Human Security and Human Rights : (Still) contested concepts in ASEAN

Abstract

If human rights is recognized and legalized by the ASEAN Charter, the term human security was not included. Not only been was it not included in the ASEAN Charter but it has also depoliticized. ASEAN is still reluctant to face the challenge of balancing state and human security. Not only is ASEAN still facing challenges in balancing state security and human security, any arguments for strong conceptual links between human security and human rights, which has been recognized and mainstreamed by the UN agencies as well as some Western countries, is still problematic. The paper attempts to clarify the different concepts of human security and examine how the concepts have been perceived by ASEAN and ASEAN member states. It will also try to explain how human security concepts have been put into practice by AMS. Based mainly on desk research, the paper will first discuss the concepts of human security. It will further look into how ASEAN perceives human rights as well as their “missing links” with human security. The paper will argue that such a missing link is based on ASEANization of human security and misperception of human rights and it makes it difficult for human security to be applied for the benefit of ASEAN people.