ABSTRACT
International human rights law has become the dominant 21st-century global moral language shaping international relations. This chapter explores the context and contour of human rights practice and culture in Asia; it identifies factors shaping how Asian states negotiate human rights, which together with the rule of law and democracy form the prescriptive triumvirate of 'good governance'. This includes the colonial histories and immense diversity extant in Asia in terms of culture, religious faiths, political systems and levels of economic development. The chapter examines the subregional turn towards institutions and the negotiation of sovereignty costs in adopting human rights processes and structures within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Only ASEAN has set forth its normative vision of human rights in its 2012 Human Rights Declaration, which received criticism from various quarters in Asia and beyond. The 1993 Bangkok Declaration articulated the collective view of Asian governments towards human rights.
