Coping with Human Rights Challenge: A Perspective from Asean

Abstract

Since its inception, ASEAN has constantly faced criticism from western countries and international human rights organizations. This paper particularly focuses on ASEAN human rights and non-interference policy. ASEAN has established two new commissions: Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission and Protection of Women and Children. This study focuses on the current state of human rights in ASEAN and addresses the following key questions: how ASEAN deals with human rights problems? Why ASEAN response to human rights has been considered as insufficient to handle/tackle human rights problems effectively? Hence, a qualitative approach was applied to this study using secondary sources of data. This study is based on thorough literature review and critical analysis of ASEAN human rights situation, by reviewing the relevant studies on human rights challenges in ASEAN, and its strategies in tackling this challenge. This study concludes that although the problem of human rights is recognized as per national, regional and international laws, but the challenge to implement them in letter and spirit require more concrete step at regional level on behalf of ASEAN, however, Non-intervention policy is a serious challenge to collective decision making on ASEAN human rights. Therefore, ASEAN needs to setup a mechanism where the member states can find common ground to handle human rights challenge.