ASEAN's non-interference principle and the Rohingya crisis: implications for the organization's institutional role in the region

This article examines the principle of non-intervention of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the context of the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. Its relevance stems from growing international concern over mass human rights violations in Myanmar and the urgent need to assess the capacity of regional response mechanisms. In the context of intensifying globalization and regional integration, such a research topic appears necessary for rethinking the resilience of ASEAN’s normative foundations in a changing international environment. The object of the study is the institutional principle of non-intervention in ASEAN’s activities, while the subject is its application during the Rohingya crisis. The aim is to determine how strict adherence to non-intervention affects ASEAN’s legitimacy and institutional role in protecting civilian populations and upholding international norms. The research employs document analysis (including scholarly publications, NGO reports, legal instruments, and normative texts), case studies, and secondary data analysis. Findings reveal that the principle of non-intervention obstructs the establishment of binding sanctions and oversight mechanisms by the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), manifests selective application favoring powerful member states, and effectively serves to shield authoritarian regimes rather than to defend human rights. The findings of this study challenge the viability of ASEAN’s existing approaches to integration and crisis resolution. The scientific novelty lies in systematically exposing the direct link between the norm of non-intervention and ASEAN’s institutional weakness in the face of humanitarian catastrophes. The paper concludes by recommending a reform of non-intervention procedures, the introduction of collective sanction mechanisms for mass human rights violations, and the creation of an independent ASEAN human rights tribunal to balance state sovereignty with the “responsibility to protect”.

ASEAN, Myanmar, Rohingya crisis, migration, institutions, security, non-interference, human rights, legitimacy, Southeast Asia