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.

– Charts the human rights institutionalisation process in the ASEAN region that culminated in the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)

– Explains the evolution of human rights from its Western beginnings to its eventual acceptance in ASEAN, thereby elucidating the general Asian attitudes towards human rights discourse

– Provides insights into the complex process by which ASEAN regional and domestic societies and politics interact and create norms will assist those wanting to learn more about human rights, international law and politics, civil society and norm creation in ASEAN