Environmental Rights in the ASEAN

April 19, 2024

Environmental defenders in Southeast Asia are being attacked for their work in protecting ecosystems and upholding the rights of communities.

Amidst the worsening effects of the climate crisis on the region’s vulnerable countries, we need a regional framework for environmental rights that will strengthen protections for our defenders and for the rich natural environment of Southeast Asia.

Since 2022, there has been an ongoing process to draft a framework for environmental rights for ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. As of July 2024, the draft declaration is with the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission of Human Rights (AICHR) for consultation with sectoral bodies and other stakeholders. The only public draft, which was released for use by stakeholder consultations in April, may be read here. 

While APNED’s official role in the process as part of the Working Group drafting the document has ended, APNED is committed to continuing to lobby for civil society recommendations and working towards genuine legal instruments that uphold the rights of EHRDs. Keep posted through our social media and mailing list for updates on how to engage in lobbying for AER.

Environmental Defenders in Southeast Asia

Environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) are defined by the United Nations (UN) as “individuals and groups who, in their personal or professional capacity and in a peaceful manner, strive to protect and promote human rights relating to the environment, including water, air, land, flora and fauna”. Environmental defenders worldwide remain highly vulnerable to attacks due to their work.

From 2012 to 2021, Global Witness has recorded 318 killings of land and environmental defenders in Southeast Asia which is 18% of the total number globally. The Philippines is consistently ranked first in Asia in terms of the number of killings in the past decade. There are also many reported other types of attacks on EHRDs including arbitrary arrests and detention, physical violence, enforced disappearances, and defamation among others.

However, out of the 48 countries in Asia, only Mongolia has a law specifically for the protection of human rights defenders. In the Philippines, policy proposals such as the Human Rights Defenders Bill and the Environmental Defense have been passed but have not yet been legislated. There is also no regional agreement or framework similar to this in Asia and the Pacific.

In other parts of the world, there are already legal instruments that seek to uphold environmental rights and the rights of EHRDs such as the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters or the Aarhus Convention in Europe, and the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean or the Escazu Agreement.

With regards to the ASEAN, the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration of 2012 under Article 28 includes “the right to a safe, clean and sustainable environment.” Other documents that pave the way for further commitment to environmental protection are the ASEAN-UN Plan of Action 2021-2025 and the AICHR’s Five-Year Work Plan 2021-2025. In June 2021, AICHR convened a Workshop on Human Rights, Environment and Climate Change, during which a recommendation to explore the development of a regional framework on environmental rights was brought up. AICHR Thailand in June 2022 then led an Inception Workshop to discuss preparations and milestones for this would-be regional instrument.

Process

The ASEAN Environmental Rights Working Group (AER WG) was established in November 2022 with the Modalities of Operations adopted by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on November 21, 2022. The Terms of Reference was also approved and included the following:

The purposes of the AER working group are:

  1.  To develop a regional framework on environmental rights which will be submitted to AICHR for further discussion. AICHR will consult ASEAN Sectoral Bodies relevant to environment, in particular the ASEAN Senior Officials on Environment (ASOEN) for consideration before eventual adoption by leaders of ASEAN.
  2. To collaborate and consult with other bodies within and outside the ASEAN, including civil societies organisations, relevant UN agencies and thematic experts in the region, as may be appropriate. Specifically, the AER Working Group will seek to:
  3. Facilitate the exchange of information on environmental rights in ASEAN for consideration in the draft framework;
    1. Identify issues and challenges from emerging areas of environmental rights that require particular consideration in the ASEAN context;
    2. Prepare recommendations for and content of the draft framework; based on the outputs from relevant meetings and workshops;
    3. Support the undertaking of capacity-building, awareness-raising, and outreach on environmental rights with partners;
    4. Provide strategic guidance to the development of the framework on environmental rights, in consideration of the need to ensure alignment of the framework with other regional ASEAN commitments and national circumstances;
    5. Work with key stakeholders, sectoral bodies and partners on the delivery of the above; and
    6. Support the development of guidelines for implementation of the adopted framework.

The AER working group is composed of individuals from senior experts on human rights and the environment, preferable with law backgrounds, lived experience and/or who have experience in negotiation and drafting of regional or international legal documents, among others.

The AER working group shall have at least four separate meetings between its inception until December 2024. The AER Working Group may seek written contributions from relevant stakeholders for inputs on drafts, if necessary.

Press releases of previous AER working group meetings:

Latest Publicized Draft

(9/2/2024) The draft is currently being deliberated on at the AICHR level. The final draft passed by the AER Working Group has not been made available to the public.

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Draft ASEAN declaration on environmental rights, for public consultation 

(As of March 7, 2024, from 3rd WG Meeting)

ASEAN Peoples' Declaration on Environmental Rights

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Initial draft of the ASEAN Peoples’ Declaration, submitted by several civil society members of the AER Working Group, including APNED, for the consideration of AICHR at the 5th WG Meeting in July

Link to doc: https://tinyurl.com/ASEANPeoplesDeclaration-ER

Submissions

[Submissions from civil society are now closed.]

Submit comments and suggestions through the online submission form hosted on the web portal of the Asia-Pacific Environmental Rights Observatory. Consolidated written inputs from civil society-organized consultations are particularly encouraged. Deadline is April 30.

News and Updates

Media

  • Brackets of power: the fight for environmental justice in Southeast Asia [September 30, 2024, Stockholm Environmental Institute] 
  • Southeast Asia’s highly anticipated environmental rights declaration ‘watered down’, say critics [August 27, 2024, Dialogue Earth]
  • ASEAN Environmental Rights Declaration Needs Transparency [June 30, 2024, Human Rights Watch]
  • ASEAN’s Environment of Denial: New Declaration, Same Old Story [May 23, 2024, The Diplomat]
  • Rights groups call for greater public input in ASEAN environmental rights framework [May 8, 2024, Mongabay]
  • A Critical Week for Environmental Rights in Southeast Asia [May 5, 2024, Human Rights Watch]
  • As Asean environmental rights draft takes shape, advocates fear weakened safeguards [March 28, 2024, Eco-Business]

Civil Society Statements

Civil Society Press Releases

Upcoming Civil Society Consultations

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Past Civil Society Consultations

  • June 20 | APNED Civil Society Consultation, side event at the International Festival for Peoples’ Rights and Struggles 2024 at Penang, Malaysia
  • April 25 | ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights Online Consultation
    • Organized by Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL), National University of Singapore Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law (APCEL), and Indonesian Center for Environmental Law (ICEL)
    • More details
  • April 5 | Stakeholder consultation process for the draft ASEAN declaration on environmental rights [Online]
    • Presented by Prof. Dr. Amara Pongsapich, Chair of AER WG and Representative of Thailand to the AICHR
  • March 26 | Consultation: ASEAN Environmental Rights Framework [Online]
    • Organized by Youth United for Earth, ASEAN Youth Forum, Asia-Pacific Climate Project, supported by ARIEL and APNED
  • March 22 | APNED Civil Society Consultation on the Consultation Document [Online]
    • Co-organized with ARIEL, ASEAN Youth Forum, and other APNED member environmental organizations
  • February 6 | APNED Consultation with Philippine Civil Society Groups

Resources

Websites

  • https://www.environmental-rights.net/
    • Website by the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL), containing information on the framework process and references used in drafting the declaration
  • Asia-Pacific Environmental Rights Observatory [UN ESCAP]
    • Hosted by the UN Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific, contains information on the process, hosts civil society submission form for inputs

Videos

Feel free to use/display/repost these videos for local consultations and events on ASEAN Environmental Rights, with appropriate credits to APNED.

References on environmental rights

Relevant ASEAN Documents

Reference documents for framework

On the Situation of Environmental Rights in Southeast Asia

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