetings of country ministers.

Clearly, ASEAN has done many things and used a lot of money to stop the dreaded haze, yet all have been ineffective. The haze has continued to return and worsen year after year.

Today there are demands for an ASEAN intervention to address the haze pollution. Indeed, ASEAN should act quickly but it should stop repeating what it has been doing for the past two decades. Albert Einstein purportedly once quipped that insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Instead of organizing another meeting, workshop, or conference, ASEAN should simply review its records, implement the action plan, enforce the anti-haze agreement, and punish companies that violate environment laws.  

(source:http://thediplomat.com/asean-beat/2013/06/27/haze-exposes-asean-failure/)

2.   What is United Nations (UN)?

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.

(source: http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/)

(source: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/unintro/unintro.asp)

The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. It affords the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems.

The Aims of the United Nations:

·       To keep peace throughout the world.

·       To develop friendly relations between nations.

·       To work together to help people live better lives, to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world, to stop environmental destruction and to encourage respect for each other's rights and freedoms.

·       To be a centre for helping nations achieve these aims.

(source: http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/unintro/unintro2.htm)

What does the logo represent?

Olive branches symbolize peace. The world map depicts the area of concern to the United Nations in achieving its main purpose, peace and security.

Social Studies- Hamdy (19)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN):

What is ASEAN?
ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Its original charter counted five member-countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Since then, five other nations have joined: Brunei in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999.

The ASEAN was set up to advance mutual interests in the region, including the acceleration of economic growth, social and cultural progress, and regional peace and stability.

(http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-asean.htm)

The ASEAN emblem:

(http://www.asean.org/images/ASEAN-Emblem.png)

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 state crests of all the ASEAN Member States.

Blue represents peace and stability.

Red depicts courage and dynamism

White shows purity

Yellow symbolises prosperity.

The stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem 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.

(http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-emblem)

Why was ASEAN formed?

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote political and economic cooperation and regional stability.

(http://www.state.gov/p/eap/regional/asean/)

The objectives of ASEAN:

1.    To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region.

2.    To promote regional peace and stability

3.    To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;

4.    To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;

5.    To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilization of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;

6.    To promote Southeast Asian studies; and

7.    To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves.

(http://en.nep.go.th/asean.php?action=asean_aim)

ASEAN achievements:

In food handling, ASEAN established the “ASEAN General Guidelines on the Preparation and Handling of Halal Food” in the view to further expand intra-ASEAN trade in meat and meat-based products.

Agriculture and Forest Products Promotion:

To promote trade in agriculture and forest products, ASEAN extended  the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on ASEAN Cooperation in Agriculture and Forest Products Promotion Scheme for the another five years, viz. 2004 to 2009.

A number of cooperative projects and activities in fisheries have been implemented among others, Development of Aquaculture, ASEAN Network of Fisheries Post Harvest Technology (FPHT), Harmonisation of Fishery Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures, ASEAN-SEAFDEC Collaboration on Sustainable Fisheries Management in the Southeast Asia Region, and fisheries related projects under the ASEAN Australia Development Cooperation Programme (AADCP)

(http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community/item/major-achievements)

United Nations (UN):

What is United Nations?

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the UN Charter had been ratified by a majority of the original 51 Member States.

The United Nations emblem:

(http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/images_maplib/emblem2.gif)

Olive branches symbolize peace. The world map depicts the area of concern to the United Nations in achieving its main purpose, peace and security.

The United Nations flag:

(http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/images_maplib/unflag.gif)

(http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/flag.htm)

Reason for forming UN:

The purpose of the United Nations is to bring all nations of the world together to work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of all people. It affords the opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and national interests when addressing international problems.

The objectives of UN:

1.     Ensuring a greater coherence of views within the United Nations;

2.     Facilitating a more effective participation of developing countries in global processes;

3.     Achieving a better balance between the global and regional dimensions of development, in terms of analysis, norm and standard setting and technical assistance;

4.     Strengthening the linkages among the UN normative, analytical and operational work

Who are involved in the UN?

There are currently 192 Members of the United Nations. They meet in the General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world parliament. Each country, large or small, rich or poor, has a single vote, however, none of the decisions taken by the Assembly are binding. Nevertheless, the Assembly's decisions become resolutions that carry the weight of world governmental opinion.

(http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/unintro/unintro.asp)

Achievements of the United Nations:

By having deployed 42 peace-keeping forces as of 1996, the UN was able to restore calm to allow the negotiating process to go forward while saving millions of people from becoming casualties of conflicts.

Since 1945, the United Nations has been credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts.

UN agencies have worked to make safe drinking water available to 1.3 billion people in rural areas during the last decade.

(http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/civil_n2/histscript6_n2/un1.html) 

September Holiday Assignment- Erid Adam(34)

ASEAN 

ASEAN is the abbreviation used to recognise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is a geopolitical and economic organisation of ten countries from the Southeast Asia. It was formed on the 8th August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, it's membership has expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Its aims include accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its members, protection of regional peace and stability, and opportunities for member countries to discuss differences peacefully. It's motto is "One Vision, One Identity, One Community".

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 countries. The Southeast Asia bound together in friendship and solidarity. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN. blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and dynamism. White shows purity and yellow symbolises prosperity. The ten stalks of paddy represent the dream of ASEAN's Founding Fathers for an ASEAN comprising all the ten countries in Southeast Asia bound together in friendship and solidarity. The circle represents the unity of ASEAN.

One of the projects ASEAN had was the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution which is an environmental agreement to decrease the haze on Southeast Asia. This agreement was entrenched to react to the land clearing via burning on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. All the countries in the ASEAN, except for Indonesia, signed the agreement. However, Indonesia hopes to ratify the agreement by 2015.

United Nations

The United Nations is an intergovernmental  organisation whose stated aims include promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law and security, economic development, social progress, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, political freedoms, democracy and the achievement of lasting world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.

The current United Nations emblem was approved on 7 December 1946. The design is a map of the world representing an azimuthal equidistant projection centered on the North Pole, inscribed in a wreath consisting of cross conventionalized branches of the olive tree, in gold on a field of smoke-blue with all water areas in white. The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude, and includes five concentric circles. The olive branches symbolise peace. The world map depicts the area of concern to the United Nations in achieving its main purpose, peace and security.

Currently, there are 192 members in the UN. To ensure fairness, every member gets a single vote despite the fortune or the size of the country. Creating this force builds stronger relationships between countries.

http://www.un.org/en/, http://www.asean.org/

September Holiday Assignment - Alfian (25)

1. What is ASEAN?

• ASEAN is an acronym for Association of SouthEast Asian Nations
• Founded on 8 August 1967
• Founding members are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

  Objectives

• Accelerate Economic Growth, Social Progress and cultural development among its members
• Protection of regional peace and stability
• Allow each and every member of ASEAN to discuss differences in agreements peacefully.

  Logo

Photo taken from:  http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/02196/images/aseanlogo.gif

• Firstly, 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 state crests of all the ASEAN Member States
• Secondly, The blue represents peace and stability. Red depicts courage and dynamism, white shows purity and yellow symbolises prosperity
• Thirldy, The stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem represent the dream of ASEAN's Founding Fathers for an ASEAN comprising all the countries in Southeast Asia, bound together in friendship and solidarity
• Lastly, The circle represents the unity of ASEAN.

   Why was it formed?

• The founding ASEAN countries believed that if they formed an association, something like the European Commission, they will have a better chance to negotiate trade deals with more established economies such as Japan, US, China, India.
• This trade deals would greatly benefit the countries that are in ASEAN.
• It also aims to promote cooperation and peace amongst member countries through various avenues such as sports, student exchange, ministerial visits.

   Who are involved?

1. Indonesia
2. Malaysia
3. the Philippines
4. Singapore
5. Thailand
6. Brunei
7. Burma (Myanmar)
8. Cambodia
9. Laos
10. Vietnam

What is United Nations (UN)?

The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization whose stated aims include: 

• Promoting and facilitating cooperation in international law, 
• international security,
• economic development,
• social progress,
• human rights,
• civil rights,
• civil liberties,
• political freedoms,
• democracy,
• and the achievement of lasting world peace.

   

    Why was it formed?

• The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.

   

   Logo

Source: http://static.centralparking.com/pictures/United-Nations-logo.jpg

• Olive branches symbolize peace. The world map depicts the area of concern to the United Nations in achieving its main purpose, peace and security.

     Who are involved?

• The founding of United Nations has 51 members.
• As of now, it has an impressive 193 members out of 196.

All Sources

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nations
3. http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-emblem
4. http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/maplib/flag.htm
5. http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070408043242AAXgYzD

Muhammad Alfian bin Ridwan (3B/25) 19.8.13

September Holiday Assignment - Nabil (28)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is  regionally-based international organisation with ten members created by the virtue of a document signed by the Foreign Ministers of 5 countries, Adam Malik of Indonesia, Narciso R. Ramos of the Philippines, Tun Abdul Razak of Malaysia, S. Rajaratnam of Singapore, and Thanat Khoman of Thailand on the 8th of August 1967. This therefore creates the 8th of August the commeration of the creation of the ASEAN

Source: ASEAN History, http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/history

The ASEAN Logo


Source: ASEAN Emblem, http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-emblem

On the logo, there are several colours, all symbolising a certain aspect about the ASEAN. The blue colours of the text and circle symbolises peace and stability, red typifies courage and positive thinking , white and yellow shows purity and properity respectively. The shape of the emblem, which is a circle, connotes unification. The stalks of padi dreams of the founders of ASEAN, to bound the countries in SEA in friendship and solidarity. This emblem is mainly used to promote ASEAN, its purposes and principles.

Source: (Rephrased from) ASEAN Emblem, http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-emblem

The ASEAN motto is "One Vision, One Identity, One Community".

Source: ASEAN Motto, http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/asean-motto
\
ASEAN Projects

In the 2002s, ASEAN established the  ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution which is an environmental agreement to decrease the haze on Southeast Asia in the 1990s. This agreement was entrenched to react to the land clearing via burning in the Indonesian island in Sumatra. All the countries in the ASEAN, except for Indonesia, signed the agreement. However, Indonesia hopes to ratify the agreement by 2015.

Source: (Rephrased from) ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASEAN_Agreement_on_Transboundary_Haze_Pollution

United Nations (UN)

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the UN Charter had been ratified by a majority of the original 51 Member States. The day is now celebrated each year around the world as United Nations Day.

Source: (Rephrased from), Introduction to the United Nations, http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/unintro/unintro.asp

Logo

Source: United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/maplib/flag.htm

On the logo, the olive branches symbolises peace and the map symbolises the area of concern to the UN to achieve its aims.

Source: (Rephrased from) United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/maplib/flag.htm

Currently, there are 192 members in the UN. To ensure fairness, every member gets a single vote despite the fortune or the size of the country. Creating this force builds stronger relationships between countries.

Source: (Rephrased from)  Introduction to the United Nations, http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/unintro/unintro.asp

The purpose of making this force is to bring all nations together to promote peace and development, based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the welfare of the people.

Source: (Rephrased from) Charter of the United Nations: Chapter I: Purposes and Principles

Muhammad Nabil bin Jasmani (28)

September Holiday Assignment - Nurul Ain Bte Amir (8)

1. What is ASEAN?

Picture taken from: http://library.thinkquest.org/07aug/02196/images/aseanlogo.gif

The Association of Southeast Asian Nation or known as ASEAN was established in 8 August 1967 by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN which is Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia joined later making up today the ten member states of ASEAN.

The motivation for the birth of ASEAN were so that the governing elites could concentrate on nation building, the protection of peace and stability of the region, the common fear of communism, reduced faith in or mistrust of external power and a desire for economic social and cultural development. This will also give them a better chance to negotiate trade deals with more established economics that is beneficial to their region. It also promote cooperation and peace among member countries in various avenue like sports, student exchange, ministerial visits etc...

The aims and purpose of ASEAN are...

1. accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through equality and partnership in order to build a prosperous and peaceful community in Southeast Asia
2. promote regional peace and stability by abiding the rule of law in the relationship among the countries of region and adhering to the principles of the United Nations Charter
3. promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields
4.  provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative field
5. collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples
6. promote Southeast Asian studies
7. maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves

In the relation with one another, ASEAN Member States also adopted the following fundamental principles;

1. Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations
2. The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion
3. Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another
4. Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner
5. Renunciation of the threat or use of force
6. Effective cooperation among themselves

The ASEAN flag is a symbol of Member State's unity and support for the principles and endeavours of ASEAN and is a means to promote greater ASEAN awareness and solidarity. It represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic ASEAN. The colour blue, red, white and yellow represents the main colours of the flags of all member states of the country. Blue represents peace and stability, red represents courage and dynamism, yellow represents prosperity while white represents purity. The stalks of padi in the centre of the Emblem 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 unity.

Taken from: http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070408043242AAXgYzD
                   http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/history
                   http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_purpose_of_ASEAN
            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Southeast_Asian_Nations#cite_note-13


2. What is United Nations?

The United Nations established on 24 October 1945. The day is celebrated each year as United Nations Day around the world. The purpose of United Nations is to bring nations all around the world together to work for peace and development , based on the principles of justice, human dignity and the well-being of people. Affords the opportunity for countries to balance global independence and national interest when addressing international problems. It is also formed to bring maintenance of international peace and security. It was formed immediately after World War II in 1945 hence replacing the flawed League of Nations. Currently, it has 192 member states.

The original member of the United Nations is Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Savador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Praguay, Phillipines, Peru, Poland, Russian Federations, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine,  Britain, America, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The United Nations Emblem - the olive branches represents peace. The world map depicts  the area of concern to the United Nations in achieving its main purpose, peace and security.

The aims of the United Nations is

1. To keep peace throughout the whole world
2. Develop friendly relations between nations
3. Work together to help people live better lives, to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world, to stop environmental destruction and to encourage respect for each other's rights and freedoms.
4. To be a centre for helping nations achieve these aims.

The principles of United Nations is

1. All member states have sovereign equality
2. All member states must obey the Charter
3. Countries must try to settle their differences in a peaceful manner
4. Countries must avoid to use force or threatening to use force
5. The UN must not interfere in the domestic affair of the country
6. Countries should try to assist the United Nations

Issues : Woman, Girls and Populations

The United Nations addressing the needs and rights of the women and girls across the globe for better living conditions for them and achieving social justice. The UN believe that equipping women and girls with educational and economical opportunities is the best investment for the families, community and the world.

 

Taken from: http://www.unfoundation.org/assets/images/body-images/adolescent-girls.png

Close to 600 million girls growing up in developed countries and investing in an educated, healthy, skilled, and empowered girls today means she have tools to reinvest back to their families. The well-being of adolescent girls is the key to eliminating poverty, achieving social justice, stabilizing the population, and preventing foreseeable humanitarian crises. 

Taken from: http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/women-and-population/investing-adolescent-girls.html
                     http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/issues/women-and-population/
                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_Nations
                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations
                     http://www.ask.com/question/why-was-the-united-nations-formed
                     http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/unintro/unintro.asp

Nurul Ain Bte Amir (8)