Malaysia Leads Push For ASEAN Declaration On Peace, Development, And Sustainability

Barnama

28-04-2025

GENERAL
Undersecretary (Special Functions), High-Level Task Force ASEAN Community Post 2025 Vision, Datuk Mohd Suhaimi Jaafar (centre), AICHR Chairman and Malaysia's Representative to AICHR, Edmund Bon Tai Soon (right), and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Professor Dr Surya Deva (left), during the 2nd AICHR Consultation on the Human Right to Development to Enhance the ASEAN Community: Realising Article 35 of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration 2012.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is spearheading efforts for ASEAN to adopt a landmark declaration affirming the right to peace, development, and sustainability, aiming to strengthen human rights and build an inclusive and resilient ASEAN community.
Chair of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and Malaysia's Representative to AICHR, Edmund Bon Tai Soon, said the proposed "ASEAN Declaration Promoting Peace, Inclusive Growth, Sustainable Development and the Right to Development" is expected to be tabled during the ASEAN Summit in May, alongside the adoption of ASEAN Vision 2045.
'Our focus is to link peace, development, and sustainability as interconnected rights.
'Growth must not be for its own sake but must include all people and ensure lasting peace. Malaysia is pushing for this declaration to guide ASEAN's future actions," he said at a press conference on Tuesday, after the opening of the 2nd AICHR Consultation on the Human Right to Development.
When asked about ASEAN's principle of non-interference, particularly in sensitive situations such as Myanmar, Bon emphasised that humanitarian assistance must transcend political barriers.
He cited Malaysia's deployment of medical teams to Sagaing in Myanmar following the recent earthquake, highlighting that assistance was provided after securing safety assurances from parties on the ground.
'This is not about interference but about humanitarian solidarity. Malaysia's position is clear: we uphold the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and continue to advocate for peace and humanitarian access. Safe, secure conditions for aid workers must be guaranteed,' he said.
Meanwhile, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Professor Dr Surya Deva, has lauded Malaysia, the ASEAN Chair for 2025, for its efforts in driving a rights-based development agenda across the region — a move that could set a global example.
'We must not view the right to development merely in terms of economic growth or rising GDP. Rather, we should aim to create a dignified life for each and every person, without sacrificing environmental sustainability or exacerbating inequality,' he said.