Civic space is under attack in South Asia. Across the region, increasingly authoritarian governments are relying on a wide range of repressive laws and other tactics to silence criticism, a trend that only intensified in 2021. While the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is the starkest example of this, almost all other countries saw alarming restrictions [ Read more ]

The Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and other resources A booklet for defenders FORUM-ASIA recognises the need to address the ongoing trends of violations against human rights defenders (HRDs) in Asia, and their key role in ensuring that everyone’s human rights are protected and fulfilled. To this end, FORUM-ASIA has produced a booklet explanatory of [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA and the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) are proud to present Going Nowhere: Fact-finding Mission Report on Indigenous Communities, Fisherfolk: Harassment, Poverty and Climate Change in Indonesia. This report is a continuation of FORUM-ASIA’s exploratory research designed to deepen its understanding of the interconnections between climate change, poverty, and human rights. Focusing on three [ Read more ]

The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) launched the ANNI Report 2020 on the Performance of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), that critically assesses the performance of NHRIs against the Paris Principles in 2020. The Paris Principles are the minimum international standards for ensuring independent, effective, and credible NHRIs for the promotion [ Read more ]

Over the past two years, human rights defenders (HRDs) have faced unprecedented challenges in Asia, where existing risks were exacerbated, while new threats have emerged. Governments enacted and used repressive laws, online harassment became widespread, and Asian HRDs have seen their families and loved ones increasingly subjected to harassment and threats. The COVID-19 pandemic has [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA is proud to present its Annual Report 2020 – special edition. The report gives an overview of the work FORUM-ASIA has done in 2020 for the promotion and protection of human rights in the region. It features updates and activities from all programmes, a financial overview, and a map with all our member organisations [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA is proud to present its new publication, “Summary Report: 9th Asian Human Rights Defenders Forum”, an abridgement from an event that facilitates human rights defenders (HRDs) and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) to discuss work and advocacy efforts, and share the experiences and challenges they face. From 2019 to date, the situation of defenders [ Read more ]

Executive Summary On August 9 and 10, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) conducted the Human Rights in the Time of COVID-19: Addressing the Crisis in Southeast Asia, which was graced by over 75 participants from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of [ Read more ]

Six months since the attempted coup, little concrete action has been taken by the UN Security Council to address the unfolding human rights, humanitarian and COVID-19 crisis in Myanmar. How should ASEAN and the international community best provide the much needed humanitairan and pandemic-response assistance? Why is it crucial to channel assistance through the COVID-19 [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA is proud to present Tied Hands: Fact Finding Mission Report on Harawa-Charawa: Debt, Poverty and Climate Change in Dhanusha, Nepal This report is the result of an exploratory research designed to better understand the nexus between climate change, human rights and poverty. Persons living in poverty often live in ecologically fragile or marginal areas, [ Read more ]