BANGKOK, 9 December 2025 — The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened the Regional Consultation to Promote Disability Inclusivity in the ASEAN Communities: Towards and Beyond EMP 2025 on 9 December, in Bangkok, Thailand

The consultation brought together more than 70 representatives from ASEAN Member States (AMS), ASEAN sectoral bodies, the ASEAN Secretariat, civil society organisations, international partners, and organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs). AICHR Thailand led the consultation in collaboration with SOMSWD Thailand, UNICEF, the International Disability Alliance (IDA), and the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Discussions highlighted that, as the EMP 2025 approaches its conclusion, ASEAN stands at a strategic juncture to define the next phase of disability inclusion. Speakers emphasised the need to move beyond a social welfare approach and to embed disability inclusion as a structural norm across all three ASEAN Community pillars, including economic governance and digital transformation. Participants also underscored the importance of ensuring the meaningful participation of OPDs, strengthening disaggregated data systems, and aligning future regional frameworks with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

Across sessions, participants reaffirmed that disability inclusion must be future-oriented, firmly grounded in human rights, and responsive to demographic change, technological transformation, and climate realities. They stressed the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration, coherent regional mechanisms, and sustained commitment to ensuring that persons with disabilities are recognised not only as rights holders, but also as central contributors to ASEAN’s human capital development.

Key recommendations included improving cross-sector coordination, enhancing accessibility across physical, digital, and financial systems, and expanding economic empowerment through inclusive employment, entrepreneurship, universal design, and job-coach models. Participants called for closer alignment of national policies with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) obligations, strengthened implementation and enforcement, and the integration of disability perspectives into business and human rights frameworks.

Meaningful representation, lifelong learning, digital skills development, and private-sector engagement were identified as essential to ensuring the equal participation of persons with disabilities in a resilient and inclusive ASEAN.

Photo credit: AICHR Thailand