Diplomats say Southeast Asian nations are not able to agree on setting up a human rights commission, and on sanctions against members who fail to obey their regional bloc's rules.
Negotiators meeting in the Philippines are rushing to complete a draft of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's first charter before foreign ministers from the 10-nation group meet Sunday.
The bloc has agreed on most of the charter, which will help to turn the group into a rules-based organization along the lines of the European Union.
A key sticking point is Burma, which has long been a problem for ASEAN because of the country's poor human rights record and its detention of activists, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
