Christophe Bahuet is deputy regional director for Asia and the Pacific and director at the United Nations Development Programme's Bangkok Regional Hub.
The Asia-Pacific region is a dynamic hub of economic growth and human development. Infrastructure building is booming, life expectancy is increasing, poverty is declining, and health care and education -- albeit with some caveats -- are improving. By contrast, such impressive progress is lacking in many areas of governance, not least the rule of law and access to justice. It remains a region where millions of people are deprived of their rights to justice, where protracted incarceration without trial is common, where the court systems often lack transparency, accountability and integrity.
