ABSTRACT
As a preamble to examination of the institutional aspects of the South East Asian system, it is worth bearing in mind that the notion of human rights itself is much debated in the region. The recommendation from the World Conference on Human Rights was for all regions to establish regional human rights protection systems and for all countries to establish national human rights institutions. The most long-standing element of the system is the presence of national human rights institutions, but their formation of a network is a recent innovation and the South East Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum is in the process of initiating implementation of its commitments. A High Level Panel was set up to draft the terms of reference (TOR) of the body, and as a result the TOR was adopted in 2009, leading to the establishment of the Association of South East Asian Nations Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights.
