Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
 |
|
| Founded | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Type |
Non-profit NGO |
| Location |
|
|
Members
|
58 human rights organisations in 19 countries |
| Website | www |
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) [previously known as Forum-Asia] is a membership-based regional human rights organisation with 58 member organisations in 19 countries across Asia. It is committed to the promotion and protection of all human rights including the right to development.
FORUM-ASIA was founded in 1991 in Manila, The Philippines and opened its Regional Secretariat in Bangkok in 1992. Subsequently, offices have also been opened in Geneva, Jakarta and Kathmandu. It has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 2004.
FORUM-ASIA is committed to building a peaceful, just, equitable and ecologically sustainable community of peoples and societies in Asia, where all human rights of all individuals, groups and peoples – in particular, the poor, marginalised and discriminated against – are fully respected and realised in accordance with internationally accepted human rights norms and standards.
In December 1991, a regional consultation, 'On Collaboration between Human Rights Organisations in South and South-East Asia', was held in Manila, the Philippines. During the meeting a new network was established, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia).
The idea for the consultation came from D.J. Ravindran, former Legal Officer for Asia for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). Prior to the consultation he had visited several countries in the region to gain input for a working paper to be used during the event.
This first consultation had participants from nine countries representing 19 organisations, who became the founding members of Forum-Asia. These organisations were:
The initial objectives of Forum-Asia were to: 'conduct programmes to further strengthen the effectiveness of human rights organisations in the region and to facilitate collaboration between them'. The idea was that while there was an increase in organisations working in Asia on human rights, these organisations were mostly set up or run by groups in Europe or North America. The notion was that the region needed a regional network that was set up by Asians for Asians. Forum-Asia would provide a voice for victims of human rights abuses, their families and those that were attempting to defend them, the human right defenders (HRDs) themselves.
There was a conscious choice to include both human rights and development in the name. While most, if not all, organisations initially involved were human rights organisations, there was a recognition of the interconnectedness of the human rights concerns that many of the founding members worked on with socio-economic development, including developmental and economic inequality, and market globalisation. Throughout Forum-Asia's history so far though – that is till 2016 – the development part of its name has been overshadowed by the work on human rights.
...
Wikipedia