Practice of Human Rights Educationin hailand and Bangladesh*
Asian Institute for Human Rights and Center for Human Rights Studies

T

he Asian Institute for Human Rights (aihr) works towards
strengthening the theory and practice of human rights activism, facilitating linkages between academics and activists and contributing
to a continuous process of action and relection.
As part of its mandate, aihr has conducted human rights learning
programs and dialogues at regional and national levels. hese learning programs have included annual study sessions on human rights held in hailand
and Bangladesh, courses on economic, social and cultural rights, workshops
on monitoring human rights violations and dialogues on issues of sharedconcerns. Aihr has also produced publications to assist activists in doing
human rights work and to enable them to relect on theory and concepts.
In the course of its work, aihr felt the need to enhance its understanding of existing practices of human rights education in Bangladesh andhailand and initiated a research project on the subject. he research project has the objective of understanding the nature of the diferent humanrights education initiatives and of relecting on the ways by which humanrights education within the countries could be further strengthened. Aihr
focused on these two countries as it had been conducting learning programsin these countries in collaboration with local partners.
he research was conducted through internet-based documentaryresearch and face-to-face interview with activists and organization representatives. he indings of the interviews were presented in dialogues heldamong practitioners for relection and discussion. he Dhaka-based Centerfor Human Rights Studies collaborated with aihr in doing the research in
Bangladesh.
his article is a documentation of the indings of the research. It presents the practices of human rights groups in Bangladesh and hailand. It*his is an edited excerpt of the report entitled Understanding the Meaning and thePractices of Human Rights Education – Report of the Asian Institute for Human Rights andCenter for Human Rights Studies, published by the author-institutions in December 2014, in
Bangkok.

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also presents the challenges faced by the groups in their work and some recommendations for strengthening the practice of human rights education.
Human Rights Education Practice in Thailand and Bangladesh
his study covers organizations that may not consider their work as humanrights education work. hey are considered appropriate organizations forthis study because the nature of their work contributes to the creation ofprocesses and spaces for human rights learning. See Annex B for the proileof the participating organizations.
he indings of the research have been analyzed using three models inorder to describe the nature of the initiatives, to explain the dimensions ofhuman rights learning and to relect on how human rights learning can befurther strengthened.
Value Awareness Model
his model describes initiatives that seek to develop critical consciousness among people on issues concerning human rights. hese initiatives
also seek to develop the sense of responsibility that every person shouldhave towards others in society.
Enhancing individual consciousness on issues
he Kabfai Community heatre in hailand, Manab Adhikar NatyaParishad (Human Rights heatre Council) and Bangladesh Institute ofheatre Arts (bita) use the medium of theater to initiate dialogues with
communities and create consciousness about human rights issues.
Kabfai, which has been facilitating community relection on corporalpunishment in school, sex work, impact of violence on the lives of women,believes that the medium of theater afects the people at the intellectual level and also at the emotional level – the head and the heart. As a techniqueto elicit audience participation, the performance of a drama is stopped at
strategic points of the story and questions are posed to the audience on how
they feel about the situation depicted in the story, what they think shouldhave been done, what their opinion is, etc. his dialogue helps break barriersand encourages the audience to ponder on the issues, to voice their thoughts
and to collectively relect upon their attitudes and perceptions.

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he process of identifying issues and developing the theater script also
generates learning. As shared by bita, in the course of having trainings,
workshops and meetings in the communities, a team of volunteers is created. Facilitators from bita engage in a dialogue with the team and identify
the issues. Diferent dimensions of an identiied issue are discussed, a story
around the issue is developed and the script is written. During the performance of the drama, the team helps to facilitate dialogue with the community on the identiied issue and also on other issues and concerns. Bothbita and the Human Rights heatre Council have used this strategy to raise
consciousness about issues regarding gender discrimination and violenceagainst women within communities in Bangladesh.
Facilitating experiential learning
he Songkhla Forum tries to create social consciousness so that it cancontribute to building a participatory democracy in hailand. It primarily
focuses on the youth. Its work is based on the premise that each individual
has responsibilities towards the society and has the ability to take actions
that can help bring positive changes in society. In order to exercise thisagency, people need to strengthen their critical thinking, to communicate
their views and thoughts, to collaborate with others in society and to be creative in their approaches. he Forum tries to strengthen the capacity of the
youth to do so by providing them with the space and the resources to takeinitiatives that can make a diference in their local communities. In order
to assist the youth to achieve all this, the Forum also provides them withknowledge inputs and skill development training.
he hai Volunteer Service provides fellowships to new law graduates
to work with social organizations for a period of one year. It believes thatsuch opportunities would help in expanding the horizons of the young graduates, exposing them to social issues and concerns and creating in them asense of social consciousness, which would guide them in their professional
and personal lives in the future.
In 2008, aihr initiated a pilot project called “Court Watch” with law
faculties of diferent universities in hailand. he objective of the program
was to enhance understanding about human rights issues among law students and activists through the prism of fair trial principles. Under the program, law students came together to learn about human rights, access tojustice and fair trial principles; after which they visited the courts, observed

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diferent trials and documented their observations. A national seminar wasorganized where the law students presented their observations to law academics, human rights lawyers, activists, community leaders and membersof the judiciary. During the seminar, senior lawyers, prosecutors and judges
shared their thoughts and views on the indings of the law students. hroughthis process of dialogue, discussions were held on access to justice issues
and the practice of fair trial principles in hailand. Also, issues for further
research were identiied that became the subject of study in the next cycleof the project. he program opened up opportunities for the Law Faculties
to develop linkages with the judiciary and facilitate a process by which law
students could learn about the practice of human rights.
With the objective of facilitating learning from diferent country contexts, aihr has also been supporting learning programs involving cross border exchanges among practitioners from diferent countries.
Creating consciousness of being subject of rights
he Bangladesh State does not recognize the indigenous identity of thepeople living in the Chittagong Hill Tract region. A national forum for indigenous people, called the Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, seeks to strengthen the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in
Bangladesh. Apart from monitoring violations of rights and doing advocacy
with the State, a signiicant focus of its activities is on raising consciousness
among the indigenous peoples that they are subject of rights, that discriminatory practices against them are wrong and that they have power to takeaction to claim their rights. he Forum also strives to bridge the gap between indigenous peoples and others in society. he Forum, through meetings, dialogues, consultations, and other initiatives, tries to promote indigenous ways of life, their culture and their aspirations and remove the biases
and prejudices existing in society against indigenous peoples.1
he Muslim Attorney Center (mac) works on access to justice issues
in the Muslim dominant southernmost provinces of hailand where anarmed conlict has been ongoing for many years. Around 2005, with an increase in insurgent attacks, the State responded with the enforcement ofstrict laws such as the Emergency Decree and the imposition of Martial Law.
Many persons suspected of being involved in the insurgency were arrested.
Information about torture, disappearances and extra-judicial killings circulated but people were not iling any formal complaints. In this context,

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the mac, with support from other national organizations such as the Cross
Cultural Foundation, organized many informal meetings at the village levelto discuss the legal rights of the people, the limits of state power and themechanisms for accessing justice. he villagers, who held to the general belief that any misfortune that befell them was because of fate, became awareof the fact that they had rights under law and that they could take action
against wrongs and claim justice from State institutions. Slowly, the attitudeof villagers changed and mac started receiving complaints about arrests,
tortures, disappearances, killings, etc.
Raising public awarenesshere are also initiatives that seek to enhance awareness among people
on issues of public importance.
he Community Network for Social and Political Reform, which has
a network in diferent parts of hailand, has been engaged in raising consciousness among the public on environmental issues such as the adverse
impacts of mining projects. It has also launched a campaign against the statepolicy to promote mangrove forests as tourist destinations. It has stressed
instead the need to give equal importance to protecting the spiritual andcultural life of the ethnic Moken isherfolk living in these forests.
Similarly, the Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (bapa, the Bangladesh
Environmental Movement) initiates campaigns on a wide range of issues –such as protecting playgrounds in the city of Dhaka, cleaning rivers, deforestation and climate change.
Amnesty International hailand, tries to create awareness among thehai people on global human rights issues through its regular newsletters,
workshops with university students and ilm shows.
Prachatai in hailand is a media group that produces web-based newspapers in hai and English languages. It seeks to provide the public withnews and information about problems, concerns, activities and accomplishments of local communities, social movements and organizations. It sharesthe voices of social activists and practitioners by conducting interviews withthem. It does so by publishing statements and campaign materials of local,
national and international organizations. It also reports on news regarding
human rights and social justice.
Some sex workers associated with the Empower Foundation in hailand
decided to pool their experience and resources to create a bar (“Can-Do”

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I Cbar) owned by sex workers for sex workers. hey initiated a community
fund to support sex workers who contribute to the fund. Other than being aplace for hanging out, the bar also ofers the opportunity to create a working
model of an entertainment place with just, safe and fair conditions for bar
staf and bar workers. It also helps in public education and tries to promoterespect towards sex-workers.
Accountability Model
Initiatives under this model include those that aim at enforcing rights
and seeking accountability with respect to human rights violations. he avenues for seeking accountability are many: the media, independent mechanisms such as the National Human Rights Commission, courts of justice andinternational human rights mechanisms. Human rights learning focuses onbuilding the capacity of members of the community, activists, and professionals to seek accountability for human rights violations.
Promoting legal awareness among vulnerable communities
Many times, people in the communities do not report violations ofrights because they are unaware of their legal entitlements or they do nothave knowledge about the procedure and mechanisms to ile complaints.
he Center for Protection and Revival of the Local Community Rights(cprlcr) works with ethnic communities in northern hailand and helps
the communities to access justice. he ethnic communities live in or makea living out of forests and many of them do not have any legal documents
regarding the land they cultivate and live on. Most of their problems relate
to land disputes with forest authorities. In working with these communities, cprlcr starts helping them become conscious of the idea that becauseof their history of living harmoniously with the forests, they have rights tolive in the forestland and that they have rights to protect their dignity. As
the villagers become conscious of their agency, cprlcr helps them understand the laws that regulate the use of forestland, relect on the objectivesof such laws and the interests the laws seek to protect. Cprlcr also helps
them to understand how they can use the existing laws to secure protectionof their rights. Based on these learnings, cprlcr helps them identify strategies that may be efective in addressing their problems and supports themin the implementation of such strategies. he strategies include organizing
village-level meetings, focused group discussions, community mappings,

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workshops, etc. Community mapping is an interesting tool that facilitates
people’s better understanding of their own community. In this exercise, themembers of the community are encouraged to pool together all relevant
information about the community – the history of the community, the number of families, the number of men, women and children and their ages, theethnicity, the status of their nationality, the land area used for residential
and cultivation purposes, the boundaries of such land, status of the land
(whether or not the land falls within the protected area of forests), theirpractice of land usage, the nearest school, etc. Such mapping exercise helps
the community members to come together as a collective and gain moreconidence in themselves as a collective. It also helps them to collect information that they can use in their interaction with the authorities and in theiradvocacy eforts.
In Bangladesh, organizations such as blast (Bangladesh Legal Aidand Services Trust) are also engaged in legal empowerment of the people.
hrough the continuous activities of organizing “courtyard” meetings at thevillage level, legal fairs in universities, receiving complaints through theirlegal aid cells, etc., the organization identiies issues that are of concern tothe communities, such as rights of garment workers, domestic violence, divorce and dowry. Once issues are identiied, trainings and workshops areheld with people in the communities in order to make them become awareof their rights under the law.
Building capacity of paralegals
Most organizations engaged in legal empowerment of communities
believe that the communities themselves should have the conidence toengage with law enforcement agencies. hus cprlcr, mac, Human Rights
and Development Foundation (hrdf) and map Foundation in hailand
and blast in Bangladesh have tried to create teams of paralegals within
the communities. he paralegals act as the bridge between the community
and the legal aid group, whose oice is often situated at a distance fromthe community. he paralegals receive complaints from the communities,
document the complaints, assist the lawyers in doing the initial fact-inding,and provide support and assistance to the people to access state institutions(police, courts or administrative agencies).
In southern hailand, in collaboration with other organizations, mac
set up a network of paralegals, known as the Southern Paralegal Advocacy

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Network (span). his network comprising of volunteers from diferent communities, plays a very signiicant role in conducting legal awareness activities at the community level, receiving complaints and doing fact-inding anddocumentation. As the paralegals are drawn from the communities, people
trust them and share information with them; people in the communities
may not do this with outsiders.
Hrdf, which primarily works with migrant labor in hailand, has beensuccessful in building paralegal teams within migrant communities. With
the assistance of paralegals, hrdf is able to reach out to the migrant population, to know their problems, to provide them with legal knowledge, to help
them to organize campaigns, to gather information for efective advocacy,
and to provide legal assistance where necessary.
“High heel lawyers” are sex workers who have been provided legal training by Empower Foundation, an organization working with sex workers inhailand. Armed with legal knowledge and skills, these paralegals are able toprovide irst-hand assistance to colleagues when needed.
Building capacity of activists and professionals
In order to seek accountability from authorities, there should be efective
fact-inding, documentation, reporting and iling of legal petitions. Manyorganizations under the accountability model focus on building capacities
of practitioners so that they can do their human rights work efectively.
he Cross Cultural Foundation in hailand, in collaboration with international organizations, has held training workshops on torture with the
purpose of strengthening the skills of activists and lawyers in doing factinding and documentation on torture. he results of the fact-inding anddocumentation have helped in compiling the shadow report on the implementation of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Similarly, the Foundation for Women
has been strengthening the capacity of women’s groups to monitor the implementation in hailand of the Convention on the Elimination of All Formsof Discrimination against Women.
Ain o Salish Kendra (ask) in Bangladesh regularly organizes workshops
on human rights to strengthen the knowledge of activists on human rights
law and principles. Organizations from diferent parts of Bangladesh seek
its assistance in conducting capacity-building training sessions for theirstaf. Ask has been publishing resource materials that assist practitioners

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in their work – such as a resource book on public interest litigation and amanual on the role and powers of the National Human Rights Commissionof Bangladesh and the procedures for submitting complaints to it. BLAST in
Bangladesh also produces resource materials in simple language, not only tomake people become aware of their rights, but also to provide information
on how to exercise such rights.
he Human Rights Lawyers Association in hailand organizes workshops for young lawyers to enable them to strengthen their lawyeringskills and integrate human rights principles into their legal analysis andargumentation.
he Human Rights and Peace Information Center does advocacy workon the adverse impacts of mining in the northeast region of hailand. It
organizes workshops with the villagers to enable them to understand theexisting laws and policies in relation to mining and to provide them withframeworks to identify the diferent stakeholders involved, the negative impacts of mining and the ways the villagers can address such problems. It also
helps the villagers to develop their capacity to document the ways in whichmining operations adversely afect the lives of the people and to send written petitions to state authorities.
In hailand, the 2007 Computer Crimes Act has raised issues about
freedom of speech and expression. By organizing research projects, dialogues and expert group meetings, I-law has played an important role inde-mystifying the law on computer crimes and the ways in which it has beenused to restrict the right to freedom of speech and expression.
In Bangladesh, the Right to Information Act, 2009 was enacted without
any concerted campaign by civil society organizations. hus when the law
came into force, people were not aware of its importance. Nagorik Uddyog,in collaboration with regional organizations played an important role in creating awareness about the law, its scope and ambit and the ways in which it
could be used to promote and protect rights. hrough interactive mediums
such as theater, dialogue, community-level meeting, it simpliied the contents of the law and also facilitated activists to learn how they could use it
strategically to seek accountability from State authorities.
he Asian Institute for Human Rights (aihr), in collaboration with universities and civil society organizations, has been organizing annual study
sessions in Bangladesh,2 Myanmar3 and hailand.4 he study sessions aim tostrengthen the knowledge and skills of learners and to provide them with a96

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framework that can help them make human rights work more efective. Staffrom civil society organizations, government agencies, independent institutions and activists have attended these study sessions. Aihr has also been
producing resource materials in the local languages to assist practitioners intheir human rights work. Such resource materials include handbooks on thelinkages between democracy, the rule of law and human rights, fact-inding
and documentation, monitoring courts and trials, human rights norms andstandards, and human rights mechanisms.
Monitoring State obligations
Nineteen Bangladeshi organizations5 formed in 2007 a coalition called
the Human Rights Forum and submitted a joint stakeholders report to the
Human Rights Council (hrc) during the irst Universal Periodic Review(upr) 6 of the human rights record of Bangladesh in 2009. Under the upr
system, the hrc issues a set of recommendations, based on a review of thevarious reports submitted before it, to the State regarding the steps it shouldtake in order to comply with its human rights obligations. From 2009, the
Human Rights Forum has been engaged in a continuous process of monitoring the steps taken by the State with regard to the hrc recommendations.
It has done so by issuing periodic report cards and reports7 and doing advocacy with diferent government ministries as well as independent agencies
such as the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh.
Transformation Model
his model covers initiatives that help groups change the status quo vis
a vis economic capabilities, increase the ability to shape the conditions thatgovern their lives, raise the capability to participate in decision making, etc.
Increasing economic security
he Upland Holistic Development Project (uhdp) is an organization
based in the Golden Triangle area in Chiangrai (hailand). he ethnic people living in the area traditionally practice swidden agriculture. heir accessto forests was however subsequently limited that forced them to stop thispractice, and eventually led to hardship and poverty. he fact that many ofthem lack hai citizenship exacerbates their problems. Uhdp supports themin developing sustainable models of upland farming, such as raising livestock, ish farming, vegetable gardens and multiple cropping, thereby help-

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ing them ensure their food security. Such support has contributed towards
economic empowerment of the people. Economic empowerment has enabled the people to recognize their capacity to decide and act on their own(so-called agency). hey have now started engaging with social movements
such as the land reform movement in hailand in order to bring changes insociety and in their lives.
Forming coalitions, building alliances
he Northern Development Foundation in hailand has been helping
farmers to come together as a network, share their experiences of farming
and land use and develop local and sustainable approaches to natural resource management. he Foundation together with the Northern Farmers
Network helped to set up community learning centers, thereby creating aspace where farmers and communities can share and learn from each other’s
experiences. he farmers come to these learning centers to discuss how they
as communities can secure legal recognition of their rights to manage natural resources. he Northern Development Foundation and the Northern
Farmers Network are also part of the Peoples Movement for a Just Society(P-Move), the collective of social movements in hailand, and actively participate in the campaigns on reform of the land management system inhailand.
Organizations in hailand such as the Violet Home, M-Plus Foundation
and Anjaree are working with lgbtq8 people and have helped in the creation of spaces for them to come together for caring, sharing and learning.
hese organizations have become pivotal in voicing the concerns of lgbtq
communities and in establishing their rights.
he Women for Peace Network9 is a collective of women in the southernmost provinces of hailand. he collective was formed during the period
when incidences of violence in the provinces were high and many families
lost their male income-earning members. he network was irst set up to enable women to cope with the loss of their husbands by sharing their grief anddrawing strength from each other. Gradually, as the women became stronger from within, they reached out to help others in society. Today, they havea voice in dialogues and discussions on issues of justice and peace-building.
he Mekong River Group in hailand helps to build a sense of community among the people through the processes of collective learning. It helps
communities conduct participatory research on issues concerning their way

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I Cof life – such as changes in the ish species in the Mekong river over periodsof time, local ishing tools and equipment, their uses, etc. he objective of
the research is to mobilize the people as communities and facilitate a process of learning about the eco-system where they live, the factors that impact such ecology, the impact of such changes in their lives and livelihoods,
their traditional practices and to put their minds together about how they
could be more efective in their work and practices. Information gatheredfrom discussions, dialogues and ield visits are compiled and shared among
the communities for their views and inputs. Community radio is also used
to disseminate information and initiate discussions among the people. In
addition, the Mekong group works with schools in the area and organizes
camps for young students on topics such as nature and eco-systems, local
culture and customary practices, the need for conservation of the environment and the role of the youth in society.
Shaping the meaning of rights
Small and marginal farmers in Bangladesh started the Nayakrishi
Andolan (New Agricultural Movement) in response to agricultural policiesof the State that encouraged mono-cropping using high yielding varieties ofseeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Farmers who adopted such practices received incentives from the State such as subsidized fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation facilities. However, small and marginal farmers, particularly women farmers, felt that such agricultural policy impacted upon theirrights to decide what to produce and how to produce it. Poor farmers could
not aford to purchase chemical inputs. here was also a growing awarenessthat use of pesticides killed birds and ishes, and poisoned plants and shrubs
around the ields; this means that the use of pesticides had adverse impact
on the environment that had sustained their livelihood. It was in response to
the negative environmental impact that the new agricultural movement wasstarted. he farming communities developed ten basic rules10of bio-diversity-based ecological agriculture to achieve sovereignty over growing food,seeds and knowledge practices. hus the movement helped in developing anefective approach to counter the development plans that put emphasis on
modern agricultural methods. Today, Nayakrishi Andolan is part of global
movements that are seeking to expand the meaning of the right to food toalso include the right to food sovereignty.

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Similarly, Nature Care in hailand has been facilitating communities
closely connected with forests to look “inward” and to draw on their traditional wisdom and knowledge to ind out ways in which communities could
themselves address issues concerning their lives and livelihood, such asbuilding a water management system to provide relief to the drought-prone
areas in northeastern hailand.
In consideration of the right to education as a basic human right, theUnited Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues has suggested that
States should provide for culturally appropriate education for indigenous
peopless so as to help them conserve their unique cultures, values and languages.11 Impect, an association of indigenous peoples in hailand, has beenworking with local communities to develop culturally appropriate educational curriculums.
ums.. hhee formal education system in hhailandailand does not include learning about indigenous ways of life and culture. he indigenous
groups in hailand fear that with the passing away of older generations,knowledge and resources would be lost forever. Impect rose to these challenges and worked with community elders to develop an alternative education system that enabled children and youth from ethnic communities tolearn about their identities, cultures, ways of life and traditions. As a resultof these interventions, the Mowakhi Community School was establishedand has become an inspiration for other indigenous groups in hailand.
hus, the initiative helped develop a model for culturally appropriate education that can be adopted by the State.12
In hailand, the Human Settlement Foundation together with the Four
Region Slum Network advocates the right to housing. In order to ensure secured housing for the poor, it negotiated with the State authorities on longterm leases over urban land owned by the railway authorities. hey also held
dialogues with the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (bma) on how the communities living beside canals could play a strong role in their conservation.
hese dialogues caused the bma to stop the eviction of people living along
canals and opened opportunities for communities to obtain long-term leases over the land. In these ways, the organizations helped realize the right tohousing recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social andCultural Rights.
he hailand Disability Foundation has been instrumental in giving visibility to the rights of people living with disabilities. It has been working very

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closely with the State in developing standards, policies and programs that
address the needs of the diferently-abled people.
Similarly, the Foundation for Older Persons Development in hailand
works towards enhancing older people’s access to rights and entitlements.
At the local level, it has been collaborating with the Health Care Department
and Tambon Administrative Authorities and has set up systems of extending health care services to elderly persons in vulnerable communities.
he Campaign for Popular Education (campe) in Bangladesh has
worked very closely with the State with regard to developing a national policy on education.
Claiming spaces in decision-making
In recent years, the peoples’ movements in Bangladesh focusing on
natural resources issues (such as open pit coal mining project in Phulbari,leasing out of gas ields in the Bay of Bengal, the coal-ired power plantnear Sunderbans [the world’s largest mangrove forest]) have helped raise
discussions on the concept of development. Civil society platforms suchas the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Powerand Ports have helped through their research studies to demystify the environmental and social impact studies conducted for the projects. hey havealso raised questions about the terms of agreements regarding the projects,
which allow the investing companies to export most of the mined resources,and have raised questions about “who gains and who loses” from such projects. hese research studies provided support to the actions launched by
the people. As a result of these actions, the State has had to reconsider its
decisions and take heed of the voices of the people.
In Bangladesh, Nijera Kori has played a leading role in the empowerment of landless people so that they can play a role in decision-making processes afecting their lives. hrough dialogues, training sessions and workshops, the organization helps people to become conscious of themselves as
subject of rights and helps build collectives of the landless. Critical analysis
of issues and collective relection on how to overcome their marginalization
have helped the landless in participating in meetings with authorities andarticulating their views with conidence.13
he Dalit14 people constitute one of the marginalized communities in
Bangladesh. Already sufering social exclusion, the 2011 oicial population
census did not recognize “Dalits” as a distinct group. his recognition is im-Practice of Human Rights Education in hailand and Bangladesh

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portant for the Dalit people because only when the State recognizes their existence that it (State) would be open to suggestions on how to eliminate thediscrimination against them. Nagorik Uddyog helped the Dalit communities
in Bangladesh to come together and create a national platform – Bangladesh
Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (bderm). Bderm organized the irst
national conference on Dalit issues in 2009. It was a milestone event because the issues of Dalit communities gained visibility in the national media
for the irst time. Bderm continues to work for the empowerment of Dalit
communities, raises public awareness against discrimination and advocateswith the policy makers to take steps to address discrimination in society.15
he Emergency Decree, the Martial Law Act, and the Internal Security
Act have given extra-ordinary powers to the law enforcement agencies insouthern hailand since 2005 to arrest and detain persons suspected of involvement in the conlict. he enforcement of these laws lowered the protection available to persons with regard to their rights and liberties. he Cross
Cultural Foundation based in Bangkok, together with the Muslim Attorney
Center, the span paralegal network and other local organizations engagedin fact-inding and documentation of cases involving arrests and detention
related to these laws. hey monitored the problems faced by people during detention under the special laws and also observed trial proceedings incourts. Based on such documentation, the groups held dialogues with law
academics, senior practicing lawyers, judges, oicials of the justice ministry
as well as law enforcement oicers and discussed ways in which rights protection available to the people could be strengthened. Over the years, thegroups have been successful in introducing changes to rules and regulationsof the law enforcement agencies and making them more sensitive towards
the rights of the people.
Similarly, groups working to promote and protect the rights of migrant
workers have through their education and monitoring activities been able
to create the space for advocacy with the State on law and policy issues. An
example is the campaign in northern hailand on the rights of migrants
to drive motorcycles. Under the existing laws, because of reasons of national security, migrant people could not apply for driving licenses or secure legal ownership of motorbikes they purchase. he Human Rights andDevelopment Foundation and its allies conducted fact-inding and researchon the issue. It documented search and seizure operations undertaken by
the police in migrant neighborhoods and the adverse impact of the regula-

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tions on the lives of the people. Based on such information, it launched acampaign that highlighted the impact of the laws and policies on the rightsof migrant workers. Armed with information, it also initiated dialogues withdiferent state agencies including the agencies responsible for protecting national security. As a result of these diferent meetings and initiatives, theDepartment of Land Transport gave a commitment to amend its rules andensure that migrant workers could get legal ownership of their motorbikes.
Also, the organizations were able to convince the agencies that issuing licenses to migrant workers would not endanger national security, and therules were changed accordingly.
he M-Plus Foundation and its network provide another experiencebased on their sustained advocacy eforts including strategic litigation in
the administrative court. hey were able to change the practice of labeling atransgender person “mentally ill” while being discharged from compulsory
military service. It was a signiicant decision of the military that reairmed
the rights and dignity of transgender people.
Law-based organizations such as blast and ask in Bangladesh havealso used the tool of strategic litigation to bring human rights and publicconcern issues before the courts. hrough strategic litigation they have beenable to clarify the rules of criminal procedure that have helped strengthen
protection against torture, set standards of working conditions in the garment industry, set standards to address sexual harassment in work places,
etc.
In Bangladesh, the Union Parishads or Councils (the smallest rural administrative and local government units) have budget allocation for development work. In most cases, the Council members adopt the plan for spending the budget without consulting the people. ActionAid Bangladesh tried
to introduce changes in the practice. To begin with, it initiated discussions
with the Council members on the value and importance of participatory
budgeting and motivated them to open up their processes of budget making to people’s participation. Consequently, ten Union Councils organized
consultations with the local people to identify their concerns and needs. heconsultations include dialogue with the people who identify their priority
concerns, incorporation of the priorities expressed by the people in the irst
draft budget plan, printing and circulation of the draft budget plan among
the people to get their inputs, and adoption of the budget plan in a publicforum. During the public forum, the stakeholders discuss how the bud-Practice of Human Rights Education in hailand and Bangladesh

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get plan will be implemented. Such a process makes people become more
conscious of their rights and enables them to participate meaningfully indecision-making processes afecting their lives.16
Enlawthai Foundation (Enlaw) in hailand provides legal aid andassistance to protect the rights, livelihood and health of local communities
afected by industrial pollution. When seventy-two provinces in hailand
were in the process of making town plans, Enlaw worked with a network ofcivil society organizations and town planning academics to create awarenessabout rights and existing environmental laws and standards. Workshops
were held with communities on how they could promote and protect theircommunity rights. A manual was drafted on the rights of the people to determine their town plans. his process helped create a space for the people
to revisit the existing laws on town planning and to advocate for reforms toensure more protection of community rights.
Synthesis
Establishing a society that supports a culture of human rights involves dynamic and continuously evolving processes through which individuals,
society and the State gradually develop relationships that are respectful of
human rights values and norms. hese processes of change happen incrementally as States and diferent interest groups respond to actors and factors at domestic and global levels. But change may not necessarily promote
and protect human rights, and instead violate them. Such change can be
negative when measured in terms of human rights. However, even in suchcases, the change unleashes forces that align and mobilize together and in
the process create momentum for transforming existing power relations.
his process of moving forward and backward is a natural and ongoing one,not necessarily a linear progression. It appears to be the only true way by
which State and society can reach the point of full internalization of humanrights norms and standards.
Human rights learning initiatives seek to inluence this process ofchange by facilitating transformation of power dynamics at diferent levels.
he initiatives under the value model have helped to develop “power
within.” When directed at the larger society, they have helped to facilitate
relection on social issues and in generating awareness about rights and duties. In the context of vulnerable or marginalized groups, the initiatives have

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helped in enhancing individual consciousness and the sense of agency. Asgroups gained “power within” they became able to build alliances and tochallenge marginalization, exclusion and abuse (‘power with’17 and ‘power
to’18). Such challenges have been in diferent forms; by questioning negative social attitudes and biases, by seeking accountability from the State, byclaiming spaces for working alongside the State in establishing systems forrights protection and by developing new models or norms of operation that
seek to expand the contours of rights – even if they would not be in the interest of dominant groups at national and international levels.
Challenges
In this context, what are the challenges faced by groups in their humanrights learning work? Some questions and issues raised during the interviews and dialogues in Bangladesh and hailand were:•

Integrating democracy education and human rights learning, whereis the balance?
One question that has been often asked in hailand is, why are
there no human rights groups focusing on the issue of democracy?
While democracy is the subtext of human rights work, it is afact that human rights groups do not overtly engage with democracy activism. One reason could be that the term democracy is
too broad and usually means diferent things to diferent people.
Further, groups who are engaged in democracy work tend to beperceived as “particularly political.” On the other hand, in orderto strengthen promotion and protection of human rights, human rights groups have to engage with the structures of power –regardless of political color or ideology.
For these reasons, human rights groups “appear” to be steeringaway from “democracy work” or “democracy education.” However,as seen in this report, the practice of human rights is linked withthe process of “democratization.”So, the question before us is, how much of democracy education
should be part of human rights learning?

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How do you make the laws “real”?
hough rights are recognized in the Constitution, it is basicallythe statutory laws that determine the exercise and enjoyment ofrights. People working on the ground see the law as they are applied– they are at the receiving end of “the law.” For them, laws appear
to be instruments that can control their lives and determine theirstatus, yet, not take into consideration, the reality of their lives.
he challenge for human rights activists and lawyers is tomake these laws “real.”
What kinds of learning process are needed to ensure that existing laws are in conformance with international human rights
obligations of the State? In what ways can human rights learning
strengthen the implementation and enforcement of existing laws?

•

Be issue speciic or be cross-cutting in nature and scope?
One concern that was shared in the course of this research wasthat human rights education work has become very speciic in its
scope and content. Usually,, social groups organize learning programs according to their interest areas for the purpose of achieving a speciic end, such as strengthening knowledge and skills forfact-inding and documentation for the purpose of monitoring apattern of violations, or raising consciousness around an issue forthe purpose of mobilizing people for direct action.
At the same time, there is also the need for programs that facilitate learning on cross cutting issues among activists and for programs that reach out to the larger society and facilitate relection
among them on issues of social concern.
he advantage of thematic speciicity is the existence of concrete rationale for the activities and the possibility of measuring
results. On the other hand, cross-cutting initiatives expose thehuman rights education group (operating under the constraint ofscarce resources) to the risk of inding itself “everywhere and at thesame time nowhere.”•

Learning about the “How” of human rights work
Further, there is need to facilitate more learning on the “how”
of promoting and protecting rights. Human rights groups have by

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and large adopted the “naming and shaming” strategy, i.e.,, collecting information about violations and publicizing them with the
purpose of embarrassing the State into taking steps to comply with
its obligations. Social movements on the other hand adopt strategies of direct action, such as protests, in order to put pressure on
governments. While such strategies have yielded results in the past,
there have been changes in the contexts as well, such as reversals
in the process of democratization, the emergence of strong governments and the pursuit of neo-liberal economic policies.
here is a need for relection on how human rights theory canbe applied in these evolving contexts and identify appropriate strategies for protection of human rights.
Recommendations
Given these challenges, how can human rights education groups strengthen
their work? We ofer some suggestions:•

Linking human rights praxis with the rule of law, the rule-of-lawbased systems and democracy
It is the rule of law that provides the basic conditions for ensuring respect for human rights. here is a need to promote relecrelection on these conditions to facilitate understanding of the politicalstructure of the State and the context within which human rights
work takes place.
In addition, there is also a need to understand democracy interms of how it is “experienced” and “lived” by citizens. Often, people understand democracy and human rights as separate ields ofstudy and practice. However, they are closely linked to each other,as democracy is also about developing a collective vision for society, about processes of collective decision-making, about limits
on the power of the majority, about processes of creating compromises and arriving at “win-win” solutions among competing interest groups. If democracy is understood in these terms, then humanrights groups through their work try to create the space for active
citizenship, inluence decision-making and monitor the exercise of
power. hese processes of engagement are not smooth and often

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activists are confronted with challenges about how to engage withthe political powers. here is also a need to remember that the roadto democracy is never a linear progression, nor is human rights
work.
Human rights education needs to create the space for dialogue
and discussion on such issues.
•

Need for equal focus on economic, social and cultural rights andcivil and political rights
Human rights are indivisible and interdependent. However, inpractice, there are more campaigns and advocacy by human rights
groups on civil and political rights that have dimensions of the ruleof law, such as arbitrary detention, torture, freedom of expression,
extra-judicial killings, etc. On the other hand, it is the social movements which mobilize around issues of economic, social and cultural rights such as access to natural resources, participation in decision-making over management and control of natural resources,
harm sufered by development projects, issues of eviction, or issuesof land reform. here are not many human rights campaigns on issues such as social security, education, health, etc. Such legitimate
needs often are responded to by governments through populist
policies and hand-outs to attract votes with possible negative consequences on long-term economic and social conditions.
Articulating these issues in the rights framework would help increating understanding about what should be the role of the State
towards its citizens. For example, what are the obligations of theState with respect to ensuring that everyone
one in society has equal access to education, health care or employment opportunities? What
are its obligations towards ensuring social security for the vulnerable sections in society, such as the elderly? What is its obligation
to ensure that the pursuit of development and economic growth do
not take place at the cost of the rights of some sections in society?
hus, human rights education needs to give civil and politicalrights and economic, social and cultural rights equal focus.

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I C•Need to strengthen learning about strategies
As discussed earlier, there is a need to strengthen learning
about strategies that can be used for the promotion and protectionof human rights. Such learning can occur in diferent ways.
Swot (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of ongoing work can help groups to relect critically upon theirwork: what is the context of their work? What are the strengths
and weaknesses
es of the strategies used by them? What kind of opportunities does the context present? What are some of the threatsagainst them? Such dialogue and discussions can help the groups
strengthen the “how” of human rights work.
There is also a need to learn the strategies used by other groups
working at the national and international levels. Such learning can
include critical relection on the context of the issue, the nature of
the strategy, the conditions that help successful use of the strategy
and the challenges involved in using such strategy. here can also
be similar learning from experiences regarding initiatives that did
not achieve the desired results.
Learning from the experiences of other groups working at national, regional and international levels can also help in building
alliances and contributing to each other’s eforts.

•

Need for both thematic and cross-cutting learning programs
here is a need for thematic programs because they help build
knowledge and skills on speciic areas of human rights. At the sametime, there is a need for programs on learning diferent themes.
Since issues
ssues are inter-related,, programs
rograms that are cross cutting in nature can help facilitate learning between diverse groups working ona range of issues and help create synergies between such groups.

•

Human rights learning for State functionaries
here is a need to institutionalize human rights courses ingovernment departments and oices, as government policy, inorder to provide government oicials opportunities for learning
human rights theory and practice. Such courses may be in the nature of academic courses as well as short practical courses.

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Public campaigns on human rights
In order to create a culture of human rights, there is a need to
involve the public in human rights learning. Such learning can bepromoted through the public media or creative forms of campaigns.
he idea is to bring before the public diferent aspects of an issue
confronting the society, encourage people to relect upon their own
understanding of the issue and, where needed, inspire them to takeaction that can contribute towards bringing about change.

•

Focusing on the “mission at hand”
Last, but not the least, those working on promoting humanrights learning, must always remember – that the focus of the learning is people’s current human rights predicament in ever changing
societies. hus, the work on human rights learning must also beable to respond to the challenges posed by contemporary contexts.

Endnotes
1. Presentations by Sanjeeb Drong, Bangladesh Adivasi Forum, in the Annual
Human Rights Study Sessions held in Bangladesh by aihr and its partners.
2. Aihr has been organizing the annual study sessions in Bangladesh in collaboration with the Department of International Relations in University of Dhaka andthe Center for Human Rights Studies. he 3rd Annual Human Rights Study Session
was held in 2013.
3. In February 2014, a human rights study session was organized by aihr inYangon in collaboration with the Pandita Development Institute.
4. In hailand, aihr has been organizing the annual human rights study sessions together with the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University. he 4th
Annual Study Session was held in October 2012.
5. hese organizations include Ain o Salish Kendra (ask), Acid Survivors
Foundation (asf), Bandhu Social Welfare Society (bsws), Bangladesh Adivasi
Forum, Bangladesh Dalit and Excluded Rights Movement (bderm), Bangladesh
Institute of Labour Studies (bils), Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (blast),
Bangladesh Mohila Parishad (bmp), Boys of Bangladesh (bob), fair, Karmojibi Nari(KN), Kapaeeng Foundation, Manusher Jonno Foundation (mjf), National Allianceof Disabled Peoples’ Organizations (nadpo), steps, Transparency International
Bangladesh.
6. he Universal Periodic Review (upr) is a process under the Human Rights
Council of the United Nations (UN), which involves a periodic review of the humanrights record of all States, which are members of the UN. Under this process, States
are required to submit a report to the Human Rights Council on the human rights

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situation in the country. Based on the report, the members of the Council engage ina dialogue with the State and give recommendations to the State for strengthening
their performance. In this process, civil society organizations also have the space topresent their reports, called the “Stakeholders Report” before the Council on thesituation of human rights in the country. For more information, see “Basic Facts
about the UPR,” United Nations Oice of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/upr/pages/BasicFacts.aspx.
7. Human Rights Forum Bangladesh, UPR Stakeholders Report, Summary,March2013, available at www.askbd.org/web/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/
Human%20Rights%20Forum%20Bangladesh%20-%20UPR%20Stakeholders%20
Report%20-%20Summary%20March%202013.pdf.
8. Lgbtq is the acronym for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual and Queer.
9. his name is based on interview with the staf of the network. he name of
the network according to its website is Network of Civic Women for Peace, a literaltranslation of its name in hai language. See Annex B for more information.
10. he ten basic rules are: (1) absolutely no use of pesticide (2) in situ and exsitu conservation of seed and genetic resources, (3) protection of healthy soil without
external inputs, particularly chemical fertilizers, (4) mixed cropping, (5) production
and management of both cultivated and uncultivated spaces, (6) no extraction ofground water and conservation of water and eicient surface water use and management, (7) learning to calculate the output both in terms of single species and varieties
as well as systems yield, (8) integrating livestock in the household to produce more
complex household ecology to maximize beneits of both humans and life forms, (9)integrating water and aquatic diversity to generate more ecological products and(10) integrating, non-agricultural and rural activities to ensure prosperity of the local communities as a whole. Source: Nayakrishi Seed Sovereignty Movement; Farida
Akhter, ubinig.
11. Brieing Note 3, “Gender and Indigenous Peoples Education,” Secretariat of
the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpii/documents/Brieing%20Notes%20Gender%20and%20Indigenous%20Women.pdf.
12. For more information on the Mowakhi Community School, view its documentary video in impect website: www.impect.org/.
13. Case study presented by Nagorik Uddyog at the 2nd Annual Human Rights
Study Session held in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, October 2012.
14. India’s caste system assigns individuals a certain hierarchical status according to Hindu beliefs. Traditionally, there are four principal castes (divided into many
sub-categories) and one category of people fall outside the caste system—the Dalits.
As members of the lowest rank of Indian society, Dalits face discrimination at almost
every level: from access to education and medical facilities to restrictions on where
they can live and what jobs they can have. Source: http://navsarjan.org/navsarjan/
dalits/whoaredalits.
15. Case study presented by Nagorik Uddyog at the 3rd Annual Human Rights
Study Session held in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, 26 October – 7 November 2013.
16. Case study presented by ActionAid at the 3rd Annual Human Rights Study
Session held in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, 26 October – 7 November 2013.

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17. his means the power that comes from collective action and working together in alliances.
18. his means the individual’s ability to act, to organize and change existinghierarchies and conditions of social inequalities.
19. See Amnesty International, http://amnesty.org/en/who-we-are.

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Annex A
Case Studies on Practice of Human Rights Education
Organizational Classifications
he thirty-six organizations in hailand and ifteen organizations in
Bangladesh covered by the study are classiied on the basis of the issues focused on in their work and on areas of work, as presented below.
IssuesLand (6)

Indigenous Peoples Rights (4)Thailand•Center for Protection and Revival of the Local
Community Rights•
Northern Development Foundation•
Highland Peoples Taskforce•
Upland Holistic Development Project•
P-MoveThailand•Inter-Mountain Peoples Education and Culturein Thailand Association (IMPECT)•
Highland Peoples Taskforce•
Upland Holistic Development Project
Bangladesh•
Bangladesh Adivasi Forum

Bangladesh•
Nijera Kori
Natural Resource Management/
Community Rights (7)Thailand•Mekong River Group in Chiangrai•
Human Rights and Peace Information Center•
Community Network for Social and Political
Reform•Learning Process and Creating Understandingon Nuclear Plants•
Nature Care Foundation

Right to Housing (1)Thailand•Human Settlement Foundation
Right to Education (2)Bangladesh•
Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE)•
Steps towards Development
Environment (2)Bangladesh•
Phulbari Movement•
Bangladesh Adivasi Forum

Thailand•
ENLAWTHAI Foundation (EnLAW)
Bangladesh•
Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (Bangladesh
Environmental Movement)

Practice of Human Rights Education in hailand and Bangladesh
Labor (5)Rights of LGBTQ (2)Thailand (Migrant Labor)•
MAP Foundation•
Human Rights and Development Foundation

Thailand•M-Plus Foundation•
Violet Home

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Bangladesh•
Karmojibi Nari•
Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust•Ain o Salish Kendra
Trafficking (2)Child Rights (1)Thailand•Anti-Trafficking Co-ordination Unit of Northern
Thailand (TRAFCOD)•
Human Rights and Development Foundation

Thailand•Foundation for Child Development

People with Disabilities (1)Rights of Elderly (1)Thailand•Thai Disabled Development Foundation

Thailand•Foundation for Older Persons’ Development

Gender Equality (8)Food Sovereignty (1)Thailand•Foundation for Women•EMPOWER Foundation•
MAP Foundation•
Gabfai Community Theatre Group

Bangladesh•
UBINIG

Bangladesh•
Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust•
Nagorik Uddyog•
Ain o Salish Kendra•
Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts

ASEAN (1)Thailand•Pro-rights Foundation
Dalit People (1)Bangladesh•
Nagorik Uddyog

Access to Justice (7)Thailand•Muslim Attorney Center (MAC)•
Promoting Human Rights and Access to Justice Network (HAP)•
Cross Cultural Foundation•
Human Rights and Development Foundation•
MAP Foundation
Bangladesh
Bangladesh Legal Aid Services TrustAin o Salish Kendra

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Areas of work
Raising civic consciousness (9)Promoting experiential learning (4)Thailand•Gabfai Community Theatre Group•
Asian Institute for Human Rights•
Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (ilaw)•
Prachatai•
Amnesty Thailand

Thailand•Songkhla Forum•
Thai Volunteer Service•
Asian Institute for Human Rights
Bangladesh•
Center for Human Rights Studies

Bangladesh•
Bangladesh Institute of Theatre Arts•
Human Rights Theatre Councils (Manob
Adhikar Natya Parishad – Ain o Salish Kendra)•
Nagorik Uddyog•
Center for Human Rights Studies
Facilitating economic empowerment(2)
Thailand•Upland Holistic Development Project
Bangladesh•
UBINIG

Human rights monitoring (8)Thailand•Cross-Cultural Foundation•
Highland Peoples’ Taskforce•
Human Rights and Development Foundation•
Foundation for Women
Bangladesh•
Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust•
Ain O Salish Kendra•
Nagorik Uddyog•
Human Rights Forum

Promoting participatory budgeting (1)Promoting right to information (1)Bangladesh•
ActionAid

Bangladesh•
Nagorik Uddyog

Practice of Human Rights Education in hailand and Bangladesh
Human rights lawyering (8)Supporting social movements (3)Thailand•Cross Cultural Foundation•
Human Rights and Development Foundation•
Human Rights Lawyers Association•
ENLAWTHAI Foundation (EnLAW)•
Center for Protection and Revival of the Local
Community Rights (CPRLCR)•
Asian Institute for Human Rights

Thailand•
P-MoveBangladesh•
Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust•
Ain O Salish Kendra

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Bangladesh•
Phulbari Movement•
New Agricultural Movement (UBINIG)
Using community radio (3)Thailand•Human Rights and Development Foundation•
MAP Foundation
Bangladesh•
Center for Human Rights Studies

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Annex B
Proile of Institutions Included in the StudyTHAILAND
Protection and Revival of the Local Community Rights (cpllcr)
ศูนย์พิทักษ์และฟื้นฟูสิทธิชุมชนท้องถิ่นดั้งเดิม
Cprlcr is a legal resource group that provides legal aid and assistanceto community-based organizations focusing on the rights of people livingin the forests. he objective of cprlcr is to facilitate legal empowerment of
the people. It tries to do so by instituting a sense of consciousness among thepeople that they are holders of rights, helping them understand and analyze
their problems critically, helping them to identify strategies that may address such problems and by supporting them in their actions.
Northern Development Foundationมูลนิธิพัฒนาภาคเหนือ
While cprlcr focuses on legal empowerment, the Northern
Development Foundation (ndf) provides assistance to people in setting up
sustainable models of land management so that they can get recognitionof their rights under the laws. It also focuses on advocacy on issues of land
reform such as land redistribution, creation of land banks and facilitating
security of tenure through land titling. he NDF played an important role inthe drafting of the community forest bill.
As part of the diferent activities for strengthening the capacity andvoice of farmers in developing land management systems, the ndf helpedin the formation of the Northern Farmers Network, which advocates therights of local communities and people’s organizations to participate in alldecision making processes relating to natural resource management which
has an impact on their lives. he network helps in building alliances among
villagers so that they can share their experiences regarding land use andthrough such collective processes develop local sustainable approaches tonatural resource management. he ndf helped establish community learning centers to support learning among members of the community.

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Upland Holistic Development Project (uhdp)
โครงการพัฒนาพื้นที่สูง
http://uhdp.org/
he Upland Holistic Development Project (uhdp) is a local organization that works in the golden triangle area (Mai-ai, Chiangdao and Fang
Districts of Chiangmai province), an area where hill tribe people are struggling with poverty that is exacerbated by lack of citizenship rights and declining access to forest resources.
Traditionally the hill tribes living in the golden triangle practice swidden
or shifting agriculture. However, due to decreasing access to forests in recent times, it has become diicult to practice this form of agriculture. Uhdp
provides support to the hill tribe farmers to develop sustainable models of
upland farming such as raising livestock, ish farming, multiple cropping or
growing cash and food crops simultaneously so that the farmers can havefood security. Uhdp also helps in raising awareness about the laws regarding nationality and citizenship and assists the villagers in fulilling the procedural requirements under the law on obtaining nationality and citizenship.
hus uhdp assists the villagers in achieving economic and social security
that enables them to survive with dignity. Such interventions also enhance
the capabilities of the people to engage in other political processes aroundthem such as movements on securing recognition for community rights.
Inter-Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in hailand
Association (impect)สมาคมศูนย์รวมการศึกษาและวัฒนธรรมของชาวไทยภูเขาแห่งประเทศไทย
www.impect.org/
Impect is an association of indigenous groups in hailand. he association has more than three thousand members belonging to ten indigenous
groups. An Executive Committee, elected after every three years, is responsible for developing the direction of the work of the association and taking
policy decisions. he election process of the Committee ensures that there isequal representation of men and women and ethnic member groups. An advisory group known as the Indigenous Peoples Council guides the Executive
Committee in its work and helps it in formulating the policies and strategiesof the association.

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he main areas of action related to human rights are the following: promotion of indigenous cultural practices through alternative systems of education; promotion of indigenous knowledge and skills in natural resource
management; and strengthening of networks of indigenous peoples for promotion and protection of rights.
Highland Peoples Taskforce (hpt)ศูนย์ปฏิบัติการร่วมเพื่อแก้ไขปัญหาประชาชนบนพื้นที่สูง
he Highland Peoples Taskforce is the secretariat of a network of twelve
indigenous groups in hailand. It works towards the elimination of discrimination against indigenous peoples and empowerment of the indigenous
groups so that they can make their voices heard. As part of the process of
empowerment, it tries to build the capacity of indigenous groups by organizing training sessions and workshops on knowledge and skills, such as onlaw, leadership skills, public speaking, report writing, negotiation skills, etc.
Workshops on laws have included inputs on laws relating to nationality andcitizenship and the procedure on citizenship application. he organization
has been active in organizing the celebration of the International Indigenous
Peoples Day every year. he celebration activities marking the day help tobring together all indigenous communities and highlight the rich cultural
diversity of hailand.
Mekong River Group in Chiangraiกลุ่มรักษ์เชียงของ
In the mid-nineties a development project called the “Economic
Square” was introduced in the Mekong Basin comprising of Laos, Myanmar,
hailand and China. China started to blast the rocks in the Mekong Riverin order to facilitate smooth navigation of vessels transporting goods tohailand. It also started constructing dams on the river.
hese projects had adverse impact on the life and livelihood of the people living in Chiangkong District of Chiangrai. During those years, people
afected by the project informally came together in saphas (meetings) to
discuss the ways the project had been impacting the lives of the people inthe community. Gradually these meetings became more structured and theorganization came into being.

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he nature of the discussions in these meetings also changed gradually.
From just discussing the adverse impacts of the development projects, thepeople started relecting on the ways in which the lives of the people are
intimately linked with the natural resources around them, the importanceof conservation of such resources, and the actions that the people could takethemselves in order to protect these resources. hus in the late 1990s, thepeople initiated the “Chiangkong Forest Water Spring Conservation” project with the objective of conserving the forest and river resources by using
the traditional customary ways of people living in the Mekong Basin.
Human Rights and Peace Information Center – Northeast Branchศูนย์ข้อมูลสิทธิมนุษยชนและสันติภาพ (ศสส.) อีสาน
he Human Rights and Peace Information Center was established bya group of activists working on environment and natural resources issues.
hey have been active in monitoring developmental policies and projects
and the impact of such projects on the environment and human security ofthe people. One case that has occupied their attention is that of potash minein Udon hani province in northeast hailand. he villagers are afraid thatthe proposed mine will destroy their lands and livelihoods. hey allege thatthe initial exploration by the company (Asia Paciic Potash Corporation)
to assess the potash reserves and ground water resources resulted in saline
contamination of the land, making it unit for cultivation. Even while this
exploration was being done, villagers did not have information that a potashmine was proposed to be set up on their land.
Community Network for Social and Political Reformเครือข่ายชุมชนเพื่อการปฏิรูปสังคมและการเมือง (คปสม.) จังหวัดอุบลราชธานี
he network is present in diferent parts of hailand. It focuses on issues of land, management of natural resources, rights of local isherfolk andstateless people as well as the conlict in Deep South. he network aims tostrengthen the structures that people have to participate in decision-making
processes of the State, strengthen the capacity of community leaders to participate in decision making processes and create forums where people canengage in critical discussion about community issues.

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Learning Process and Creating Understanding on Nuclear Plantsโครงการศึกษากระบวนการเรียนรู้และสร้างความเข้าใจเรื่องโรงไฟฟ้านิวเคลียร์
he objective of the group is to enable the afected communities to enhance their understanding about the proposed nuclear power plant projectso that they can make an informed decision. It shares information about
the positive and negative aspects of a nuclear power plant project and also
shares the experiences of other countries with regard to similar projects,
such as that of Japan. he group also helps the villagers do a mapping of
hailand’s power policy and facilitates relection on other sources of energy.
Armed with such information, the group encourages the people to think forthemselves and decide whether they would like a power plant to be set upnear their community or not.
P-Move (Peoples Movement for a Just Society)ขบวนการประชาชนเพื่อสังคมที่เป็นธรรม
P-Move, an ofshoot of the Assembly of the Poor, is a network of manyorganizations and grassroots movements such as the Anti-Pak Moon
Dam Network, the Four Region Slums Network, the Northern Farmers
Federation, the Northeastern Land Reform Network, the Southern Farmers
Federation, networks against dams, mining and electricity projects, statelesspeople, forest dwellers, isherfolk movements, etc.
Human Settlement Foundationมูลนิธิพัฒนาที่อยู่อาศัย
http://humanset.org/
he Foundation has been working on the issue of right to adequate
housing since 1983. During the 1980s, people living in the slums were very
vulnerable to threats of eviction, which were carried out with a lot of force
and violence. he people were helpless. he Foundation provides assistanceto the people living in the slums and organizes them to form a collective.
he Foundation focuses on issues such as shelter for the homeless people,
developing the quality of life of people living in slums, afordable housing for
the urban poor, etc. he Foundation supports the work of the Four Region
Slums Network. It is also part of P-Move.

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ENLAWTHAI Foundation (Enlaw)มูลนิธินิติธรรมสิ่งแวดล้อม
http://enlawfoundation.org
Article 67 of the Constitution, provides that any project or activity
which may have an impact on the quality of environment, natural resourceand health of the community shall be permitted only after appropriate studies to assess the impact of such projects have been completed and sharedwith the people in public hearings so that they may give their opinions. his
implies that communities have the rights to receive information about proposed projects from the government, assess the impact of such projects on
resources, health and environment of the community and monitor the steps
taken by the State to address the harmful efects of such projects. Under
Article 67 of the Constitution, people have the right to ile cases in the courts
and seek accountability from the state agencies implementing such projects.
Under this legal framework, En-law has been working towards strengthening the rule of law, access to justice and protection of the environment andrights of the communities. It provides legal aid and assistance to communities, engages in advocacy for reforms in laws and policies and provides support to civil society organizations working for the promotion and protectionof the environment and community rights.
Songkhla Forumสงขลาฟอรั่ม
he Songkhla Forum was born out of the political movements inhailand in the early 1990s. After the events on Black May 1992, a new people’s constitution was sought to be written. Dialogues, discussions and public
hearings were held nationwide to seek opinions and inputs from the people
and communities. he Songkhla Forum was set up to continue this processof invoking civic consciousness among the people. he goal of Songkhla
Forum is to create a consciousness that can help in building a participatory
democracy. It primarily focuses on the youth and together with them organizes on a regular basis seminars, discussions, workshops on issues of local
and national importance. Its work is guided by James Bellanca Ron Brandt’s
thoughts in his book, 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn.

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Gabfai Community heatre Groupโครงการละครชุมชน กลุ่มกั๊บไฟ
www.gabfai.com/
he Gabfai Community heatre Group, based in Chiangmai, was established in 1996. he group uses theater, arts and contemporary culture toempower communities and vulnerable groups by creating spaces for initiating discussions, dialogues and actions on issues of human rights and social
concern. Gabfai considers theater to be a medium that can facilitate relection and dialogue about issues, attitudes, beliefs and behavior of people inthe community.
Foundation for Child Developmentมูลนิธิเพื่อการพัฒนาเด็ก
www.iamchild.org
Established in 1981, the Foundation works towards fostering the overall
development of children in body, mind and spirit. As part of its mandate, it
undertakes studies about the problems faced by children and disseminates
such information among the society in order to create public opinion andmobilize the public and other oicial agencies to take appropriate actions.
It also provides support to actions by individuals, communities and otheragencies for promoting children’s development.
Foundation for Older Persons’ Developmentมูลนิธิพัฒนางานผู้สูงอายุ
http://fopdev.or.th/
he Foundation for Older Persons’ Development (fopdev) seeks to enhance the quality of life of older persons by developing their capacity in sustainable ways and by ensuring community support and mutual care. It gives
special focus to elderly people living with hiv/aids and their communities.
It is considered to be a resource organization for issues relating to older
persons. As part of its activities, it tries to enhance opportunities for income
generation among the elderly and their communities to ensure their income.

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M-Plus Foundationมูลนิธิเอ็มพลัส
www.mplusthailand.com
M-Plus Foundation focuses on the rights of lgbt people to accesshealth care. In collaboration with other groups it is also doing advocacy forlaws and policies that recognize the rights of lgbt people and eliminate
discrimination against them.
Violet Homeบ้านสีม่วง
he organization was established in 2003 with the objective of empowering men who have sex with men (msm), transgender people and thoseamong them who are living with hiv-aids. At the individual and family levels, it provides support services to MSM and transgender people so thatthey can take care of their economic, physical and mental well-being. It also
provides counseling services on how they can protect themselves from hivaids, on how to take care of their physical and mental health and facilitates
their access to required medicines. It also helps to create spaces and forums
for the people to link with each other and form collectives. Apart from suchactivities, it organizes training activities with health care professionals tosensitize them towards issues faced by people living with hiv-aids and address issues of stigma and bias prevalent in society.
Muslim Attorney Center (mac) and spanศูนย์ทนายความมุสลิม, อาสาสมัครผู้ช่วยทนายความ
http://th.macmuslim.com/
he Muslim Attorney Center is a collective of lawyers that facilitatesaccess to justice in the southern provinces of hailand by providing legal
aid and assistance to those who have been arrested and detained due tosecurity operations. Since 2005 when violence exacerbated in the region, it
has become one of the main centers to receive complaints of extra-judicial
killings, torture, disappearances and arrests and detention. Based on such
documentations, it has worked with human rights groups operating at thenational level such as International Commission of Jurists, Cross Cultural

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I CFoundation, Human Rights Lawyers Association and the National Human
Rights Commission of hailand to monitor human rights violations andseek accountability from the State. Other than this, it has also worked withthe law enforcement agencies to reform existing rules and regulations aswell as improve existing systems to reduce the number of cases of torture,disappearance and arbitrary detention. It has participated in the submissionof reports before the diferent United Nations human rights mechanisms.
Promoting Human Rights and Access to Justice Network (hap)เครือข่ายส่งเสริมสิทธิและเข้าถึงความยุติธรรม
Hap is a group established by human rights defenders who sufered arbitrary detention and torture by security agencies, and who with the assistance of legal aid groups were able to defend their rights before the courtsof justice and secure remedies for the violations sufered. hey established
hap in order to provide assistance to people who have been afected by theconlict in Southern hailand.
Women for Peace Network/Network of Civic Women for Peaceเครือข่ายผู้หญิงเพื่อสันติภาพ
http://civicwomen.com/
he Women for Peace Network was set up by women who have been
afected by the violence raging in the southern provinces of hailand. Today
the network includes women’s groups working on issues regarding management of natural resources. he objective of the network is to strengthen thecapacity of women so that they can contribute to the process of building
peace in southern hailand.
hai Disabled Development Foundationมูลนิธิพัฒนาคนพิการไทย
www.tddf.or.th
he Foundation was established in 1999 with the objective of promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and empowering
them to live with dignity and happiness. To achieve these objectives, it seeks
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ties and help in creating a supporting environment. It also takes diferent
measures in order to ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access buildings and public services such as education, health and other public
services.
Foundation of Child Understanding (focus)/he Anti-Traicking
Coordination Unit Northern hailand (trafcord)หน่วยประสานงานเพื่อต่อต้านการค้ามนุษย์ ภาคเหนือตอนบน ประเทศไทย
www.trafcord.org/
Trapcord was established in 2002 in Chiangmai in collaboration with
the Center of Child Protection and Women to address the problem of human
traicking in northern hailand. he unit works with state and non-stateagencies in order to provide psychosocial and legal assistance to the victimsof traicking. It also provides assistance to the victims and their families tore-integrate in society or community. In 2011, trafcord was registered asa foundation with the name Foundation of Child Understanding (focus).
MAP Foundationมูลนิธิเพื่อสุขภาพและการเรียนรู้ของแรงงานกลุ่มชาติพันธุ์
www.mapfoundationcm.org
Map Foundation works towards empowering migrant workers so thatthey are able to protect themselves from exploitation and abuse. It also engages in advocacy for the improvement of the state systems and structuresto promote and protect the rights of migrant workers.
Human Rights and Development Foundationมูลนิธิเพื่อสิทธิมนุษยชนและการพัฒนา
http://hrdfoundation.org
Since 2006, the Human Rights and Development Foundation (hrdf)
has been working for the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant
workers. Its approach includes: legal advocacy through strategic litigation,
advocacy through awareness-raising and public campaigns, engaging withinternational human rights mechanisms to support advocacy at the national
level and empowerment of migrant workers and communities.

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I CHuman Rights Lawyers Associationสมาคมนักกฎหมายสิทธิมนุษยชน
http://naksit.org
he Human Rights Lawyers Association was established by humanrights lawyers with the objective of promoting the practice of human rights
lawyering and in order to strengthen the knowledge and skills of lawyers fordoing so. he Association has conducted strategic litigations (Check MaeOm Kyi case) in order to set judicial precedents that can help in promoting
and protecting rights. It has also participated in drafting laws and policies.
Pro-Rights Foundationมูลนิธิส่งเสริมและคุ้มครองสิทธิมนุษยชน
he objective of the Foundation is to promote human rights througheducation and strengthen national mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights.
In the past years, the hai Working Group set up under the Foundation
has worked with the Ministry of Education in hailand to develop a policy
on human rights education including human rights education in schools.
During the same period, the hai Working Group surveyed organizations
engaged in human rights education in order to pool together existing resources on human rights education; determine the purpose and natureof human rights education activities, the curriculums, and the education
methodology employed. he mapping project led to the drafting of the irst
national plan on human rights in collaboration with the State.
Amnesty International hailandแอมเนสตี้ อินเตอร์เนชั่นแนล ไทยแลนด์
www.amnesty.or.th
Amnesty International hailand is part of Amnesty International, “a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world
where human rights are enjoyed by all.”19 As part of its policy, Amnesty
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awareness in hailand on issues of human rights concern outside hailandand strengthen the global campaigns regarding them. Some of these campaigns may also inspire relection and action among activists working at thenational level – such as the campaign on death penalty. hai activists havelinked this campaign on death penalty to issues such as access to justice
within hailand and are doing advocacy for the strengthening of laws andsystems.
Amnesty International hailand engages in human rights education
with students with the objective of creating awareness among them about
global issues and inspiring them to take action. he organization also supports students in initiating campaigns on issues identiied by them.
Cross Cultural Foundationมูลนิธิผสานวัฒนธรรม
he Cross Cultural Foundation is working for the legal empowermentof people and advocacy for reform in laws and policies in order to strengthen the systems for promotion and protection of rights.
One of its focus areas has been the promotion of access to justice inthe southern provinces of hailand. Towards this end, it works to build thecapacity of local actors – communities, local organizations and local administration. Capacity-building programs include training on human rights
standards, fact-inding and documentation and on laws and policies. hese
capacity-building programs help to strengthen local institutions such as theMuslim Attorney Center, span, hak and others.
Foundation for Womenมูลนิธิผู้หญิง
www.womenthai.org/eng/
he Foundation for Women started its work in 1984 as a Women’s
Information Center providing advice to hai women who were going abroad.
In 1986, it opened a women’s shelter for victims of domestic violence. In
1988, it launched a community-based project to create public awarenessabout the problems of child sex work and the ways in which children could
be protected from national and international traicking networks. he experience gained from the community-based work led to the initiative called128

H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I C“weaving new life,” which combined public education with training of village
volunteer development workers to assist women and children in their communities. he Foundation implements this initiative by working with subdistrict administrative organizations such as the Tambon Administrative
Organizations.
It has played a leading role in the drafting of the law on gender equality
and has continuously been engaged in advocacy with the State regarding theimprovement of the law enforcement and mechanisms for the promotion
and protection of the rights of women.
Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw)
http://ilaw.or.th
Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) is a website that promotes civil
participation in social change by proposing new laws or amending the existing laws which can be done through the gathering of ten thousand signaturesof voters to submit the draft laws before the parliament for further debate
and enactment. his procedure is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of
the Kingdom of hailand, 2550 BE (2007).
iLaw provides space since 2009 for campaigning and supporting civil
participation in law making process through its website. Anyone can propose the law or idea on iLaw website while others can give comments andengage in debate.
Empower Foundationwww.empowerfoundation.org/education_en.html
Empower Foundation works to prevent hiv and protects the rights ofsex workers. he activities of the Foundation are designed, managed andimplemented by sex-workers themselves. Empower Foundation uses street
theater as well as materials such as t-shirts, posters, and cartoons to combat
discrimination against sex-workers, and increase the respect for their dignity by the government, the media, non-governmental organizations andthe general public.
It believes in using art and cultural performances as modes of expression that inspire a process of relection and questioning among the people inchallenging traditional beliefs held and exploring the creation of new tradi-Practice of Human Rights Education in hailand and Bangladesh

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tions that recognize and accept diferences and values the inclusion of eachindividual as an important part of the whole.
hai Volunteer Service
http://thaivolunteer.org/en/
hai Volunteer Service (tvs) began in 1980, a time when university students in hailand were eager to come and participate in discussion about
democracy and social change. Tvs believes that by providing training andopportunities, young people can be encouraged to become agents of socialchange and help those who are disadvantaged in society. For the past thirty
years, tvs has been facilitating diferent projects for young people including creating opportunities for diferent kinds of volunteering such as humanrights volunteers, young people for social change, teacher volunteers, etc.
he objectives of tvs are to create a space for learning and developing attitudes and skills for volunteering, to enhance the capacity of young people
to develop their skills and analytical thinking, and to promote collaboration
among non-governmental and government organizations.
Prachatai
www.prachatai.com/english
Prachatai is an independent, non-proit, daily web newspaper that wasestablished in June 2004. Its objectives include the following: to provide thehai public with access to reliable news and information on the problems,
concerns, activities and accomplishments of local communities and civil society movements and organizations;; and to promotee active public participation in hai news media.
BANGLADESH
Ain o Salish Kendra
www.askbd.org
Ain o Salish Kendra (ask) is a national legal aid and human rights
organization established in 1986. Initially focused on providing free legal
services to the disenfranchised in Dhaka City, its aims and activities havedeveloped over twenty years to encompass investigation, advocacy, media

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campaigning, documentation, training and action research in addition toits core activities of legal services (including legal aid, mediation and public
interest litigation).
Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (blast)www.blast.org.bd
Blast primarily focuses on legal empowerment of the people by providing legal aid and assistance. It also engages in advocacy and strategic
litigation to bring changes in laws and policies.
Campaign for Popular Education (campe)
www.campebd.org
Campe works with the unprivileged sections of the society who do nothave access to essential public services. It works with a range of stakeholders at the local and national levels. Campe is a membership-based network.
It has 1,367 members all over Bangladesh. It also works with teacher unions,though they are not members of campe. It works in seventeen districts of
Bangladesh.
Nagorik Uddyog
www.nuhr.org
Nagorik Uddyog (he Citizen’s Initiative) has worked to strengthen
the local government in Bangladesh via the dual imperatives of, on the one
hand, raising awareness among the general masses of people’s basic humanrights and, on the other, building people’s capacity to pursue and realize
these rights.
Nijera Kori
www.nijerakori.org
Nijera Kori (WeWe do it ourselves)) aims to reach the most poor and marginalized groups in society. hese groups include those dependent on physical labor as their main source of livelihood. Its capacity-building strategies
grow from a fundamental belief that "power" should and must remain with

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people. Hence, its programs and activities are structured to ensure that iinancial and organizational autonomy remains with the people.
Bangladesh Institute of heatre Arts (bita)
he Bangladesh Institute of heatre Arts (bita), established in 1994,
works towards developing personal skills of people so that they can address their issues and raise their voice against any form of discrimination.
With conidence and awareness of their rights, they can play a positive rolein the development of their community. (See Sisir Dutta, “Human Rights
Education hrough tie: A bita Experience,” in volume four of this publication for more information on bita.)
Karmojibi Nari (KN)
www.karmojibinari.org.bd/
Karmojibi Nari, established in 1991, is an organization of womenworkers that strives to establish the rights, dignity and authority of womenworkers. his organization is the irst ever of its kind in Bangladesh that is
ighting relentlessly and advancing with success the liberation of the women’s movement from the domination of aristocracy and upper class and thelabor movement from the domination of patriarchy through upholding theagenda of women workers, since they are a vanguard for social change in
Bangladesh.
Steps Towards Development
www.steps.org.bd/
he main mandate of the organization is to promote equality, humanrights and good governance. he thematic areas include participation rights
and right to development.
“I would like to say [that] as human rights activist[s] we need to relecton problems and identify ways to address them. Activist means you are thechangee agent and you have to be ready for any change and accept the conlicts that arise while working for the change. We have to facilitate those who
don’t have power to transform their status and ensure that those who holdpower do not abuse it.”
Ranjan Karmakar, Executive Director

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H U M A N R I G H T S E D U C AT I O N I N A S I A - PA C I F I CBangladesh Poribesh Andolon (Bangladesh Environment Movement)www.bapa.org.bd/
Bangladesh Poribesh Andolan (bapa) is a common forum of citizens
and organizations concerned with the environmental issues in Bangladesh.
Bapa, acting as a pressure group against any kind of environmental degradation, tries to create a broad-based citizen’s movement for protection
and betterment of the environment in Bangladesh. It organizes seminars, meetings, conferences and workshops to draw attention to generaland speciic problems relating to environment and educate the public onsuch issues. It holds rallies and demonstrations to build up public awareness and secure wide participation of people on environmental issues. It
undertakes publication for education or mobilization of public opinion.
Center for Human Rights Studies (chrs)
www.chrs-bd.org
he Center for Human Rights Studies (chrs) is a forum for humanrights education that endeavors to bring together academics, activists, community leaders and students to relect on the theory and practice of humanrights. It strives towards strengthening the knowledge and skills of stakeholders, promoting human values among youth and children and encouraging the spirit of voluntarism in Bangladesh.
(See the second edition [2013] of the Directory of Asia-Paciic Human
Rights Centers for more information on chrs.)