Public international law governs relationships between national governments and/or intergovernmental organizations. For more detailed guidance on how to research international human rights law, please see our International Human Rights Law Research Guide. 

The United Nations is the largest intergovernmental organization with 193 member states. The UN human rights system develops, monitors, and protects human rights around the world.

A few key UN resources are linked below, but please see the United Nations section of the International Human Rights Law Research Guide for much more detailed coverage of the UN human rights system. 

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which was established on 8 August 1967, has ten Member States, including Myanmar, which joined the economic union on 23 July 1997. 

The Asia-Pacific region does not have a regional human rights system (with treaties and courts) to protect and promote human rights similar to the systems in Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was inaugurated on 23 October 2009 and adopted the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration in November 2012. The UN has expressed concern that the declaration is not consistent with international standards.