RWI, in collaboration with UNEP Asia Pacific and UNESCAP, successfully conducted the Blended Learning Course (BLC) on Strengthening Legal Responses to Environmental Harm: Advancing Environmental Justice and Human Rights in Southeast Asia between August and early September 2025. The course brought together 23 lawyers, prosecutors, and staff from National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) across six ASEAN countries: Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Viet Nam.
Designed as a two-phase learning journey, the BLC combined a self-paced online course with a three-day in-person workshop in Bangkok (2–4 September 2025). The online phase introduced participants to foundational and emerging intersections between environmental law and human rights through seven modules and expert-led webinars by Prof. Andri Wibisana and Dr. Claudia Ituarte-Lima. Participants explored international jurisprudence, the right to a healthy environment, and strategies to integrate human rights principles into environmental litigation and policy advocacy.
In Bangkok, the in-person workshop shifted from frameworks to practice. Participants engaged in group case exercises on transboundary harm and Indigenous rights, a role-play simulation, and a panel discussion on the protection of Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs) featuring Celine Lim (Save Rivers Malaysia), Marsha Handayani (ICEL), Pochoy Labog (Business & Human Rights Resource Centre/ BHRRC), and Pratch Rujivanarom (journalist and EHRD).
An important discussion was also held on the forthcoming ASEAN Declaration on the Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, featuring Dr. Bhanubhatra Jittiang, Thailand’s Representative to AICHR, who shared insights on the drafting process and its potential to strengthen regional advocacy and cooperation. The course concluded with a site visit to the Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand, where judges Ms. Saitip Sukatipan, Mr. Prapot Klaisuban, and Mr. Chanwit Chaikan shared reflections on citizen-friendly procedures and landmark rulings applying principles such as precaution, intergenerational equity, and strict liability.
This visit provided participants with comparative lessons for improving access to justice in their own countries. Post-training feedback reflected high satisfaction and increased confidence among participants to apply rights-based approaches in addressing environmental harm. The BLC also fostered a strong spirit of collaboration among practitioners from different legal systems, laying the foundation for a growing regional network of environmental justice advocates.
Moving forward, insights from this initiative will inform RWI’s ongoing engagement with regional partners, including the development of recommendations contributing to the forthcoming ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Environmental Rights. This Sida-supported initiative has not only enhanced the practical skills of environmental law practitioners across ASEAN but also strengthened regional cooperation to advance environmental justice and human rights.
Photos from the event:
