Burma was named the head of the Southeast Asian regional bloc to encourage it to make more democratic reforms, despite calls from the U.S. and human rights groups that it must do more in order to assume the chairmanship.

Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday named Burma (also known as Myanmar) to head the organization in 2014 with the hopes that it will make strides in releasing more political prisoners, improving its press freedom, and allow free elections, according to The Irrawaddy news magazine.

The bloc considered giving the reclusive Asian state the chair position in 2006, but cited persistent human rights problems under the longstanding military junta as a reason not to go through with it. 

Since elections last November, Burma has begun showing signs of a transition from military dictatorship to democratic rule. But critics have panned the gestures as being mostly for show, with few reforms actually implemented. Some critics have said that former military officials under the dictatorship were appointed to high-level positions in the current administration

Burma’s critics, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), the United States and the United Nations, said it should only be given the 2014 chairmanship if it takes more steps toward forming a real democracy and improving human rights. 

“It’s not about the past, it’s about the future, what leaders are doing now,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said, defending the decision, according to the Irrawaddy. “We’re trying to ensure the process of change continues.”

Over the past several months, under the administration of President Thein Sein, a former army general under the junta, Burma has released several hundred political prisoners and engaged in sporadic talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released after years of house imprisonment.

Ko Ko Hlaing, a top advisor to Sein, said the move by ASEAN was welcomed, reported the BBC. “We will do all our responsibilities and duties as a responsible government, reflecting the desires of the Myanmar people,” he said.

Too Soon?

However, as President Barack Obama said in Australia on Thursday, “violations of human rights persist” in Burma. The United States and other Western powers continue to impose sanctions on Burma because of its human rights record. “We will continue to speak clearly about the steps that must be taken for the government of Burma to have a better relationship with the United States,” President Obama said.

HRW, citing local rights groups, said what while 316 political prisoners have been released, 1,669 remain jailed. There are also likely more prisoners that have not been accounted for due to the country’s lack of transparency in its penal and justice systems.

“Burma has long been a millstone around ASEAN’s neck that won’t be removed by making Burma the chair in 2014,” stated Elaine Pearson, the deputy Asia director at HRW. “ASEAN needs to set clear benchmarks for reform and closely monitor progress.”

Before it does anything else, ASEAN should push Burma to release every one of its political prisoners for it to be considered legitimate, HRW adds. 

The government has also committed war crimes since June in Kachin State, with more than 30,000 civilians displaced due to military abuses, including forced labor, killings, and general attacks on local residents, according to the rights group.

In a recent statement, Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. Special Rapporteur in Burma, said he keeps “receiving allegations that [violations] are taking place” in the country, adding that “gross and systematic violations of human rights” still persisted despite the current administration’s reform pledges. 

Burma should “intensify its efforts to implement its own human rights commitments and to fulfill its international obligations,” he said. Earlier this year, the government formed a human rights commission but Quintana said it is currently nearly impossible to verify its independence or effectiveness.

In late September, press watchdog organization the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that Burma’s new government has failed to reform its ongoing practice of jailing reporters. 

The government’s “heavily censored media is still among the most restricted in the world” despite proposed reforms, CPJ states.