Introduction

This chapter presents an overview of the challenges and constraints in promoting the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) norms in Southeast Asia, focusing mainly on the potential role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in preventing mass atrocities covered by RtoP. Specifically, it examines the characteristics of states and political systems of members of ASEAN, the political dynamics of the organisation, and to what extent its traditional norms and institutional set-up serve as the main challenges to promoting RtoP in this part of the world. The chapter also identifies some entry points or opportunities for RtoP promotion to gain some ground, notwithstanding the limitations within ASEAN. It also discusses the role of the Asia Pacific Centre for Responsibility to Protect (APRtoP) in promoting RtoP in Southeast Asia through its country programmes and regional engagement, and the extent to which RtoP is appreciated by civil society groups in the region, especially those engaged in peace, conflict prevention and post-conflict rebuilding efforts.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations: An Overview

ASEAN came into being in August 1967, following several failed attempts at regional cooperation in Southeast Asia. The precursors to ASEAN were the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) and the MAPHILINDO (Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia), which both failed to develop because of territorial conflicts among the founding members. The Bangkok Declaration of 1967, which created ASEAN, essentially underscored the core principles of non-interference and respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states as the basis of ASEAN cooperation. These traditional norms served as the main anchor on which the original five members (and later the rest who joined) managed their relations and pursued the organisation's goals and objectives through consultation (mushawarah) and consensus (mufakat). In the context of the Cold War environment in Southeast Asia at the time, the traditional norms of ASEAN helped prevent inter-state conflicts among its members, even as it also served as a strong glue that ensured ASEAN's solidarity vis-avis external threats (such as Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in the late 1970s). That the founding members of the organisation were still in the process of nationbuilding following the post-colonial period in Southeast Asia also made the traditional norms quite important.