By Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia
The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) will convene the 4th ASEAN consultation on the human right to development from 20 to 21 August 2026 in Dili, Timor-Leste, jointly led by Malaysia and Timor-Leste. Themed “40th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development and High-Level Dialogue and Regional Outlook on the ASEAN Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development”, this flagship AICHR programme marks the first AICHR event to be held in Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste was admitted as ASEAN’s 11th member state in 2025.
The consultation builds directly on the ASEAN Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development (ADDP) adopted by ASEAN Leaders at the 47th ASEAN Summit on 26 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The ADDP affirms the right to development and the right to peace as inalienable, interlinked rights, strengthening ASEAN’s human rights architecture alongside the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.
Over two days, high-level dialogues and panel sessions will examine the implementation of the right to development and the right to peace across the Global South and within ASEAN, spanning environment and climate resilience, human development, security and migration, meaningful participation in development governance, and the inclusion of groups in vulnerable and marginalised situations.
The consultation will feature a high-level address by H.E. Bendito dos Santos Freitas, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste, interventions by H.E. Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Representative of Malaysia to AICHR and H.E. Maria Helena Pires, Representative of Timor-Leste to AICHR, and a keynote speech by Professor Surya Deva, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development.
Central to the consultation are sessions dedicated to consolidating inputs and reports from ASEAN Member States — documenting good practices, progress, challenges, and opportunities at both the national and regional level in realising the right to development — to inform an ASEAN regional outlook on the right to development and the right to peace. The consultation will also receive further submissions on the follow-up action plan for implementing the ADDP through an ASEAN-led, whole-of-ASEAN approach, in furtherance of the aspirations set out in ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future.
The programme brings together AICHR Representatives, ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, national human rights institutions, civil society, and international experts, among others, to mainstream and operationalise the right to development and the right to peace across ASEAN’s Community pillars.
Putrajaya
19 August 2026
Source: https://www.kln.gov.my/web/guest/post/4th-asean-consultation-on-the-human-right-to-development-to-enhance-and-strengthen-the-asean-community-and-its-implementation-20-21-august-2026-dili-timor-leste. Archived here.
