Implementing Human Rights in ASEAN Countries:

Abstract

Human rights have not figured prominently on the agenda of the nine-member Association for Southeast Asian States (ASEAN) since its inception in 1967. Rather, the pursuit of regional security and cooperative measures for promoting trade and economic development have been paramount ASEAN objectives. By" insisting on a strict separation between human rights policy and trade issues, ASEAN has marginalized human rights and has consistently opposed the use by foreign states or international organizations of economic or other forms of pressure to induce change in human rights practices. ASEAN member states display an antipathy towards critical scrutiny of their human rights records-for example, in reports from the United States Department of State or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. ASEAN's general response has been that this constitutes foreign intervention in domestic matters, which undermines state sovereignty and violates -the sacred principle of nonintervention in internal affairs. Within the context of ASEAN itself, an emphasis on harmony, compromise and consensus in ordering interstate relations helps to preserve a fraternal silence with respect to the human rights violations of member states. ASEAN policy (or lack thereof) towards human rights has been one of reticence and nonengagement.