AICHR strengthens human rights-based approaches to conflict prevention and peacebuilding in ASEAN
Following on from the series of successful workshops on peace and human rights, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened the fifth and sixth workshops on 23 to 24 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Participants reflected on good practices and lessons from peace negotiations in the region, including the importance of inclusive participation, third-party monitoring, truth-seeking, accountability, rehabilitation and socio-economic justice for survivors. They emphasised that durable peace must be grounded not only in political compromise, but also in justice, human rights and the lived experiences of affected communities.
The discussions highlighted the need for ASEAN to move from reactive responses towards a culture of proactive prevention. The protection of peace and human rights should be supported by stronger multi-sectoral and multi-track coordination.
In conflict prevention and management, ASEAN has the potential to develop a region-wide early warning and early response system drawing on inputs from local communities and civil society. The workshops also considered ideas to strengthen existing ASEAN mechanisms, such as enhancing the operationalisation of human rights, strengthening monitoring and mediation, and creating safe and inclusive spaces for communities directly affected by conflict.
In addressing intra-state and inter-state conflicts and advancing human rights-based approaches to peace in the region, experienced negotiators demonstrated that compromises in conflict are more sustainable when negotiated through inclusive, transparent processes grounded in the needs and aspirations of affected communities. The participation of women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, faith-based groups, displaced communities, and persons with disabilities is a critical element of durable peace. Further, to become future-ready in addressing new and emerging conflict hotspots and situations, reliance on humanitarian assistance as an entry point for stabilisation needs to be complemented by engagement with human rights norms.
Held in collaboration with ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) and supported by the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities and Norway, the workshops brought together over 70 participants from ASEAN sectoral bodies, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, academia, and peace builders from conflict-affected communities. Speakers included negotiators and key actors from the region’s peace processes.
Moving ahead, one of the key workshop outcomes is to develop a regional framework to contextualise a human-rights-based approach to conflict prevention, conflict management, reconciliation, and peacebuilding in ASEAN, supporting ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future for a resilient, innovative, dynamic, and people-centred ASEAN.
The workshops were held under AICHR Malaysia’s Priority Programme, “Regional Training Programme on Human Rights”.
The photographs of the workshops can be found here: