Today, we* join the international community in commemorating the 77th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and International Human Rights Day 2025.
For more than seven decades, the UDHR has stood as a foundational reference for the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide.
In Southeast Asia, it has guided ASEAN’s own evolving human rights architecture, including the adoption of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) and the Phnom Penh Statement on the Adoption of the AHRD in 2012 at the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Together, the UDHR and AHRD embody the commitment of ASEAN Member States to uphold human dignity, justice, the rule of law, and the full range of civil and political rights as well as economic, social, and cultural rights.
The world continues to confront complex and rapidly changing conditions that influence the enjoyment of human rights. In our region, shared challenges such as the impacts of climate change and natural disasters, accelerating digital transformation, public health emergencies, demographic trends, and the pursuit of inclusive and sustainable development all shape our collective realities. These challenges, however, also offer opportunities for ASEAN Member States to learn from one another and to strengthen cooperation. They reaffirm our shared aspiration to promote the well-being of our peoples, foster resilience, and ensure that no one is left behind.
In this regard, we note with pride the adoption in 2025 of two important ASEAN declarations: the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, and the ASEAN Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development.
These documents reflect ASEAN’s commitment to addressing interconnected human rights concerns arising from environmental degradation, climate change, and development pressures, while also affirming the importance of peace as an enabling condition for the full realisation of development and human rights. They highlight the region’s resolve to promote inclusive and sustainable development; safe and sufficient water; a safe, healthy, and sustainable climate; clean air; adequate, healthy, and nutritious food; resilient ecosystems and biodiversity; non-toxic environments; and enhanced access to information, public participation, and access to justice for present and future generations, among others.
These advancements underscore the value of human rights-based approaches in guiding ASEAN’s efforts to respond to emerging vulnerabilities and to support the aspirations of our peoples, particularly those in vulnerable and marginalised situations.
Our commemoration of UDHR77 is also a reminder of the UDHR’s enduring influence. Its principles continue to inspire not only States and governments, but also civil society, communities, businesses, academia, and other stakeholders whose contributions enrich the regional human rights landscape. This shared responsibility lies at the heart of ASEAN’s vision of a peaceful, stable, loving, resilient, and people-centred region.
As we mark this year’s International Human Rights Day, we reaffirm AICHR’s commitment to advancing human rights in ASEAN through constructive dialogue, strengthened cooperation, capacity-building initiatives, and inclusive engagement with all relevant stakeholders. We remain guided by the principles and aspirations of the UDHR that have shaped ASEAN’s human rights journey and continue to look ahead with determination to uphold the well-being, freedoms, and dignity of all ASEAN peoples.
Dated this 10th day of December 2025
* H.E. Edmund Bon Tai Soon is the Representative of Malaysia to AICHR and Chair of AICHR (2025), H.E. Ajman Meludin is the Representative of Brunei Darussalam to AICHR, H.E. Anita Ashvini Wahid is the Representative of Indonesia to AICHR, H.E. Dr. Bhanubhatra Jittiang is the Representative of Thailand to AICHR, and H.E. Honorio Soares Magalhães is the Representative of Timor-Leste to AICHR.
