UN experts on Thursday welcomed the adoption of a landmark declaration promoting development and peace by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The move came at the 47th ASEAN Summit, held October 26 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development Surya Deva praised the declaration, calling it an “affirmation of the importance of multilateralism to achieve inclusive and sustainable development.” Deva stated:
As States negotiate an international convention on the right to development, the ASEAN Declaration provides a blueprint of how to operationalize this right at the national and regional levels. I encourage other regional intergovernmental organisations to follow suit to secure a dignified development and peace for all.
The Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development aligns with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It recognizes “the intersection of business, human rights, environment, and climate change while reaffirming that the promotion and protection of human rights, advancement of sustainable development, and ensuring regional peace and security are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.”
The declaration reiterated ASEAN’s core purposes under its charter, emphasizing “the common desire and commitment to maintain and enhance peace, security, and peace-oriented values in the region.” Notably, the declaration recognized the peoples of ASEAN as the central subjects of development and active agents in the beneficiaries of the development process.
The declaration also reaffirms the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment (2025), stressing ASEAN member states’ commitment to addressing challenges related to the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment for both present and future generations.
