At FORUM-ASIA, we employ a range of strategies to effectively achieve our goals and create a lasting impact.

Through a diverse array of approaches, FORUM-ASIA is dedicated to achieving our objectives and leaving a lasting imprint on human rights advocacy.

Who we work with

Our interventions are meticulously crafted and ready to enact tangible change, addressing pressing issues and empowering communities.

Each statements, letters, and publications are meticulously tailored, poised to transform challenges into opportunities, and to empower communities towards sustainable progress.

Multimedia Stories
publications

With a firm commitment to turning ideas into action, FORUM-ASIA strives to create lasting change that leaves a positive legacy for future generations.

Explore our dedicated sub-sites to witness firsthand how FORUM-ASIA turns ideas into action, striving to create a legacy of lasting positive change for future generations.

Subscribe our monthly e-newsletter

Asian governments did not review their progress in Durban Review Conference, NGOs say

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

durbanreviewconference.jpgNon-governmental
organisations say that many prevalent issues on discrimination and
racism have not been addressed in the Durban Review Conference, held
from 20-24 April 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. FORUM-ASIA, supported by
20 organisations, said, "The lack of genuine will and apathy of Asian
governments in achieving the objectives of this Conference should be
recorded".
durbanreviewconference.jpgNon-governmental
organisations say that many prevalent issues on discrimination and
racism have not been addressed in the Durban Review Conference, held
from 20-24 April 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. FORUM-ASIA, supported by
20 organisations, said, "The lack of genuine will and apathy of Asian
governments in achieving the objectives of this Conference should be
recorded".

The conference aimed
to evaluate progress toward the goals set by the World Conference
against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related
Intolerance in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. Below is the NGOs'
statement, delivered at the conference on 23
April.

Mr. President, 

FORUM-ASIA, a regional
platform of 42 human rights organisations across Asia, appreciates the
adoption of the Outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference, which
should be interpreted and acted upon in a manner of reaffirming and
strengthening the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA).
We still put on record our regret that many of the prevalent issues
such as discrimination based on work and descent, intersection of sexual
orientation and racism were dropped with a view to achieving consensus.
We also believe that the intensified phenomena of racialisation in various
society sectors in the post-Durban era should have been further underlined
in the text, and poverty and social exclusion leading to different forms
of discrimination and racism should have been given more emphasis particularly
in the context of the current global financial crisis. The manifestations
of racial discrimination in situations of natural or human-instigated
disasters should have found _expression in the Outcome Document as well. 

We also deplore that
there was no regional preparatory meeting held in the Asian region in
the lead up to this Durban Review Conference. The lack of genuine will
and apathy of Asian governments in achieving the objectives of this
Conference should be recorded. Asian civil society including victims
of racial discrimination are crucial stakeholders in the fight against
racism and could have contributed further significantly to the comprehensive
review of the progress and implementation of the DDPA at the national
and regional level consultations. 

Mr. President, 

Coming back home from
Durban in 2001, we looked forward to Asian governments in seriously
addressing racial discrimination through the elaboration of concrete
national action plans (NAPs) thus implementing their commitment to the
paragraph 99 of the DDPA2. Sadly these have not materialised
in an effective manner, and for the last few days of the Durban Review
Conference, we have witnessed that the same victims are testifying
the ever same situations. The basis for assessment at the national level
should be the NAPs of each country. The failure of most Asian governments
to come up with NAPs does not therefore provide a good basis for achieving
the objectives of this Review Conference. In this regard, we strongly
stress the paragraph 114 of the Outcome Document, which urges
all States that have not developed and/or implemented national action
plans to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance to elaborate such plans and monitor their implementation
in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including in particular
national human rights institutions, civil society as well as affected
communities and victims. Action or omission in the light of the NAPs
should be the key basis for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as well
as treaty body's consideration of periodic reports. 

Lastly, FORUM-ASIA
would like to take this opportunity to urge those Asian States that
have not yet done so to ratify the core international human rights treaties
as a matter of high priority. In particular, we call on Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar,
Brunei Darussalam, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Malaysia
and Singapore to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) if they are serious in
providing a substantive contribution to this Review Conference and the
follow up to the DDPA as well as the Outcome Document. 

I thank you Mr. President.