At the 39th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 206, the Foreign Ministers called for ASEAN Member Countries to adopt standard operating procedures to extend assistance to nationals of ASEAN Member countries who are caught in conflict and crisis situations in third countries.

The Ministers’ decision was the result of the ASEAN experience during the Israel-Hezbollah War in Lebanon in 2006 where there was a massive displacement of refugees including foreign guest workers, many of whom were from ASEAN countries. Amidst the crisis, informal arrangements were made by ASEAN member countries for ASEAN missions in Lebanon and in neighboring countries to assist ASEAN nationals whose countries do not have diplomatic representations in the conflict zone.
           
The draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Provision of Consular Assistance by ASEAN Missions in Third Countries to Nationals of ASEAN Member Countries in Crisis Situations, initiated by the Philippines, seeks to institutionalize a set of procedures to govern future cooperation among ASEAN countries.

The basic principle embodied in the SOP is for an ASEAN Member Country to provide assistance to nationals of another ASEAN state similar to that given to its own nationals, based on capacities and resources of the relevant missions during a crisis.

To implement the SOP, a requesting ASEAN member country which does not have a mission in a third country shall make a formal request of assistance to another ASEAN member country that has a mission in the third country. However, in case of imminent danger, a citizen of an ASEAN member country may directly seek assistance from the missions of other ASEAN member countries or go directly to shelters or sanctuaries provided by their missions.