ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

At the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on October 26-28, ASEAN member countries under the grouping of ASEAN also adopted the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, under which they expressed their cognisance of the growing and pressing need to address global and transboundary environmental concerns, as welll as declaring commitments, including advancing the right to a safe, clean,  healthy, and sustainable environment

Below is the full declaration.

WE, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) namely Brunei Darussalam,  the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic  Republic, Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the  Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist  Republic of Viet Nam, on the occasion of the 47^th ASEAN Summit and Related  Summits in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26-28 October 2025; 

COGNISANT of the growing and pressing need to address global and transboundary  environmental concerns, in particular, the triple planetary crisis of climate change,  biodiversity loss and environmental pollution, and to advance the right to a safe, clean,  healthy, and sustainable environment; 

NOTING the link between peace and security, sustainable development, and the right  to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; 

RECALLING our commitments in the Charter of the United Nations 1945, Universal  Declaration of Human Rights 1948, Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action  1993, and other international human rights instruments to which all ASEAN Member  States are parties to; 

MINDFUL OF the United Nations General Assembly resolution 76/300 on 28 July  2022; 

REAFFIRMING Article 28 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration 2012 and Phnom  Penh Statement on the Adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, in  particular, Articles 28, 35 and 36 that every person has the right to an adequate  standard of living for himself or herself and his or her family including the right to a  safe, clean, and sustainable environment, and that the right to development should be  fulfilled so as to meet equitably the developmental and environmental needs of present  and future generations and for conditions for the protection and sustainability of the  environment for the peoples of ASEAN be created; 

FURTHER REAFFIRMING our commitments in the ASEAN Declaration on  Environmental Sustainability 2007, Declaration on ASEAN Post-2015 Environmental  Sustainability and Climate Change Agenda 2015, ASEAN Guidelines on Recognition of Customary Tenure in Forested Landscapes 2022, ASEAN Agreement on  Transboundary Haze Pollution 2002, ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Sustainable  Resilience 2023, ASEAN Blue Economy Framework 2023 and ASEAN 2045: Our  Shared Future. 

RECOGNISING that, while the human rights implications of environmental damage  are felt by individuals and communities around the world, the consequences are felt  most acutely by women and girls and those segments of the population already in  vulnerable situations, including children and youth, older persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups, and indigenous and local communities as applicable to  relevant ASEAN Member States; 

RECOGNISING the negative impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of a clean,  healthy, and sustainable environment; 

RECOGNISING further that environmental degradation, including from climate change  and unsustainable development, constitute some of the most pressing and serious  threats to the ability of present and future generations to enjoy human rights; 

ACKNOWLEDGING the importance of engaging all stakeholders and the public,  including people in vulnerable situations such as children and youth, women, and  people with disabilities, and local communities to overcome climate change; including  the importance of traditional knowledge, techniques and technologies in sustaining the  climate resiliency of communities; 

ACKNOWLEDGING the need for sufficient and effective protection for all, including  persons working to promote and protect the right to a safe, clean, healthy and  sustainable environment, where appropriate; 

EMPHASISING the important role that ASEAN Member States play in taking collective  action to address challenges to the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable  environment for mutual benefit and the common good for the present and future  generations; 

REAFFIRMING the unwavering commitment of ASEAN to enhancing the region’s  climate resilience and reducing vulnerability through active collaboration and mutual  assistance among ASEAN Member States in the relevant spheres and the  interlinkages between climate change, human rights, poverty eradication and  sustainable development; 

FURTHERING steps taken by ASEAN Member States individually, through regional  and international assistance and cooperation to the maximum of ASEAN Member  States’ available resources, with a view to achieving progressively the full realisation  of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; 

CONVINCED that this Declaration will encourage cross-sectoral and cross-pillar cooperation while strengthening the ASEAN human rights framework to promote peace and inclusive and sustainable development in the region. 

HEREBY DECLARE OUR COMMITMENT TO: 

1. Advance the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment for present and future generations. 

2. Promote and foster: 

2.1 the implementation of environmental law, which contributes to the achievement  of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, by developing measures and standards taking into account relevant international  environmental, health, and safety standards and obligations; 

2.2 the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements to which all  ASEAN Member States are parties, which will contribute to preventing,  reducing, mitigating, and addressing environmental harm that interferes with  the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment; 

2.3 access to information, meaningful public participation and access to justice, in  the implementation of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable  environment, including for people in vulnerable situations; 

2.4 scientific and technical research programmes on environmental issues,  including climate change, pollution, and biodiversity conservation; and, 

2.5 environmental Education in ASEAN to enhance public awareness on promoting and protecting the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. 

3. Improve efforts to: 

3.1 prevent, control, reduce, mitigate and address the degradation of the natural  environment, and continue to share good practices in fulfilling the right to a safe,  clean, healthy and sustainable environment; 

3.2 ensure equal and effective protection against discrimination and human rights  violations, and to protect the rights of people in vulnerable situations; and, 

3.3 provide for a safe and enabling environment to ensure the exercise of the right  to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. 

4. Strongly encourage: 

4.1 non-State actors, businesses and the private sector to respect and promote the  right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and for States to  support them with the necessary resources as available; and, 

4.2 the use and adoption of risk assessment tools, including but not limited to environmental impact assessments, to assess, prevent, reduce, mitigate and address environmental impacts and harm. 

5. Enhance: 

5.1 collaboration among ASEAN Member States to share and exchange  information and knowledge on the impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss,  and pollution on people and the environment, as well as measures to counter  the harm identified; and, 

5.2 cooperation with Dialogue Partners and relevant stakeholders to address existing, emerging and future environmental issues, threats and challenges that may interfere with the enjoyment of the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. 

6. Task the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) in consultation with relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, including ASEAN Senior  Officials on Environment (ASOEN), to develop an ASEAN-owned and ASEAN-led  Regional Plan of Action to follow up on this Declaration. 

7. Assure the continuous support and provision of adequate resources for AICHR and the relevant ASEAN Bodies, Entities and centres to follow up on this Declaration and related activities and programmes.

8. Invite relevant stakeholders at the local, national, regional, and international levels to contribute to fostering knowledge exchange and multistakeholder cooperation, as well as providing financial and technical support to complement ASEAN efforts to implement this Declaration.