ASEAN CSR Network (ACN)  and Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 09 July 2018 in Singapore to strengthen the partnership and set out broad areas of cooperation between the two organisations for the period of April 2018 to December 2021.

The identified areas of cooperation include:

• Organising and conducting training courses and/or dialogues in the ASEAN region with focus on private sector actors, in particular on human rights, business and environment based on UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
• Collaborating in conducting research, with regards to corporations, human rights and environment in ASEAN, or as elsewhere relevant; and
• Conducting mutual consultancies, where relevant, based on the networks, expertise and comparative advantages of the two organisations.

Founded in December 2010, ACN - an accredited ASEAN entity -  is a regional network that promotes responsible business conduct, to achieve a sustainable, equitable and inclusive ASEAN Community. Its vision is to create a responsible business community that makes ASEAN a better place to live for all. ACN creates change by influencing and working with different actors, ranging from ASEAN bodies, ASEAN member states to the private sector, civil society and international organisations, who have the power to influence the way businesses operate. It provides a platform for networking and cooperation at the ASEAN level, supports capacity-building and training activities, helps catalyse thought leadership and collective actions on CSR and key related issues including business and human rights, business integrity, sustainable agriculture and environment.

RWI is an independent research and academic institution with offices, programmes, and convening power covering 40 countries. Established in 1984, RWI combines evidence-based human rights research with direct engagement with international organisations, governments, national human rights institutions, the justice sector, local and regional authorities, universities, and the business sector to bring about human rights change for all. RWI focuses on four major human rights issues where it adds value, namely; fair and efficient justice, people on the move, economic globalisation and inclusive societies.

ACN and RWI, both having extensive expertise and experience in their respective focus areas, complement each other in many ways. ACN has been a consultant to the RWI Blended Learning Course on the Human Rights and the Environment in Southeast Asia in 2017. ACN in particular hosted the Regional meeting for private actors on business, human rights and environment in collaboration with RWI in that course.