Regionalism and Human Rights: Towards an Asian Human Rights Protection System

Abstract The absence of regional human rights mechanisms in Asia is due to the continent’s diverse political, socio-economic and cultural landscape. Scholars and policymakers argue that this heterogeneity makes the establishment of a unified human rights body a challenge. Nevertheless, the need for regional human rights systems in Asia remains crucial, as the experience of other regions such as Europe, Africa and the Americas shows. The regional mechanisms allow for the development of customized solutions to human rights problems, taking into account local values and cultural nuances. This paper examines the prospects and challenges of establishing an Asian regional human rights system. It considers various scenarios, including the creation of new organizations or using existing structures such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to establish such mechanisms. Drawing on the experience of regional systems around the world, this study emphasizes the need for an Asian structure to monitor, promote and uphold human rights standards, and suggests steps to achieve this goal.