The ACWC and the Adoption of the Human Rights-based Approach to the Social Development of Women and Children in Southeast Asia

The paper aims at analysing the new perspective offered by the human rights-based approach to vulnerable people’s issues in the ASEAN, specifically concerning women and children. Defined the normative framework of the relationship between vulnerability and human rights, the paper primarily offers an in-depth study of the regional policies adopted in the ASEAN region since the institution of the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Women (1976) until the Vienna World Conference (1993). Furthermore, the pivotal role played by human rights in the process of ASEAN integration after the Vienna World Conference is explained, specifically describing the steps towards the creation of an ASEAN human rights mechanism and the full adoption of the human rights-based approach with the institution of the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children. Finally, the traditional, ASEAN’s economic, developmental needs-based approach to vulnerable people’s concerns will be compared with the new human rights-based approach.