Deklaracja praw człowieka Stowarzyszenia Narodów Azji Południowo-Wschodniej, Phnom Penh, 18 listopada 2012 r.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains the only significant integration organisation in the Southeast Asia. Despite the ongoing process of integration of member states, this consolidation has been relatively late in embracing issues related to the protection of fundamental rights. The subject of translation is the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) adopted on 18 November 2012 by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The document in question may in the future lay the foundations for the Asian human rights protection system based on non-European values. Indeed, the presentation of fundamental rights in this document is different from that found in the European human rights system. Particularly noteworthy is the linkage made by it between fundamental rights and the performance of duties that each person has towards the community. The document recognises the existence of some of the so-called collective human rights (right to development, right to peace). The Declaration also devotes considerable space to social rights. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it points out that the idea of human rights must take into account and respect the different models of political, social and economic system, cultural and religious differences and the different historical experiences of each country. This seems extremely valuable in view of the instrumentalisation of human rights as a tool of political pressure that sometimes takes place.