The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand;

DESIRING to further intensify the aims and purposes of the Bangkok Declaration of 1967, the Declaration of ASEAN Concord of 1976, and the Manila Declaration of 1987;

RECOGNIZING the importance of active participation and integration of women in the region in sharing the future development and progress of ASEAN and the necessity of meeting the needs and aspiration of women in the ASEAN Member Countries;

AWARE that women constitute half of the total population of the ASEAN region; and

TAKING cognizance of the multiple roles of women in the family, in society and in the nation and the need to give full support and provide facilities and opportunities to enable them to undertake these tasks effectively;

DO HEREBY DECLARE THAT:

In the context of strengthening regional cooperation, collaboration and coordination for the purpose of advancing the role and contribution of women in the progress of the region, each MEMBER COUNTRY, either individually or collectively, in ASEAN shall endeavour:

1. To promote and implement the equitable and effective participation of women whenever possible in all fields and at various levels of the political, economic, social and cultural life of society at the national, regional and international levels.
   
   

2. To enable women in the region to undertake their important role as active agents and beneficiaries of national and regional development, particularly in promoting regional understanding and cooperation and in building more just and peaceful societies.
   
   

3. To integrate in national plans the specific concerns of women and their roles as active agents in and beneficiaries of development, specifically considering their role as a productive force to attain the full development of the human personality.
   
   

4. To design and promote programmes involving the participation of the community and nongovernmental women organizations towards strengthening national and regional resilience.
   
   

5. To strengthen solidarity in the region and international women forum by promoting harmonization of views and of positions.

DONE in Bangkok, Thailand, this 5th day of May 1988 in single copy in the English language.

For the Government of Brunei Darussalam:

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For the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand:

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