AICHR Workshop on Poverty Eradication and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Strengthening ASEAN’s Regional Commitment to the UN 2030 Agenda

LUANG PRABANG, 5 December 2025 – The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) convened the AICHR Workshop on Poverty Eradication and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the context of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) and UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on 4–5 December 2025 in Luang Prabang, Lao PDR.

The event brought together around 50 participants, those are representatives from ASEAN Member States, including government officials and experts such as AICHR Representatives, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lao PDR, the Ministry of Justice of Lao PDR, the Ministry of Human Rights of Lao PDR, the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, the National University of Laos, other relevant ministries of ASEAN Member States, ASEAN Secretariat, Lao Human Rights Focal Points and business entrepreneurs.

The workshop aims to share national and regional views on the implementation of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights through AHRD and the UN 2030 Agenda for SDGs in supporting the poverty eradication among ASEAN Member States. It provided a platform for ASEAN Member States. The AICHR Workshop has asserted its efforts and expressed political views and commitment to narrow the development gap among member states to reduce poverty and socio-economic disparity in the region. A number of relevant and key initiatives/programmes have been put into action, namely: Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), Master Plan for ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) and ASEAN Smart Cities Networks (ASCN), to contribute to the improvement of the well-being and lives of ASEAN people as well as the socio-economic development of ASEAN countries. Through presentations and discussions, the representatives of the ASEAN Member States and other stakeholders had fruitful and constructive discussions that can lead to further elaboration in the future.