Page 5 - AEI Insights 2020 - Vol. 6, Issue 1

AEI-Insights: An International Journal of Asia-Europe Relations
ISSN: 2289-800X, Vol. 6, Issue 1, January 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37353/aei-insights.vol6.issue1.1

PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY PROVIDING EQUAL
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE DISADVANTAGED
WORKERS IN ASEAN

a+
Fumitaka Furuoka
b
Beatrice Lim
b
Khairul Hanim Pazim

a Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

b Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
88400, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

+ Corresponding author: fumitaka@um.edu.my

Abstract
1 The promotion and protection of human rights is a key political principle of ASEAN and the
ASEAN member states have made efforts to safeguard human rights and freedom of all
ASEAN citizens, including the disadvantaged workers. This paper examines the ASEAN
countries’ commitment and labour policy to promote equal employment opportunities for
women, the elderly and persons with disabilities. The findings of this study would provide
better insights to the issues of human rights in the labour market among ASEAN countries. It
can serve as a resource for researchers, practitioners and policymakers for policymaking in
ensuring that disadvantaged workers are not excluded from being able to fully enjoy their right
to work as their participation in the labour market could in turn be one of the solutions to reduce
high unemployment rate suffered in some ASEAN countries.
Key words: Disadvantaged workers, gender equality, aging society, persons with disabilities, ASEAN

Introduction
The promotion of human rights, freedom democracy and rule of law is a key political principle
of ASEAN. ASEAN member countries have made efforts to safeguard human rights and
freedom of all ASEAN citizens including disadvantaged workers (ASEAN, 2018a). In this
context, the leaders of the ASEAN member countries adopted the ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration (AHRD) in 2012 and the fourth general principle of the AHRD clearly declared,
“The rights of women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and
vulnerable and marginalised groups are an inalienable, integral and indivisible pars of human
rights and fundamental freedom”(ASEAN, 2013a). More importantly, ASEAN leaders have
endorsed and affirmed the clause of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on

1 This study was conducted as part of the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence project (Project Number: 586907-
EPP-1-2017-1-MY-EPPJMO-CoE). The empirical analysis is conducted by using EViews. The data and
EViews code are available at https://sites.google.com/site/fumitakafuruokawebpage2/home/paper-12

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