Asean’s environmental rights declaration: Courageous action needed to match historic words

Following the landmark adoption of the Asean Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment during the 2025 Asean summit in Kuala Lumpur, effective implementation must be carried out through the regional plan of action, ensuring tangible, rights-based protections for communities and environmental defenders across the region.

At a media and diplomatic briefing forum co-organised by the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Greenpeace recently, Greenpeace Southeast Asia (GPSEA) emphasised that the focus must now move beyond recognition to ensuring the effective implementation of the Asean declaration.

While the adoption marks a major milestone for the region, the declaration remains non-legally binding, and Asean member states must take steps to translate its principles into enforceable national laws and regional mechanisms.

Edmund Bon, the chair and Malaysia’s representative to the AICHR, who led the drafting process of the declaration, was present at the briefing and shared insights on its journey, significance and the development of the upcoming regional plan of action – which will be the true test of Asean’s commitment to protect environmental rights and the people defending them.

“The declaration should serve as a guiding framework for governments, including Malaysia, to harmonise national policies and legislation in line with its principles,” said Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, a former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister.

“What’s most needed now is a shift in mindset – one that prioritises people and the planet, not just industry interests, as well as concrete measures like amendments to the environmental impact assessment process, stricter enforcement by authorities, and empowering the judiciary to uphold environmental rights.

“It must not remain symbolic but drive forward-looking, rights-based policies that truly safeguard our shared environment and future,” he said.

GPSEA urges Asean to show greater ambition and take concrete action that addresses the lack of clear obligations, measurable targets and enforcement mechanisms.

The declaration also omits corporate responsibility to uphold people’s environmental rights and the need to address the transboundary nature of the region’s environmental challenges.

Heng Kiah Chun, Greenpeace Malaysia’s campaign lead, said: “This is a chance for Asean to show real courage to turn recognition into action and make environmental rights a lived reality.

“To do that, Asean must confront transboundary pollution, biodiversity loss and corporate impunity head-on with clear timelines, accountability and protection for environmental defenders.”

GPSEA stresses that Asean missed a key opportunity to demonstrate genuine leadership. The bloc could have been the first in the Global South to operationalise the UN General Assembly’s 2022 resolution on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment by establishing legally enforceable regional standards and strong protections for those defending nature.

“There is a huge expectation for the Asean member states to be the leader in the fulfilment of the right to the environment,” said Fajri Fadhillah, a senior regional legal and political campaign strategist at Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

“The first step towards realising that expectation is to enhance the access for vulnerable communities to participate in the development and implementation of the declaration.

“It should also be mirrored in the actions taken by Asean member states in various multilateral environmental agreements, such as on the COP of CBD [the UN Biodiversity Conference], COP of the UNFCCC [the UN Climate Change Conference], and development of plastic treaty through the INCs [international negotiating committees].”

While recognising the vital roles of the AICHR and Asean senior environmental officials in developing the upcoming regional plan of action, the GPSEA calls on Asean leaders to ensure it is transparent, inclusive and well-resourced.

This includes upholding free, prior and informed consent and recognising the rights of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

The lack of transparency during the drafting of the declaration must not be repeated in its implementation.

The AICHR announced several key steps in the regional action plan in pushing forth this agenda:

• Ensure cross-sectoral collaboration among Asean member states to address transboundary issues such as pollution, deforestation and climate impacts.
• Mobilise technical expertise from Asean member states to support in designing practical solutions and capacity-building measures that close existing implementation.
• Ground the regional plan of action in affected communities’ realities by strengthening the participation of vulnerable groups, including Indigenous peoples and local communities, in decision-making processes.

Key speakers at the recent forum included Veerawit Tianchainan, the executive director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia; Fajri Fadhillah, a senior regional legal and political campaign strategist for Greenpeace Southeast Asia; Heng Kiah Chun, Greenpeace Southeast Asia’s campaign lead for Malaysia; Anita Wahid, the Indonesia’s AICHR country representative; Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, a former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister; Edmund Bon, the AICHR chair and country representative for Malaysia; and Astrid Jovanna Puentes Riaño, the special rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

Greenpeace and its civil society partners across Southeast Asia reaffirm their commitment to engage the AICHR, Asean institutions and member states to push for stronger implementation, transparency and accountability in order to make environmental rights a lived reality for all people in the region. – Greenpeace

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