Overview
ASEAN Member States share a common interest in and commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In accordance with the ASEAN Charter, respect for and promotion of human rights underspin regional cooperation among ASEAN Member States on human rights and its cooperation with relevant national, regional and international institutions and organisations.
Human rights is the fundamental basis for peace, stability and sustainable development. The adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in 2012 attests ASEAN’s commitment to advance the promotion and protection of human rights in the region.
The Declaration defines a broad range of internationally accepted rights, including civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Furthermore, the right to development, as recognised in the Declaration, entitles people of ASEAN to participate in and contribute to the process of narrowing the development gap within ASEAN and promoting equitable and sustainable development, fair trade practice and effective international cooperation.
Human rights is a crosscutting theme across ASEAN Community building in the key areas of peace and security, sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, and economic, social and cultural affairs. ASEAN has gradually expanded its regional human rights framework to encompass specific standards for women, children, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
Priority Areas of Cooperation
Human rights stand for equality, participatory and inclusive society that dismantles the structures of discrimination which drive poverty and inequality. To ensure the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all its peoples, ASEAN continues to:
- Take initiatives to work effectively on crosscutting issues with human rights implications;
- Integrate human rights considerations in all relevant policy areas of ASEAN Community building;
- Strengthen the regional mechanism of cooperation for promotion and protection of human rights in ASEAN;
- Take initiative with a preventive approach in addressing humanitarian issues, including public health emergencies, with regional and international humanitarian consequences and impacts on human rights;
- Cooperate for accelerated actions to advance Sustainable Development Goals in tandem with promoting and protecting human rights; and
- Build a culture of human rights and peace with investment in human rights education.
Major Sectoral Bodies/Committees
ASEAN has established mechanisms to facilitate human rights cooperation in the region. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was established in 2009 with an overarching mandate on human rights. It serves as a vehicle for progressive social development and justice, human dignity, human security and wellbeing. AICHR works together with existing mechanisms on human rights in ASEAN to uphold the rights of people of ASEAN to live in peace, dignity and prosperity.
AICHR’s general mandates and functions are outlined in its Terms of Reference. The Commission comprises ten Representatives of the Member States of ASEAN to serve for one term of three years with possible renewal for a second term. The Commission holds its meetings on a quarterly basis, and reports to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.
In carrying out its mandates and functions, AICHR:
- Upholds its commitments to the promotion and protection of the full range of human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD);
- Prioritises the implementation of the AHRD and other ASEAN instruments as well as international human rights instruments to which ASEAN Member State are parties of;
- Focuses attention on the rights of vulnerable groups, such as women, children, people with disabilities, and older persons; and
- Enhances engagement with all stakeholders as well as public outreach and communications.
To fulfil its mission, AICHR is actively mainstreaming human rights in ASEAN through a wide spectrum of priority thematic areas. The Commission follows a robust framework known as the Five-Year Work Plan that is translated into its annual Priority Programmes and Activities. The current work plan for the period of 2021-2025 strongly adheres to the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the APSC Blueprint 2025. It also complements the 2030 Development Agenda on Sustainable Development.
To build an enabling environment for meaningful and constructive interaction with civil society actors, AICHR established the Guidelines on the AICHR’s Relations with Civil Society Organisations in 2015. AICHR has accredited 30 CSOs to-date and holds an annual consultation with the accredited CSOs since 2017. Modalities of engagement with CSOs varied, including but not limited to:
- Consultation to seek views and advice;
- Seminar to provide information on thematic subject matters;
- Workshop to engage in intensive substantive discussion in a particular field;
- Regular briefing, including policy recommendations and feedback on various initiatives undertaken at the national and regional level; and
- Implementation of activities in AICHR’s work plans.
AICHR also receives communications from individuals and non-governmental organisations, concerning alleged violations of human rights in the region.
Alongside AICHR, other ASEAN bodies are also overseeing the implementation of ASEAN’s instruments and commitments on the rights of women and children and the rights of migrant workers, namely:
- The ASEAN Committee on Women, established in 1976
- The ASEAN Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, established in 2007
- The ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, established in 2010
Key Documents
- ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, 2007
- ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, 2012
- Declaration on the Elimination of the Violence Against Women and Elimination of Violence Against Children in ASEAN, 2013
- ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (2015)
- Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Ageing: Empowering Older Persons in ASEAN (2015)
- ASEAN Consensus on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, 2017
- Declaration on the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals (2017)
- ASEAN Enabling Masterplan 2025: Mainstreaming the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2018
- Declaration on the Protection of Children from all Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN (2019)
- ASEAN Declaration on the Rights of Children in the Context of Migration (2019)
- Joint Statement on Reaffirmation of Commitment to Advancing The Rights of The Child in ASEAN, (2019)
- ASEAN Guidelines on Effective Return and Reintegration of Migrant Workers (2020)
- ASEAN Roadmap on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2025 (2020)
- ASEAN Guideline on Gender Mainstreaming into Labour and Employment Policies towards Decent Work for All (2020)
