On October 20, 2023, the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP) as the host of the
ASEAN University Network-Human Rights Education (AUN-HRE) in collaboration with
ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and SHAPE-SEA Program
organized the Regional Colloquium on Human Rights, Environment, and Climate Change,
with the support of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights, the University of Oslo. Dr.
Vachararutai Boontinand, Director of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies, Mahidol
University and AUN-HRE Convener introduced the background and the objectives of the
colloquium. H.E. Yuyun Wahyuningrum, Chair and Representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN
Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) gave an opening remark while Prof.
Wachira Kochakarn, M.D. FACS., Vice President of Mahidol University welcomed participants
to the event.
The regional colloquium featured a continued collaboration between AUN-HRE, IHRP, SHAPE-
SEA Program and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) on
the ASEAN/SEA Regional Youth Essay Competition as well as a new partnership between
IHRP, the ASEAN Institute for Health Development and the Faculty of Public Health, Mahidol
University on the Thai Youth Essay Competition. The ASEAN level competition saw 108 entries
while the Thai national level competition received 151 submissions, all of which were written
under the broad theme of “Imagining Safe, Clean and Sustainable Environment in
ASEAN/SEA”. The winners of both categories of the essay competition were invited to receive
their awards and share the key messages from their winning pieces. The colloquium also
included an expert panel presentation on business and human rights by H.E. Professor Dato’ Dr.
Aishah Bidin, the Malaysia Representative to ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on
Human Rights (AICHR), the right to work and climate change by Professor Haina Lu from
Renmin University, China and key challenges on human rights, environment and climate change
by Dr. Katinka Weinberger from UNESCAP. As AUN-HRE will be publishing a new textbook
on human rights, environment and climate change early next year, authors of the textbook were
invited to present their contributing chapters which include cross-cutting and specific issues
relating to the theme of the textbook.
The colloquium was held at the Institute of Population and Social Research, Room 101, Mahidol
University, Thailand.
