The ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) was established as an action line under Provision B.2.2 of the APSC Blueprint (2010-2015), which aims to strengthen research activities on peace, conflict management and conflict resolution.

At the 18^th ASEAN Summit on 8 May 2011, the ASEAN Leaders adopted a Joint Statement on the Establishment of an ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. The Terms of Reference (TOR) of the ASEAN-IPR was adopted by the 45^th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) in July 2012 and launched on 18 November 2012 by the ASEAN Leaders on the sides of the 21^st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The Institute is an ASEAN institution dedicated for research activities and supporting the ASEAN bodies on the issues of peace, reconciliation, conflict management and conflict resolution. The Institutes structure consists of the Governing Council, as the highest decision-making body of the Institute; the Advisory Board, which advises research priorities of the Institute; and, the Executive Director, which represents the Institute in all administrative and operational matters, as well as head of the Institutes Secretariat.

The TOR of the ASEAN-IPR also indicates that the Institute would operate in accordance with the ASEAN Charter, and guided by the principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), which includes:

• Respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity and national identity of all ASEAN Member States;
• Shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity; and,
• Non-interference in the internal affairs of ASEAN Member States.

On 1 February 2018, the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Indonesia and the ASEAN-IPR on Hosting and Granting Privileges and Immunities to the ASEAN-IPR (Host Country Agreement or HCA) was signed, witnessed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia and the Chair of the Governing Council, recognising the Institutes juridical and legal capacity under the law of the Republic of Indonesia.