University of New South Wales Faculty of Law Research Series

Series Home | UNSW Law Home Page

University of New South Wales Faculty of Law Research Series 2009

 

“A tongue but no teeth”? The emergence of a regional human rights mechanism in the Asia-Pacific

Andrea Durbach, University of New South Wales
Catherine Renshaw, University of New South Wales
Andrew Byrnes, University of New South Wales

Article comments

This paper was published in (2009) 31(2) Sydney Law Review 211-238. This paper may also be referenced as [2009] UNSWLRS 30.

Abstract

In November 2007, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders undertook to establish an ASEAN Human Rights Body (AHRB). While ASEAN Member States have been divided over the new mechanism’s structure and function, the High Level Panel charged with its implementation is evidently working towards December 2009 as the date for the AHRB’s establishment. This development takes place in the light of the creation of close to twenty national human rights commissions in the Asia Pacific region in the last few decades. In many cases, the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), a network of national human rights institutions (NHRIs), has facilitated their establishment and development. With reference to the origins and work of other regional human rights mechanisms, this paper explores the rationale for and efforts towards establishment of a regional human rights commission in the Asia Pacific; the extent to which the emergence of NHRIs has contributed to the AHRB initiative and how NHRIs might influence its form and operations; and the historical and prospective role of regional networks such as the APF in contributing to human rights protection in the region and in relation to any ASEAN sub-regional human rights mechanism.

Subject Area

Human Rights Law

Recommended Citation

Andrea Durbach, Catherine Renshaw, and Andrew Byrnes, "“A tongue but no teeth”? The emergence of a regional human rights mechanism in the Asia-Pacific" (August 2009). University of New South Wales Faculty of Law Research Series. University of New South Wales Faculty of Law Research Series 2009. Working Paper 30.
http://law.bepress.com/unswwps/flrps09/art30

No readers' reactions have been posted for this article. To submit one, copy the URL for this article (http://law.bepress.com/unswwps/flrps09/art30) and click here.