Minority Rights in Asia A Comparative Legal Analysis

Minority rights law has been an important axis for the evolution of international law itself. While much has been written about minority rights regimes in Europe, there is very little information available with regards to Asian experiences. Countries in Asia, with their diverse populations, are struggling with constructing legal systems that will deliver on the promise of equal rights to all its citizens. This book evaluates these attempts in four Asian states: India, China, Malaysia and Singapore by examining the theory and practice of minority rights law in these vastly different settings.

Joshua Castellino is a lecturer in human rights law at the Irish Centre of Human Rights, NUI Galway. Formerly a journalist in India, he was awarded the Chevening Scholarship in 1995 and subsequently completed his PhD in International Law at the University of Hull, UK, in 1998. He is actively involved in human rights discussions between Europe and Asia (including the EU-China programme and the Support for Arab Lawyers Programme), and has published two volumes, an edited collection of essays and several articles on various aspects of international law and human rights law. Elvira Dominguez Redondo was awarded a Government of Ireland Post-Doctoral Fellowship. She completed her PhD in Human Rights Law at Carlos III de Madrid in Spain and has also worked as a consultant at the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in Switzerland. She is an active participant in the EU-China Dialogue and Experts Network and has authored a book that studies the special procedures of the UN Commission on Human Rights. She is currently based at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway.