This work explains the emerging human rights protection architecture of Southeast Asia. While the human rights protection challenges in the region are many, the authors seek to outline the rights architecture that has been developed over the last decade and the potential for the deepening of rights protection in the next decade and beyond. This architecture comprises the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Southeast Asia, the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and civil society organisations (CSOs). An emerging complementary process is the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) implementation and monitoring process, which harbours a thickening of the regional rights framework. The linchpin of this architecture is the AICHR and its linkages with the other processes. This work argues that there are normative and institutional avenues that are available to AICHR in order to develop a stronger regional protection mechanism. Key elements of a protection mechanism that will be explored include: the development of institutionalised engagement with civil society organizations in their formal deliberations, development of a complaints system, the role of the AICHR Representatives in advancing protection, better interaction with ASEAN’s other institutions, the incorporation of the UPR recommendations into AICHR deliberations and the need for a binding, legal regional human rights framework. This work seeks to constructively offer pathways towards improving the overall architecture. The study is timely, 10 years since the launch of AICHR.