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Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development

Website:

forum-asia.org/
Type:

Human Rights Network
Formation:

1991
Board Chair:

Jerald Joseph
Location:

Bangkok, Thailand

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The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development is a left-of-center human rights network that consists of 85 member organizations across 23 countries, most of which are in Asia. 1 2

After the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, The Asian Forum for Human Rights released a statement  decrying the “humanitarian catastrophe in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” 3  The statement  also claimed the Israeli government has “maintained a policy of apartheid” throughout its “56 years of occupation,” adding that the network condemned “the indiscriminate attacks made by Israel’s military forces against the Palestinian people in Gaza.” 4

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development is funded by government institutions such as the European Commission as well as private grantmaking foundations such as the Ford Foundation and Tides Foundation. 5

Background

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is a left-of-center human rights network that focuses on helping to strengthen human rights movements via research and advocacy. The network was founded in 1991 in Manila, Philippines, by 19 organizations from nine countries and FORUM-ASIA has since grown to 85 member organizations across 23 countries, most of which are in Asia. 6 7

Advocacy

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development released a statement on October 19, 2023, regarding the war between Hamas and Israel in Gaza, which began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas conducted a large-scale terrorist attack southern Israel. According to Human Rights Watch, “Hamas-led armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during the October 7 assault on southern Israel.” 8 9

In its statement titled “Protect Civilian Lives, End Bloodshed,” FORUM-ASIA claimed that the events after the October 7 attack had “devastating impacts” on civilians, adding that the situation had worsened “an already volatile human rights situation and humanitarian catastrophe in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” 10

The statement continued by claiming the Israeli government has “maintained a policy of apartheid” throughout its “56 years of occupation,” adding that the network condemned “the indiscriminate attacks made by Israel’s military forces against the Palestinian people in Gaza.” 11

FORUM-ASIA also stated it condemns the “decades-long and deliberate dehumanization of Palestinians” by Israel, claiming that the Israeli government has “intent to carry out mass atrocity crimes” including genocide. 12

Affiliated Organizations

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development is one of the 12 NGOs that make up the consortium of Protect Defenders EU, the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism. 13

Excluding FORUM-ASIA, other members of the Protect Defenders EU consortium are Frontline Defenders, a nonprofit organization that works to protect and aid “human rights defenders at risk (HRDs),” a United Nations term for peace workers and activists who help refugees; Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based advocacy group supporting government transparency and journalistic freedom worldwide, documenting and reporting information, and lobbying various organizations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe; the International Federation for Human Rights, an international non-governmental organization that advocates supporting human rights laws that pertain to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations in 1948 to uphold all “civil, political, economic, social and cultural” rights. 14 15 16 17 18

Members of Protect Defenders EU also include ESCR-Net (International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights), a New York City-based nonprofit that works on economic, social, and cultural issues; the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, a left-of-center LGBT advocacy organization created in 1978 with an initial focus on decriminalizing homosexual activity; Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism, an advocacy organization based in California that claims to be a support group for “women, trans and nonbinary” left-of-center activists; Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders, a left-of-center grantmaking foundation that was established as a Danish foundation in 2004 by EuroMed Rights. 19 20 21 22

The other members of the consortium are human rights organizations including Protection International, Peace Brigades International, DefendDefenders, and the World Organization Against Torture. 23

Funding

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development lists a selection of its donors on its website. These donors include government institutions such as the European Commission, the main executive arm of the European Union that conducts the majority of the management of the European Union’s budget and is the only institution within the EU that can bring forward proposals for new laws. 24 25 26

Other donors listed by the network include the Ford Foundation, Tides Foundation, and Freedom House, a United States-based non-governmental organization that focuses on research and analysis of political rights and civil liberties in countries around the world. 27 28

References

  1. “About FORUM-ASIA.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/about-forum-asia/.
  2. “Our Story.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/our-story/.
  3. “FORUM-ASIA’s statement on the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Protect civilian lives, end bloodshed.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. October 19, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/forum-asias-statement-on-the-situation-in-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-israel-protect-civilian-lives-end-bloodshed/
  4. “FORUM-ASIA’s statement on the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Protect civilian lives, end bloodshed.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. October 19, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/forum-asias-statement-on-the-situation-in-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-israel-protect-civilian-lives-end-bloodshed/.
  5. “Our Donors.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/our-donors/.
  6. “About FORUM-ASIA.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/about-forum-asia/.
  7. “Our Story.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/our-story/.
  8. “FORUM-ASIA’s statement on the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Protect civilian lives, end bloodshed.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. October 19, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/forum-asias-statement-on-the-situation-in-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-israel-protect-civilian-lives-end-bloodshed/.
  9. “October 7 Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes by Hamas-led Groups.” Human Rights Watch. July 17, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/october-7-crimes-against-humanity-war-crimes-hamas-led-groups.
  10. “FORUM-ASIA’s statement on the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Protect civilian lives, end bloodshed.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. October 19, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/forum-asias-statement-on-the-situation-in-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-israel-protect-civilian-lives-end-bloodshed/.
  11. “FORUM-ASIA’s statement on the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Protect civilian lives, end bloodshed.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. October 19, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/forum-asias-statement-on-the-situation-in-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-israel-protect-civilian-lives-end-bloodshed/.
  12. “FORUM-ASIA’s statement on the situation in Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel: Protect civilian lives, end bloodshed.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. October 19, 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/forum-asias-statement-on-the-situation-in-occupied-palestinian-territory-and-israel-protect-civilian-lives-end-bloodshed/.
  13. in, Secretariat ProtectDefenders.eu. “ProtectDefenders – About us.” ProtectDefenders. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://protectdefenders.eu/about-us/.
  14. “ProtectDefenders – About us.” ProtectDefenders. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://protectdefenders.eu/about-us/.
  15. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders. February 4, 2016. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  16. “Who are we?.” January 22, 2016. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://rsf.org/en/who-are-we.
  17. “International Federation for Human Rights.” Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.fidh.org/en/about-us/What-is-FIDH/.
  18. “Our funding.” Accessed August 14, 2024. https://www.fidh.org/en/about-us/our-funding/.
  19. “ProtectDefenders – About us.” ProtectDefenders. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://protectdefenders.eu/about-us/.
  20. “THE HISTORY OF ILGA: 1978/2012.” IGLA. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://ilga.org/news/ilga-history/.
  21. “Who We Are – Urgent Action Fund.” Accessed August 14, 2024. https://urgentactionfund.org/who-we-are/.
  22. “Who We Are.” EuroMed Rights. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://euromedrights.org/who-we-are/.
  23. “ProtectDefenders – About us.” ProtectDefenders. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://protectdefenders.eu/about-us/.
  24. “Our Donors.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/our-donors/.
  25. “Budget – revenue.” European Union. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/budget/how-eu-budget-financed_en.
  26. “What is the European Commission?.” UK in a changing Europe. March 6, 2024. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://ukandeu.ac.uk/the-facts/what-is-the-european-commission/.
  27. “Our Donors.” Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://forum-asia.org/our-donors/.
  28. “Freedom Is Not Free License: Freedom House’s Flawed Measurement of “Internet Freedom”.” Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. June 8, 2020. Accessed August 14, 2024. https://itif.org/publications/2020/06/08/freedom-not-free-license-freedom-houses-flawed-measurement-internet/.
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