a publication of the Asian Human Rights … and Asian Legal Resource Centre, linked with HRschool
- … Human rights education in most cases is like the situation described in the above quote. Various human rights education courses have produced individuals who can use the human rights language or ‘buzzwords’ effectively. However, when these individuals are faced with gross human rights problems such as torture, hunger, discrimination and the like, these ‘educated’ persons either do not do anything to address the problem, or do things that have no real bearing on the problem.
- The AHRC Human Rights Correspondence School is an attempt to introduce a different way of studying human rights; to get on the horse first, before learning how to ride it … (full text HRschool).
About AHR Commission: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) was founded in 1986 by a prominent group of jurists and human rights activists in Asia.
The AHRC is an independent, non-governmental body, which seeks to promote greater awareness and realisation of human rights in the Asian region, and to mobilise Asian and international public opinion to obtain relief and redress for the victims of human rights violations. AHRC promotes civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.
AHRC endeavours to achieve the following objectives stated in the Asian Charter “Many Asian states have guarantees of human rights in their constitutions, and many of them have ratified international instruments on human rights. However, there continues to be a wide gap between rights enshrined in these documents and the abject reality that denies people their rights. Asian states must take urgent action to implement the human rights of their citizens and residents” … (full text about AHRC).
About ALRC /Background: The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is an NGO having General Consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The ALRC was founded in 1986 by a prominent group of jurists and human rights activists in Asia. It is a body committed to the development of legal self-reliance and empowerment of people. It will place particular emphasis in its work on the areas of cultural, social and economic rights and the right of development. ALRC will work closely with and support regional, national, and local groups involved in this field, taking care, at the same time, to protect the autonomy and independence of such groups.
The Centre will promote the development of, and support specific legal service and resource programmes promoting self-help at the local level. It will also seek to strengthen and encourage positive action on legal and human rights issues by the bar and other legal bodies and personnel, at local and national levels. The Centre will press, where appropriate, for the introduction and improvement of effective government legal services.
The ALRC has done extensive work in several countries in Asia. More notable ones are: the judges’ and lawyers’ programmes conducted in Cambodia and Sri Lanka. At such meetings judges and lawyers from a particular country are brought together with other experts from the region and discussions are conducted for arriving at conclusions on what changes are to be recommended to the governments concerned. These programmes have been well documented.