Human Rights Work Begins with the Folk

Asian Human Rights Commission

[Ed. Note: The following press statement was released at the conclusion of the Human Rights Correspondence School Consultation that was held in Hong Kong from Aug. 16 to 22, 2001.]

Thirty-nine people from 15 countries from the Asian region participated in a consultation organised by the Human Rights Correspondence School of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that was held from Aug. 16 to 22, 2001, in Hong Kong. The participants were people engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights.

At this consultation, educational modules based on the folk school concept and lessons prepared by the Human Rights Correspondence School were discussed at length. This was the first time the Human Rights Correspondence School lessons were presented to a regional group at a consultation. AHRC hopes that these presentations will be a constant feature of the Human Rights Correspondence School.

The participants noted a need for a new approach to human rights education in the Asian region. The emphasis needs to be placed on identifying the obstacles to the achievement of human rights in different countries and the region as a whole. It was noted that mere education about human rights principles without a close study of obstacles to achieving these rights does not lead to any positive development. Human rights education must be able to generate actions to overcome obstacles to achieve people's rights. As the ordinary folk in these countries are the real agents of such change, it is also necessary to take human rights education to the ordinary folk. In the past, human rights education has been mostly confined to merely educated groups in society.

In the countries of Asia, there are acute human rights problems. One of the major problems confronting the promotion of human rights is the defective justice systems found in Asia. The various components of the justice systemÐthe police, prosecution system and the judiciary Ðoften do not function in a satisfactory way to protect human rights. It can be said that all too often the administration of justice in practice functions as an institution guaranteeing the administration of injustice. Without a fundamental reform of the justice system, it is not possible to improve the human rights situation in Asia. It was particularly noted that in many countries in Asia the police system is very defective and, in fact, acts as an obstacle to law enforcement. Police reform must become a core element in human rights work and education.

The communication changes in the world provide enormous new possibilities for the promotion of human rights, however. The human rights movement has not properly utilised these possibilities yet though. It is necessary for the human rights movement to be competent in the use of modern communication systems in order to improve their capacity for protest against human rights violations.

The urgent appeals system of AHRC using electronic media facilities was also studied in detail during this consultation. The participants agreed to organise themselves in a way in which they will be able to quickly report and take effective action against human rights abuses. The urgent appeals system can be used to promote all rights, including economic, social and cultural rights.

The participants noted that the World Conference against Racism (WCAR) will begin on Aug. 31 in Durban, South Africa. They hoped that the WCAR will help to develop better ways to eliminate discrimination of all forms. In particular, they noted caste-based discrimination that affects more than 260 million people in Asia. The participants expressed concern about the Indian government's position on this grave violation of rights and hoped that this position will not be allowed to go unchallenged.

Lastly, the participants expressed a desire to deepen links among Asian groups to work for the improvement of human rights in the region.