In a significant development at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on October 26, 2025, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted a groundbreaking declaration that champions the right to development and peace. This move has garnered considerable praise from United Nations experts who see it as a pivotal step toward regional and potentially global progress in these areas.

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva, hailed the declaration as a vital endorsement of multilateralism for achieving inclusive and sustainable development. Deva emphasized the role of the ASEAN Declaration in laying down a practical framework for realizing the right to development at both national and regional levels. "As States negotiate an international convention on the right to development, the ASEAN Declaration provides a blueprint of how to operationalize this right at the national and regional levels," Deva noted. He urged other regional intergovernmental organizations to emulate ASEAN's initiative to ensure a dignified development and peace for all.

The Declaration on Promoting the Right to Development and the Right to Peace Towards Realising Inclusive and Sustainable Development aligns closely with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It addresses the complex interplay between business, human rights, environmental concerns, and climate change while reinforcing the notion that human rights advancement, sustainable development, and regional peace and security are interconnected and mutually beneficial.

Reaffirming the core purposes outlined in its charter, the declaration emphasized ASEAN's commitment to maintaining and enhancing peace, security, and peace-oriented values across the region. It recognized the peoples of ASEAN as central to the development process and as active agents in benefiting from this development.

Additionally, the declaration reiterates the ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment adopted earlier in 2025. This underscores the member states' responsibility in tackling challenges related to ensuring a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment for present and future generations.

This declaration not only marks a commendable step by ASEAN but also sets a precedent for other regions to follow, promising a more coordinated approach to tackling some of the most pressing challenges of our time.