Our Objective

The Asian Human Rights Commission/Asian Legal Resource Centre works towards the radical rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in Asia so that the institutions transforms into effective instruments of human rights protection and guarantors of democracy.

The Founders of AHRC/ALRC had a broad vision of upholding human rights in Asia, which were expressed in abstract terms. Over the years, the AHRC/ALRC has redefined its vision to reflect its experience based on extensive engagement in human rights activism in Asia.

To achieve the vision of radical rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in Asia – in order that the institutions can provide relief and redress to victims of human rights violations as per Common Article 2 of the International Conventions – the AHRC/ALRC is engaged in the following work:

1. Identifying defects of Asian justice institutions, i.e. police, prosecution, and judiciary, and making recommendations in light of universal human rights norms;
2. Building and equipping large advocacy groups to enable consistent work for desired changes, assisting these groups to articulate demands for change, and disseminating ideas widely;
3. Creating global awareness and support for institutional transformation in Asia;
4. Engaging in advocacy in specific cases of human rights violations and protecting human rights defenders;
5. Assembling a people’s narrative of human rights violations particularly from the point of view of equality before the law and fair trial;
6. Intervening in cases of torture, and all negations of fair trial principles, like extrajudicial executions, disappearances, and other forms of inequality before law and discrimination, including those that emanate from gender, religion, and caste-based discrimination;
7. Using the UNCAT to highlight fundamental defects of justice institutions;
8. Building a wide network of partnerships and contacts and assisting civil society and victims of human rights abuses, in order to achieve the aforementioned work in light of the vision.