AbstractI fokus för detta arbete står frågan om förhållandet mellan de medborgerliga och politiska samt de ekonomiska, sociala och kulturella rättigheterna i relation till diskussionen om den allmänna förklaringen 1948 och världskonferensen om de mänskliga rättigheterna i Wien 1993. Både de teoretiska och praktiska aspekterna av detta förhållande uppmärksammas, till exempel med avseende på definition av rättigheter, deras funktion och så vidare, samt de diskussioner som fördes under formuleringen av den allmänna förklaringen och Wienkonferensen. Särskild vikt läggs vid att förstå dessa diskussioner i det politiska sammanhanget av Öst-Väst konflikten samt Nord-Syd konflikten. / AbstractIn this work, I deal with the relation between civil and political rights on the one hand and the economic, social, and cultural rights on the other hand in relation to the formulation of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) from 1948 and the Vienna Conference on Human Rights in 1993. Both theoretical and practical aspects of the relation between the two sets of rights are discussed, for example with respect to definition and function of rights, and with respect to the discussions taking place at the adoption of the UDHR and the Vienna Conference. Special attention is directed to the political context of the East-West conflict and the North-South conflict.

The Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) has since its origins in the late 1960’s been connected to the emphasis on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and the regional need for economic development. Through the intense years and debates that followed the first ASEAN Declaration the unity has made significant contributions to the Human Rights discourse due to the challenges and possibilities that surfaced. The Kingdom of Cambodia is one of the ASEAN member states poorest countries but through rapid economic development are well on its way towards becoming a middle- income nation. The local experiences of the Khmer people in the Cambodian society will provide indicators of what is needed out of an ASEAN Human Rights mechanism. This Master’s Thesis will critically analyze the evolving ASEAN Human rights mechanism as it has reached so far and what the Khmer Human Rights needs are from such a mechanism.