While many shows disappointment on the AICHR's commitments and efficacies in promoting and protecting human rights, this thesis believes that the transformation is on-going and a comprehensive human rights system is feasible in the foreseeable future. Obviously, the AICHR will not cure all human rights ills overnight. Therefore, it is important to always focus on finding the best approach for AICHR to improve its task and be bold in carrying its mandates.
This assessment of progress in Southeast Asia on human rights begins in the wake of the 'Asian values' debate and culminates in the formal regional institutionalisation of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Chapters examine the arduous negotiation of AICHR, the evolving relationship between ASEAN states' and the international human rights system, and the historical and experiential reasons for hesitancy. The text concludes with a discussion of how the evolving right to development impacts upon AICHR and international human rights in general, and how their preference for economic, social and development rights could help ASEAN states shape the debate.
Human Rights in ASEAN: Indonesian and International Perspectives is a collection of 13 essays that not only offers fresh new insights on the different facets of human rights and their protection in ASEAN, but also 'insider' accounts of the development of the ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission for Human Rights. These valuable perspectives have never been shared publicly, and offer a view from both the state and non-governmental organisations' (NGO) perspectives. In addition to these valuable perspectives, this book offers a number of significant case studies of how human rights has been implemented, and the challenges it faces in ASEAN in general, and in Indonesia particularly.
In Human Rights and Participatory Politics in Southeast Asia, Catherine Renshaw recounts an extraordinary period of human rights institution-building in Southeast Asia. She begins her account in 2007, when the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the ASEAN charter, committing members for the first time to principles of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. In 2009, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was established with a mandate to uphold internationally recognized human rights standards. In 2013, the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration was adopted as a framework for human rights cooperation in the region and a mechanisim for ASEAN community building. Renshaw explains why these developments emerged when they did and assesses the impact of these institutions in the first decade of their existence. In her examination of ASEAN, Renshaw asks how human rights can be implemented in and between states that are politically diverse—Vietnam and Laos are Communist; Brunei Darussalam is an Islamic sultanate; Myanmar is in transition from a military dictatorship; the Philippines and Indonesia are established multiparty democracies; while the remaining members are less easily defined. Renshaw cautions that ASEAN is limited in its ability to shape the practices of its members because it lacks a preponderance of democratic states. However, she concludes that, in the absence of a global legalized human rights order, the most significant practical advancements in the promotion of human rights have emerged from regional institutions such as the ASEAN.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) launched its own regional human rights mechanism in the form of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Immediately upon its inauguration, it has been beset with criticism from civil society organizations and the media over its limited mandate. This study aims to analyze the structure and function of this fledgling institution compared to that of other more established regional human rights mechanisms, such as that of the European Union (EU). The study identifies the structural and functional similarities of the ASEAN and EU s human rights mechanisms, and provides recommendations for the AICHR s development. As an overarching framework, this study introduces the possibility of using the principles outlined under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993 on National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, also known as the Paris Principles, as a guide in assessing the structure and function of regional human rights mechanisms.
This book focuses on the human and societal aspects of sustainable development. Three major perspectives are considered: governance and its influence on sustainable development; urban environments and their broader human and environmental impacts; and disaster management. Each of these elements is critical in considering the current and prospective development of societies towards a sustainable future in which human security is guaranteed. This 2-volume set discusses a wide range of topics concerning sustainability and human security in Asia, particularly South East Asia. The individual chapters have been contributed by authors from various fields, and due to the breadth of the material are separated into two thematic volumes.The set offers a valuable resource for professionals and researchers in the urban planning industry, postgraduates, policymakers, government officials and natural resources managers. In addition, it can be used in courses on Environmental Engineering, Agriculture and Forestry, Public Policy and Earth Science.
