Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
Encyclopedia
The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a membership-based human rights organization "committed to the promotion and protection of all human rights including the right to development". They were founded in 1991 in Manila
, and are now based in Geneva
, Switzerland
. Their Secretariat has been located in Bangkok
, Thailand
since 1994. FORUM-ASIA currently have 46 member organizations from 17 countries across Asia. They issue several publications, including the quarterly newsletter Asian Human Rights Defender.
FORUM-ASIA mission is to "empower people by advocating social justice, sustainable human development, participatory democracy, gender equality, peace and human security through collaboration and cooperation among human rights organisations in the region." Amnesty International has called FORUM-ASIA "Southeast Asia’s pre-eminent human rights organization".
In 1995 FORUM-ASIA published Indonesia: 50 Years After Independence - Stability and Unity on a Culture of Fear, a report on Indonesian human rights issues since their independence from Dutch colonial rule. While the report was criticized as showing a Western perspective towards Asian issues, this was, "the first time that a human rights report concerning an Asian country has been prepared and pulished by a regional organization in Asia."
FORUM-ASIA has worked with several other human rights organizations over the years. Since 2004 FORUM-ASIA has had Consultative Status
with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
. FORUM-ASIA also serves on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court
. They are a regional partner of Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation in Human Development (SEARCH). FORUM-ASIA has issued several joint statements with Amnesty International
, Cairo Institute and other human rights organizations.
Burma
Cambodia
India
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Mongolia
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Timor Leste
Thailand
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, and are now based in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Their Secretariat has been located in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
since 1994. FORUM-ASIA currently have 46 member organizations from 17 countries across Asia. They issue several publications, including the quarterly newsletter Asian Human Rights Defender.
FORUM-ASIA mission is to "empower people by advocating social justice, sustainable human development, participatory democracy, gender equality, peace and human security through collaboration and cooperation among human rights organisations in the region." Amnesty International has called FORUM-ASIA "Southeast Asia’s pre-eminent human rights organization".
In 1995 FORUM-ASIA published Indonesia: 50 Years After Independence - Stability and Unity on a Culture of Fear, a report on Indonesian human rights issues since their independence from Dutch colonial rule. While the report was criticized as showing a Western perspective towards Asian issues, this was, "the first time that a human rights report concerning an Asian country has been prepared and pulished by a regional organization in Asia."
FORUM-ASIA has worked with several other human rights organizations over the years. Since 2004 FORUM-ASIA has had Consultative Status
Consultative Status
Consultative Status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council." Also some international organizations could...
with the United Nations Economic and Social Council
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations constitutes one of the six principal organs of the United Nations and it is responsible for the coordination of the economic, social and related work of 14 UN specialized agencies, its functional commissions and five regional commissions...
. FORUM-ASIA also serves on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court
Coalition for the International Criminal Court
The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is an international non-governmental organisation with a membership of over 2,500 organizations worldwide advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (commonly...
. They are a regional partner of Southeast Asia Regional Cooperation in Human Development (SEARCH). FORUM-ASIA has issued several joint statements with Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Cairo Institute and other human rights organizations.
Member Organizations
BangladeshBangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
- Resource Integration Center (RIC)
- Odhikar
- Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA)
- Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK)
Burma
- Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB)
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
- Cambodian Human Rights and Development AssociationADHOCThis article is about the Human Rights Organization, for the Apple Computer Software Convention, see MacHack. ADHOC is a Cambodian human rights organization, founded in 1991...
(ADHOC) - Cambodia League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
- South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring
- Dalit Foundation
- ADHIKAR
- Friend's Association for Rural Reconstruction (FARR)
- Rural Development Society (RDS- LRSA)
- People’s WatchPeople's Watch Tamil NaduPeople's Watch is an Indian Human Rights NGO founded by a group of social activists in 1995 and is based in Madurai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu....
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
- Aliansi Jurnalis IndependenAlliance of Independent JournalistsThe Alliance of Independent Journalists Indonesia is a body that promotes press freedom in Indonesia.The AJI was founded in 1994 by Satrio Arismunandar, Ahmad Taufik and Goenawan Mohamad, the founder and editor of Tempo magazine, in response to the banning by the Suharto government of three...
(AJI) - Indonesia’s NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy –Human Rights Working Group (HRWG)
- Inisiatif Masyarakat Partisipatif untuk Transisi Berkeadilan (IMPARSIAL)
- Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia (PBHI)
- Sekretariat Anak Merdeka Indonesia (SAMIN)
- Komisi Untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan (KONTRAS)
- Yayasan Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Indonesia (YLBHI)
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- Citizens' Council for Human Rights Japan
Malaysia
- Suara Rakyat MalaysiaSuaramSUARAM, or Suara Rakyat Malaysia, is a human rights organization in Malaysia created in 1987 after Operation Lalang, when 106 opposition, unions, activist leaders were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act...
(SUARAM) - Education and Research Association for Consumer (ERA Consumer)
Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
- Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD)
- Globe International
Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
- Community Self Reliance Center (CSRC)
- Women's Welfare Society (WWS)
- Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC)
Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
- National Commission for Justice and PeaceNational Commission for Justice and PeaceThe National Commission for Justice and Peace was formed in 1985 by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Pakistan. It provides services in the field of human rights advocacy. It has six regional offices in Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Hyderabad and Quetta, and a head office in...
- Human Rights Commission of PakistanHuman Rights Commission of PakistanThe Human Rights Commission of Pakistan , or HRCP, is an independent, non-profit organization, founded in 1987, which is not associated or affiliated with the government or any political party. It is committed to act with impartiality and objectivity in all matters...
(HRCP)
Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
- Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)
- Tanggol-Kalikasan-Public Interest Environmental Law Office
- PILIPINA Legal Resources Center (PLRC)
- Philippines Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
- Paralegal Training and Services Center
- Paglingkod Batas Pangkapapatiran Foundation (PBPF)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
- Think Centre
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
- People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD)
- Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS)
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
- Law and Society Trust (LST)
- Information Monitor (INFORM)
- Community Trust Fund (CTF)
Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
- Taiwan Association for Human Rights (TAHR)
Timor Leste
- Judicial System Monitoring ProgrammeJudicial System Monitoring ProgrammeThe Judicial System Monitoring Programme is an East Timorese national NGO that works in the justice and human rights fields...
(JSMP) - Perkumpulan Hukum, Hak Asasi dan Keadilan (HAK Association)
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
- People's Empowerment