Intervention by AICHR Chair Edmund Bon at the 8th Meeting of the Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN

Excellency Madam Chair Koung Sorita, ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) Cambodia Focal Point and Chair of the Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in ASEAN, 

Fellow members of the WPS Advisory Group,

Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

Salam sejahtera and good morning.

On behalf of AICHR, I congratulate ACW and all stakeholders on the successful organisation of the 2nd ASEAN Women, Peace and Security Summit 2025, and to Malaysia’s Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development for hosting it. AICHR fully supports the ASEAN WPS agenda.

When we met last in March 2025 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, I mentioned AICHR’s interest in complementing rather than duplicating the work that is being done on the WPS agenda. To update the meeting on actions taken by AICHR since the last meeting, I share the following:

• AICHR was then advancing a proposed ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy, and Sustainable Environment to be adopted this year. I am glad to report that we have completed negotiations and escalated it for further action. AICHR continues to negotiate a second instrument proposed by Malaysia, which is the ASEAN Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development. Both declarations have implications for the WPS agenda as the areas cover the protection and participation of groups in vulnerable and marginalised situations. They will also encourage enhanced efforts to operationalise the human rights to peace and development that can address the root causes of violent extremism and conflict.

• AICHR, in collaboration with the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR), has embarked on a series of six interlinked workshops to explore pathways and approaches to peace in ASEAN. Four of the workshops have been completed, held in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. The final two will be held in October or November this year. Delegates continue to discuss a possible common conflict prevention and protection framework for ASEAN that also aligns with multiple strategic outcomes and outputs of the ASEAN WPS Regional Plan of Action, particularly those related to protection (priority action 1.1.9) and prevention (priority actions 3.1.1 and 4.1.1). We have been hearing from diplomats, experts, academics, and survivors to enrich the conversations as we work towards constructive outcomes.

In this context, on 26 May 2025, ASEAN leaders made history by signing the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future and correspondingly adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 “Resilient, Innovative, Dynamic, and People-Centred ASEAN” along with its Strategic Plans.

Through our efforts, AICHR strives to meet the aspirations of the vision to strengthen ASEAN institutions, making them more responsive, innovative, agile, adaptive, decisive, timely, and future-ready in promoting and protecting human rights. This includes enhancing greater synergy and coordination on cross-pillar and cross-sectoral issues, as well as addressing emerging challenges.

Finally, I would like to share AICHR’s input on the proposed draft Terms of Reference of the ASEAN Community of Practice (CoP) on WPS. We have communicated this to the ASEAN Secretariat. Our view is that the CoP’s objectives will be further strengthened by incorporating a human rights-based approach into its activities, anchored in ASEAN human rights standards and principles. This approach recognises that sustainable peace and security are fully achieved when fundamental human rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled.

Thank you.

This intervention was delivered at the 8^th Meeting of the Advisory Group on Women, Peace and Security in ASEAN on 11 September 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.