By AICHR Malaysia
22–23 September 2025 (Putrajaya, Malaysia)
Malaysia, under the leadership of H.E. Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Chair of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Malaysia’s Representative to AICHR, is convening the Regional Consultation on Enhancing ASEAN’s Human Rights Mechanisms for the Effective Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Putrajaya from 22 to 23 September 2025.
Building on past activities related to ASEAN’s human rights mechanisms over the past 15 years, this consultation brings together key ASEAN stakeholders to explore pathways for enhancing the effectiveness of the ASEAN human rights architecture.
Discussions will centre on AICHR’s progress and challenges since its establishment, review the implementation of its mandates and functions, and identify opportunities to strengthen its role in protecting human rights, aligned with ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future and the ASEAN Community Vision 2045, “Resilient, Innovative, Dynamic, and People-Centred ASEAN”.
Good practices from the African and Inter-American regional human rights mechanisms, as well as AICHR’s responses through its communication mechanism and updates on recent human rights developments, will be shared. The consultation will also utilise real-life case studies to enhance AICHR’s modalities and approaches in addressing grievances as the overarching human rights body under Article 14 of the ASEAN Charter.
Recommendations from the consultation will be considered by the AICHR for further action, including reporting to the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) in the context of the review of the AICHR Terms of Reference (TOR), as appropriate.
“Through AICHR’s practices, we have progressed far, but we need to do more besides updating our terms of reference to ensure that human rights protection is further enhanced by the Commission for the ASEAN peoples. We need to do this for the 20-year future of ASEAN,” said Bon.
Delegates attending include representatives from AICHR, ASEAN sectoral bodies, and civil society organisations, as well as human rights and development experts.
The consultation is one of AICHR’s priority programmes, implementing Malaysia’s inclusivity and sustainability agenda as the ASEAN Chair in 2025. Malaysia reaffirms its commitment, together with fellow ASEAN Member States, to strengthening AICHR as ASEAN’s human rights body, and to ensuring its continued relevance, impact, and effectiveness in realising a people-centred ASEAN Community.
