New Platform Consolidates Human Rights Resources for ASEAN Civil Society Organizations

November 2013

In October, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) launched the Human Rights in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Online Platform. The website (www.humanrightsinasean.info), which consolidates information and advocacy materials on human rights institutions and issues within the ASEAN, is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The website’s content—available in English with online translation options for seven Southeast Asian languages—includes information on the mandate, representatives and activities of three key ASEAN human rights bodies: the Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the Commission on the Rights of Women and Children and the Committee on Migrant Worker Rights. Prior to the platform’s launch, information on these human rights institutions was scattered across different websites, with activity-related information only able to be obtained via informal communications with the institutions’ members or representatives. The platform will make a broader range of information more easily accessible to the public, facilitating increased civil society engagement as well as increased transparency in the ASEAN region.

 “FORUM-ASIA hopes to see the [website] used by civil society in [the] ASEAN region and beyond to build solidarity and sharing on their human rights advocacy,” said Atnike Sigiro, FORUM-ASIA’s ASEAN advocacy program manager.

In addition to providing a registry of human rights organizations in Southeast Asia and a forum where civil society organizations (CSOs) can access information about how to engage with different ASEAN bodies, the platform also allows CSOs to post documents, including information on upcoming events.

To learn more about our work in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at [email protected].