The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) in 1968. Regional peace and stability, economic cooperation, social development, and political dialogue among Member States were the guiding principles and framework for ASEAN.
The ASEAN Charter incorporated obligations for the Member States to respect and guarantee human rights. To do so, the ASEAN Charter established the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in 2009, with a mandate to promote human rights, raise awareness, and enhance dialogue and cooperation among Member States.
Nowadays, ASEAN brings together eleven Southeast Asian States: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
Over time, the organisation has expanded its agenda to include environmental governance and sustainable development standards, creating space for advocacy related to environmental protection and the role of EHRDs.
Let's check the relevant frameworks for your advocacy!
Once ASEAN had a human rights governance system, it advanced to the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, the main framework for EHRDs. It was formally adopted through the Phnom Penh Statement (2012).
The Declaration affirms ASEAN's commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights, recognises the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) as the regional human rights body, and links ASEAN human rights commitments to international human rights instruments.
The declaration explicitly includes the right to development and details key components, including the rights to health, food, housing, social security, and an adequate standard of living. It therefore integrates environmental protection within the wider framework of economic, social, and development rights, creating a sustainable development framework in which environmental protection becomes necessary to fulfil fundamental rights.
In 2025, ASEAN adopted the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, marking a clear commitment to this autonomous right within the Southeast Asian regional framework.
The declaration recognises that every person has the right to live in a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and it links this right to the fulfilment of other fundamental human rights.
The ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment also recognises procedural rights, including access to information, to participation and justice in environmental matters.
It acknowledges that environmental harm disproportionately affects groups living vulnerable situations, including women, children, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities.
It calls on States to ensure effective protection for EHRDs, recognising the importance of environmental defenders in advancing sustainable development and environmental governance.
It constitutes the first explicit recognition by ASEAN Member States of the intrinsic link between environmental protection and human rights and human well-being. It aligns the region with a growing global consensus recognising the right to a healthy environment, following the UN General Assembly's 2022 resolution.
This declaration was a milestone and could not have been possible without the coordinated action of EHRDs like yourself.
As it is very new, there are currently fewer examples available to illustrate how it has been used, but we encourage you to do the following:
Use and reference the Declaration in your advocacy work.
Raise awareness about the Declaration among your communities.
Participate in consultations organised by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), as well as in regional dialogues and workshops, to shine a light on your situation or the collective you represent.
In the ASEAN system, a Regional Plan of Action (RPA) is a policy instrument adopted by ASEAN bodies to implement commitments made in declarations, charters, or sectoral agreements. The RPA enables translation from normative and political commitments to day-to-day practice.
Once a decision has been made, different stakeholders contribute to its implementation. Ministers, human rights bodies, Member States' representatives and civil society organisations are amongst those who will shape how the commitments will translate into practice.
When an issue is considered as part of the RPA for an ASEAN decision, it gains political legitimacy, and it is more likely to be adopted and incorporated into the national policies, frameworks and protocols of Member States.
In the past, ASEAN carried out a Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021–2025). Its aim was to “enhance coordination at the regional and international levels for achieving sustainable management of coastal and marine environments through responding to marine plastic pollution”. The Plan combined 14 actions that incorporated frameworks oriented to Policy, Support & Planning; Private Sector Engagement; Research, Innovation & Capacity Building; and Public Awareness, Education & Outreach to ensure the decision was thoroughly implemented across the region.
This is a crucial advocacy window for you, to influence how decisions are made. After the adoption of the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, ASEAN tasked the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to consult other regional bodies and develop an “ASEAN-owned and ASEAN-led Regional Plan of Action” to follow up on the Declaration.
In practice, it provides the opportunity to participate in consultations and carry out a strong advocacy strategy to ensure that environmental defenders are explicitly recognised in national policies, and to ensure that participation, access to information, and environmental justice are embedded into regional priorities so that Member States have more pressure to incorporate these provisions into their national plans.
Check at ASEAN intergovernmental commission on human rights activities Calendar for the following steps here.
To really push for and get involved in different layers of advocacy, always consider bringing up the Aarhus Convention, especially when companies are involved. When companies in the supply chain you're looking at are based in Aarhus member States, there is a window for advocacy using that framework due to extraterritoriality. Check Section 3.4 for more details on the Aarhus convention.
