On 18 November 2012, the Heads of State of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (‘the AHRD’).1 The AHRD is important for two reasons. First, it clarifies the mandate of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR).2 AICHR, Asia’s first regional human rights institution, was established in 2009 under Article 14 of the ASEAN Charter.3 Second, the AHRD is seen as a precursor to a formal treaty for the region, in the same way that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man preceded the American Convention on Human Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) preceded the...