ABSTRACT

Human Rights in Asia considers how human rights are viewed and implemented in Asia. It covers not just civil and political rights, but also social, economic and cultural rights.

This study discusses the problems arising from the fact that ideas of human rights have evolved in Western liberal democracies and examines how far such values are compatible with Asian values and applicable in Asian contexts. Core chapters on France and the USA provide a benchmark on how human rights have emerged and how they are applied and implemented in a civil law and a common law jurisdiction. These are then followed by twelve chapters on the major countries of East Asia plus India, each of which follows a common template to consider the context of the legal system in each country, black letter law, legal discussions and debates and key current issues concerning human rights in each jurisdiction.

chapter |64 pages

1 An empirical overview of rights performance in Asia, France, and the USA

The dominance of wealth in the interplay of economics, culture, law, and governance

chapter |18 pages

2 The protection of human rights in France

A comparative perspective

chapter |38 pages

3 Uncovering rights in the USA

Gauging the gap between the Bill of Rights and human rights

chapter |41 pages

7 From British colony to special administrative region of China

Embracing human rights in Hong Kong

chapter |18 pages

11 The Philippines

The persistence of rights discourse vis-à-vis substantive social claims