A Consortium of organisations dedicated to providing a coordinated support for the security and protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) around the world launched a new protection mechanism – Protect the Defenders – in Brussels on 2 December 2015. The Consortium comprises 12 organisations that work collectively to implement the European Union Mechanism for Human [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA, as secretariat of the Asian NGO Network on NHRIs (ANNI), together with Burma Partnership, will undertake a fact-finding mission from 16-18 November 2015 to inquire into the impact and effectiveness of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC). Amid the optimism surrounding the elections, pervasive human rights abuses continue throughout the country, such as: [ Read more ]

(Yangon, 10 November 2015) From 2-10 November 2015, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), together with its Thai member, the People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF) conducted an election observation mission  in Yangon, Burma/Myanmar. The objective was to observe the final week of before the historic elections of 8 November 2015. First of all, [ Read more ]

On 4-6 November 2015, FORUM-ASIA hosts, together with the Voluntary Action Network India (VANI), the 7th Global Perspectives Conference in Bangkok, organised by the International Civil Society Centre with the theme Civil Society in the Post 2015 World. The conference brings together a hundred civil society leaders from around the world to discuss common concerns, [ Read more ]

On Irom Sharmila’s 15th year of unparalleled protest, FORUM-ASIA will be attending and supporting a series of solidarity events and advocacy activities from 1 to 6 November 2015. Irom Sharmila, a 43 year old poet and human rights defender from Manipur, India, has been on hunger strike since 2 November 2000, protesting the killing of [ Read more ]

On 26-27 October 2015 FORUM-ASIA and the South East Asian Committee for Advocacy (SEACA), as the convenors of SAPA Working Group on ASEAN, in collaboration with the Forum ONG Timor Leste (FONGTIL), the HAK Foundation and the Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP) organised a national workshop to help increase the understanding among civil society organisations [ Read more ]

On Wednesday, 14 October 2015, FORUM-ASIA, together with the People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF), will hold a meeting in Bangkok, Thailand to present one of its most recent reports, the “Future of Human Rights in ASEAN: Calling for Independence and Protection Mandates”. It will be presented to the Thai representatives of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on [ Read more ]

This Kind of Love follows Burmese activist Aung Myo Min as he returns home after twenty-four years in exile and works to help rebuild Burma’s civil society after decades of brutal dictatorship. Through Myo’s eyes, the film embraces the idea that community and inclusion are fundamental to creating meaningful political and social change in Burma. [ Read more ]

Blogging in South Asia can be a dangerous enterprise. In the last year, 4 bloggers have been killed in Bangladesh, while a number of others have been targeted across the region in various ways simply for expressing their views online. Both state and non-state actors share responsibility for this climate of fear and intimidation. A [ Read more ]

The side event  at the 30th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council – “Enforced Disappearances in Sri Lanka” – will address the issue of enforced and involuntary disappearances in Sri Lanka. Enforced and involuntary disappearances are one of the major human rights challenges in transitional justice processes in Sri Lanka.  Mr. Luciano Andres [ Read more ]