The Working Paper Series of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) aims to foster research, knowledge and advocacy for human rights and development in Asia and beyond. It seeks, in particular, to bring together theory and practice to build a new praxis for change, through knowledge-networking, advocacy and solidarity actions. Human rights [ Read more ]

‘Have They Passed the Litmus Test? – A Report on the Performance of the ASEAN Human Rights Mechanisms in 2016’ is the seventh annual review by FORUM-ASIA together with the Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) Task Force on ASEAN and Human Rights and Working Group on ASEAN (SAPA TFAHR & WGA). The report presents [ Read more ]

(Colombo, 1 December 2017) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and its member, Law and Society Trust (LST) is pleased to share the first South Asia Judicial Barometer was launched on 27 November 2017 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The South Asia Judicial Barometer is a regional assessment of access to justice [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA, as the Secretariat of the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), is delighted to present the publication of the 2017 ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of the National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. We would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for all the indefatigable work carried [ Read more ]

Based on the publicly available official records of the regular sessions of the Council in its first ten years, the Working Paper Series 2 ‘Perspectives on a Decade of Asian Foreign Policy at the UN Human Rights Council‘ looks at the positions of Asian States on resolutions on the right to freedom of opinion and [ Read more ]

The new Defending in Numbers – Silencing the Voices of Asia 2015-2016 shines a light on the challenging situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) in Asia. Based on documentation by FORUM-ASIA of cases of HRDs, it aspires to identify regional trends and patterns of violations and abuses against HRDs, and to illustrate the restrictive and [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA is happy to present the Annual Report 2016! The report gives an overview of the work FORUM-ASIA has done in 2016 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 in 2016, among [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA, together with the Regional Initiative for a South Asian Human Rights Mechanism (RISAHRM), is glad to present the new publication ‘Understanding Regional Human Rights Mechanisms & The Need For A South Asian Human Rights Mechanism’. RISAHRM is a collaborative platform of South Asian civil society and individuals committed to the cause of human rights [ Read more ]

This paper, produced by Progressive Voice and FORUM-ASIA, evaluates how the Burma/Myanmar Government has fared in the past year in addressing human rights issues in the context of recommendations by the United Nations. One year ago, the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) came at a crucial juncture in the country’s history [ Read more ]

‘Desecrating Expression – An Account of Freedom of Expression and Religion in Asia’ builds on the global discussion around the intersection between the right to freedom of expression and the right to freedom of religion. The study focuses on nine countries in Asia – Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam [ Read more ]