Page 130 - The Ethics of ASEAN

The Ethics of ASEAN

In this ECAAR dialogue, besides my role as moderator I gave an overview of key human
development references as background to the current discussion, taken from the AHDO
certification programme for human development professionals.
Human development is a broad concept with a rich philosophical history in many
cultures worldwide. About forty years ago, the United Nations began a process to redefine
human development beyond a purely economic meaning. In 1986 the United Nations
declared that development is a human right, making it a foundational rules-based ethic. 1

The right to development is an inalienable human right by
virtue of which every human person and all peoples are
entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic,
social, cultural and political development, in which all human
rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.

The United Nations became the reference for human development programmes and
studies worldwide.
In ASEAN, this rules-based ethic of human development has become not only a right
but was defined as an essential ethic of the ASEAN community in 2012 in three articles of
the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. 2

RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

35. The right to development is an inalienable human right by
virtue of which every human person and the peoples of ASEAN
are entitled to participate in, contribute to, enjoy and benefit
equitably and sustainably from economic, social, cultural
and political development. The right to development should
be fulfilled so as to meet equitably the developmental and
environmental needs of present and future generations. While
development facilitates and is necessary for the enjoyment of
all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked
to justify the violations of internationally recognised human
rights.

36. ASEAN Member States should adopt meaningful people-
oriented and gender responsive development programmes
aimed at poverty alleviation, the creation of conditions
including the protection and sustainability of the environment
for the peoples of ASEAN to enjoy all human rights recognised
in this Declaration on an equitable basis, and the progressive
narrowing of the development gap within ASEAN.

1 United Nations Declaration on the Right to Human Development online booklet https://www.ohchr.org/sites/
default/files/Documents/Issues/Development/RTD_booklet_en.pdf Retrieved 23 July 2023
2 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration https://asean.org/asean-human-rights-declaration/ retrieved 23 July 2023.

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