AATHP Has No Provision For Legal Action Against Parties Responsible For Transboundary Haze

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) does not provide for any enforcement mechanism between countries or a compensation claim against parties responsible for transboundary haze.

Deputy Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh said this was because the regional agreement, which was signed more than two decades ago, was founded on the principles of cooperation, consensus and respect for the sovereignty of each member state.

As such, he said any responsibility for taking legal enforcement action against parties or companies that caused fires rested entirely within the jurisdiction and domestic laws of the countries concerned.

“That is why any proposal to introduce enforcement mechanisms or compensation claims would require comprehensive consideration from the perspectives of law, jurisdiction, diplomatic relations and, equally importantly, scientific evidence,” he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a supplementary question from Rodiyah Sapiee (GPS-Batang Sadong) on the effectiveness of the AATHP, which has been in force for more than 20 years, and proposals to review the agreement to enable legal action or compensation claims to be pursued against countries or companies responsible for transboundary haze.

However, Syed Ibrahim said the AATHP remained relevant as a regional cooperation framework for addressing transboundary haze pollution, particularly through monitoring, information sharing, early warning systems and the coordination of preventive measures among ASEAN member states.

To address the challenges in fulfilling the commitments under the agreement, he said Malaysia remained committed to strengthening its effectiveness through the implementation of the Second ASEAN Haze-Free Roadmap (2023-2030) and the ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy (2023-2030).

He said two proposals had also been put forward, namely a science diplomacy mechanism and a sustainable haze fund, which were presented at the Technical Working Group (TWG) and Ministerial Steering Committee (MSC) meetings in Bali last July.

“These matters will also be reviewed by the ASEAN Secretariat for discussion at the relevant meeting in Vietnam this December,” he said.

On Singapore's firmer approach to addressing transboundary haze pollution, he said Malaysia preferred to adopt a diplomatic approach in dealing with fellow ASEAN member states to avoid tensions between countries.

-- BERNAMA