H.E. Dato’ Seri Utama Haji Anwar bin Dato’ Dr. Haji Ibrahim
Prime Minister of Malaysia, Chair of ASEAN 2025
Kuala Lumpur, 9th May 2025
Your Excellency,
On behalf of civil society organisations across Southeast Asia, we extend our highest respect and sincere appreciation for Malaysia’s principled and compassionate leadership within ASEAN, particularly in responding to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar and broader regional challenges.
We commend Your Excellency’s recent meeting with representatives of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG). This meaningful engagement signifies a crucial step forward in ASEAN’s collective response to the situation in Myanmar. More than a symbolic gesture, it affirms that Myanmar’s future must be shaped by its people, including the many now displaced and seeking refuge throughout Southeast Asia.
As ASEAN prepares to adopt the ASEAN Vision 2045 during the 46th ASEAN Summit (26th–27th May 2025), we are honored to submit the key outcomes of our consultation with refugee communities held in Kuala Lumpur on 7th May 2025. We respectfully offer the following recommendations for Your Excellency’s kind consideration:
1. Inclusion of Refugee Protection in the 46th ASEAN Chairman’s Statement and the ASEAN Vision 2045
We urge ASEAN to affirm, through both the Summit Chairman’s Statement and the Vision 2045, the inherent dignity and rights of all persons in the region, including those forcibly displaced due to conflict and persecution. The inclusion of refugee protection in ASEAN’s long-term vision will reinforce its commitment to becoming a rules-based, people-oriented, and people-centered community. We further recommend institutionalising refugee protection as a strategic and sustained ASEAN priority beyond 2025.
2. Establishment of an ASEAN Special Committee on Refugees
We call upon ASEAN to establish a Special Committee on Refugees, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand—the three ASEAN member states most directly impacted by the refugee crisis—as well as the Philippines, in recognition of its continued efforts to provide refuge to Rohingya populations. This committee should serve as a dedicated and permanent mechanism to coordinate regional responses, promote protection and durable solutions, and ensure that the plight of refugees, particularly the Rohingya, remains a sustained regional priority until a just and lasting resolution to the Myanmar crisis is achieved.
3. Access to Education for Refugee Children in line with Goal #4 of UN SDG 2030:
We call upon ASEAN to ensure that children and youth from refugee communities are fully included in national education systems across the region—from primary through tertiary levels, including access to vocational and technical training. Education is not a privilege but a fundamental right that empowers individuals, strengthens communities, and fosters long-term regional stability. Thailand’s constitutional guarantee of education and the Philippines’ provision of scholarships for Rohingya refugees from Malaysia both serve as exemplary models of inclusive and rights-based approaches that should be adopted and expanded throughout ASEAN.
4. Development of a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
We call upon ASEAN to adopt a coordinated and inclusive regional mechanism to address conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence. This framework should ensure protection, access to justice, and holistic support for survivors, and be implemented through collaborative efforts among national governments, ASEAN bodies, and civil society.
We are confident that Your Excellence’s leadership can advance a more compassionate and coherent regional approach to forced displacement – one that upholds the fundamental values enshrined in the ASEAN Charter and the spirit of regional solidarity.
We remain at your disposal to engage further in support of ASEAN’s efforts and Malaysia’s leadership during this critical period.
Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of our highest consideration and respect.
Respectfully yours,
Southeast Asian Civil Society Organisations:
- Al Ikhlas Hope Society
- Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR)
- ALTSEAN-Burma
- Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM)
- Arakan Watch
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN)
- Asian Justice and Rights (AJAR)
- Beyond Borders Malaysia
- Centre for Independent Journalism
- Child Abuse Community Training (ChildACT)
- Coalition of Burma Ethnics Malaysia (COBEM)
- Cross Cultural Foundation Thailand
- Dari Dapur
- End Detention Network
- Fugee.org
- Global Peace Malaysia (GPM)
- Guetanyoe Acheh
- Health Equity Initiative (HEI)
- Humanity on Time (HOT)
- Ideas Academy
- Jaringan Rohingya Education Centre (JREC)
- Justice for Sisters
- Malaysian Social Research Institute (MSR
- Muslim Aid Malaysia
- North South Initiative (NSI)
- Persatuan Alumni Teach for Malaysia
- Pertubuhan Kebajikan Cahaya Surya Bakti (CSB)
- Picha Eats
- Rohingya Arakanese Refugee Committee (RARC) Malaysia
- Rohingya Society Malaysia (RSM)
- Rohingya Women Development Network (RWDN)
- Salwa Malaysia
- Sarawak Women for Women Society (SWWS)
- Sejahtera Centre for Sustainability and Humanity (SC4SH), International Islamic University Malaysia
- Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)
- Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO)
Individuals:
- Amelia Liew Yenchi, Acumen Academy
- Jaw Tu Hkawng Hpaude, Asylum Access
- Reverend Elisa Satvinder, co-founder of the work of Dignity for Children Foundation (DCF)
- Wong Chen Li, Akar Umbi