MANILA, Philippines--Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno listed two roadblocks to the integration of the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) into a single community or union.

Speaking at the 31st Asean Law Association Governing Council meeting on Friday, Puno identified the hindrances as: Mistrust of any foreign intervention due to the region?s colonial experience, and differing views on human rights.

The Philippines hosted this year?s ALA council meeting attended by the heads or representatives of the Supreme Courts of Asean member-states. The last meeting and general assembly was held in October last year in Hanoi, Vietnam.

This year?s delegates were led by Chief Justices Dato Seri Paduka Hj. Kifrawi bin Kifli of Brunei and Sobchok Sukharomna of Thailand, Justice Dato Hashim Yusoff of Malaysia, Justice Lee Seiu Kin of Singapore, Professor Djenal Sidik Suraputra of Indonesia, and Chairman Tran Dai Hung of Vietnam.

In his lecture on the Asean Charter, Puno challenged Asean leaders to muster the will to overcome the two main roadblocks in order to achieve integration similar to the European Union.

?It is not difficult, however, to understand Asean?s slow-motion march towards integration. Arguably, the reason holding Asean from sprinting to its objective is its guiding philosophy. The Asean way is the way of consultation, compromise and consensus. I like to believe, however, that the member-states adopted this approach as a dictation of necessity,? he said.

Puno said the long histories of colonial exploitation by Western countries ?have left scars in their subconscious which affect their trust level with foreigners.?

?They resist the slightest diminution of the policy of self-determination and non-interference in their internal affairs and this stiff resistance inevitably slows down all efforts to integrate the socioeconomic-political policies in the region,? he said.

The other hindrance to Asean integration, according to Puno, is the lack of cultural homogeneity that has resulted in ?irreconcilable viewpoints on human rights.?

He said some states preferred to enhance economic, social and cultural rights before their people?s political rights.

The human rights issue, he said, was ?the most contentious issue in the ongoing debate about the efficacy of the Asean Charter.?

He shared the observation that the Asean Charter on human rights ?lacks an enforcement mechanism as it concerns itself more with promotion and less with the protection of individual rights.?