MERE RITUAL OR GRADUAL CHANGE: WHY HAS ASIA FAILED TO ESTABLISH REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS THUS FAR?

This paper reviews all the major initiatives to establish regional human rights institutions (RHRIs) in Asia and concludes that, for the last twenty years, Asian governments’ efforts to create RHRIs have been ritualistic, with non-legally binding promises and temporal discussions, but without any concrete actions. After analyzing the major initiatives, this paper identifies five main factors that have hindered the establishment of a regional human rights system in Asia. It concludes that those obstacles result not from a different understanding of fundamental human rights under the already existing international human rights legal system, but mainly from political considerations. Thus, this paper questions who benefits from the rejection of RHRIs in the Asia-Pacific region.