By ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights

Introduction

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) issues this Note in recognition of the scale, urgency, and complexity of forced migration across the region. It draws on, among others, AICHR’s thematic study “Migration Management for the Most Vulnerable Groups within ASEAN”, reflections and inputs from AICHR’s consultations (such as on the right to development), and the work of stakeholders on the issue around the region, as well as concerns regarding forced displacement in the region.

This document is offered in a spirit of shared reflection and constructive dialogue, consistent with AICHR’s mandate under paragraphs 4.1, 4.3, 4.8, 4.9, and 4.11 of the Terms of Reference.

Forced displacement in Southeast Asia is driven by conflict, persecution, statelessness, environmental stress, climate change, and structural inequalities in development. The ongoing conflicts inside and outside the region remain one of the primary drivers of forced migration with protracted displacements of countless refugees and asylum seekers. Forced migration and the right to development are inextricably linked, functioning as both cause and consequence of one another in a mutually reinforcing cycle. When people are forcibly displaced for whatever reason, it negatively infringes on their right to development and has long-term impacts. Forced displacement is rarely a discrete event; it arises from the structural denial of development itself — the failure of states and the international community to guarantee political stability, economic opportunity, and human security to all persons. Further, the sharp contraction in international humanitarian funding has significantly worsened conditions for displaced people across the region. These reflect deep, structural challenges that require sustained, principled, and coordinated responses.

AICHR is guided in this position by ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future, adopted at the 46th ASEAN Summit in May 2025, which commits ASEAN to building a “resilient, innovative, dynamic, people-centred ASEAN” that is “empowered in responding to future crises and long-term challenges.” ASEAN identifies migration, widening development gaps, natural disasters, and the inclusion of vulnerable and marginalised groups among seventeen megatrends shaping ASEAN’s future. ASEAN will “ensure the full potential and improve the quality of life for its peoples that is participative, inclusive, sustainable, and promotes social cohesion, hereby ensuring shared prosperity, especially among vulnerable groups, and leaving no one behind.” Forced migration sits at the heart of this commitment to inclusion and must be understood as a cross-cutting concern across all of ASEAN pillars.

AICHR reaffirms Articles 4, 14 and 16 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration 2012. The rights of women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, and vulnerable and marginalised groups are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of human rights and fundamental freedoms. No person shall be subject to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Further, every person has the right to seek and receive asylum in another State in accordance with the laws of such State and applicable international agreements.

While AICHR’s thematic study focused on labour migration, its findings and recommendations are directly relevant to the broader forced migration context. The study found that there is no single solution that works in all situations for all people — a recognition that should shape the region’s approach to forced migration governance just as it shapes labour migration policy. What is essential, the study concluded, is the promotion of policies that place the individual at the centre of migration governance and management, and that take into account differentiated vulnerabilities based on gender, age, health, and legal status.

Read the full Briefing Note here.

Source: https://aichr.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/AICHR-Briefing-Note-on-Forced-Migration-in-ASEAN_20.10.26_adopt-ad-ref-on-091126.pdf. Archived at https://perma.cc/32ZN-KPPP