In order to understand the key questions and issues surrounding BHR, a basic understanding of human rights more generally is necessary. Since BHR is an interdisciplinary field, it is important to gain an understanding both of the legal and non-legal dimensions of human rights. This chapter first provides a brief introduction to the philosophy of human rights and some of the key discussions that derive from this. Among them are the disputes between universalism and relativism and between foundationalist and non-foundationalist accounts of human rights. The chapter then takes a look at the main human rights bodies that institutionalize human rights in the international and regional context, paying particular attention to the United Nations’ human rights system. Finally, the chapter provides a brief introduction to international human rights law, outlining some of its key principles and instruments.

Drawing on the fundamental principles of the interpretive approach, this chapter provides a set of theoretical explanations for Asian resistance to the United Nations’ anti-amnesty norm. Building on existing explanations for resistance to human rights accountability norms in Asia, it details the historical and contemporary contexts, beliefs and ideas that have led peacemakers to resist the UN’s anti-amnesty policy in the region. It argues that resistance in the Asia-Pacific can be attributed to the persistence of longstanding beliefs about the importance of preserving the sovereignty, stability, and sanctity of the state. These beliefs, which found prominent form during the ‘Asian values’ debate of the 1990s, were forged in a context in which state formation and consolidation existed in tension with relentless separatist claims and the persistent threat of state disintegration.

Confronting hostile governments is nothing new for international human rights courts, treaty bodies, and other monitoring mechanisms. Yet there is a growing sense that the recent turn to populism poses a new type of threat that international human rights law (IHRL) institutions are ill equipped to meet. This chapter begins by identifying the facilitating conditions that have, until recently, supported the international human rights system. It then assesses the distinctive challenges that populism poses to IHRL institutions. Turning from diagnosis to prescription, the chapter reviews a range of legal and political tools that might be deployed to address those challenges and explores their potential efficacy and risks. The chapter’s final section argues that IHRL institutions should adopt four survival strategies for an age of populism—playing a long game, circumspection in interpretation, publicity and outreach, and creating windows of opportunity for supporters to mobilize.