The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment
“We welcome the adoption by ASEAN of a landmark regional declaration on the right to a healthy environment. The declaration was announced today, after being adopted on Sunday during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said.
“The ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment marks a vital step forward as the latest regional affirmation of the right to a healthy environment across Southeast Asia,” Laurence said.
“The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calls on ASEAN States to build on the declaration to ensure coordinated leadership and timely action toward addressing transboundary environmental harms. These include climate change, land, water and air pollution, and should include the meaningful participation of the most affected, including women, young people, and Indigenous Peoples. He also emphasises the particular need to ensure the effective protection of environmental human rights defenders and their essential work,” Laurence told the biweekly press briefing in Geneva.
For more information and media requests, please contact
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani: +41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Jeremy Laurence: +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share - X: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on ASEAN declaration on the right to a healthy environment
TRT: 01:33
SOURCE: UNOG /OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 28 October 2025 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations
- Interior shot: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We welcome the adoption by ASEAN of a landmark regional declaration on the right to a healthy environment. The declaration was announced today, after being adopted on Sunday during the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment marks a vital step forward as the latest regional affirmation of the right to a healthy environment across Southeast Asia.”
- Cut away: briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)— Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calls on ASEAN States to build on the declaration to ensure coordinated leadership and timely action toward addressing transboundary environmental harms. These include climate change, land, water and air pollution, and should include the meaningful participation of the most affected, including women, young people, and Indigenous Peoples. He also emphasises the particular need to ensure the effective protection of environmental human rights defenders and their essential work.”
- Cut away: briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office has published a report on the grave human rights abuses suffered by the hundreds of thousands of people trafficked into scam operations mostly in southeast Asia.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Marta Hurtado briefed journalists on a UN report detailing child trafficking by gangs and how it is putting Haiti’s future at risk.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , IFRC , UN WOMEN
Ukraine’s women at breaking point after four years of war as attacks on energy, healthcare continue – UN humanitarians
Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, millions in Ukraine struggle to keep the lights on and heat their homes, with the crisis taking a particular toll on women, humanitarians warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya are subjected to ruthless and systematic human rights violations and abuses, which include killings, torture, sexual violence and trafficking,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IOM
Four years of war in Ukraine: Childhood has ‘moved underground’, displacement continues – UN humanitarians
Civilian suffering shows no sign of letting up in Ukraine as the four-year-mark of Russia’s full-scale invasion nears amid attacks on energy infrastructure, blackouts and freezing temperatures, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday voiced concerns about the severe impacts on human rights of the socio-economic crisis in Cuba.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Madagascar: ‘Overwhelming’ destruction, surging needs after back-to-back cyclones – WFP
Some 10 days after tropical cyclone Fytia brought heavy rains and flooding to Madagascar, cyclone Gezani has left the island’s main port in ruins, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.