Human Rights Education and Pakistan
Samson Salamat

T

he Pakistani human rights community boasts some of theworld’s most well-known activists as well as many national-level organizations that have led a long, arduous struggle for democracy
and human rights since the military dictatorship in the 1980s. While thesewell-established human rights organizations have made significant efforts
to develop the knowledge and skills of these activists for the most part thishas been through project-related workshops that have limited focus on intensive, practical training. As a result, the second tier leadership of the human rights community has been slow to emerge. Moreover, these activists
are confronted by challenges different from those faced by veteran humanrights activists whose careers were defined primarily by opposition to military dictatorship.
While Pakistan’s human rights situation remains dismal, with continuing violence against women, children, and religious minorities, extrajudicial
killings and disappearances, sectarian strife, and widespread abuses by police, security forces, feudal lords, and others, the overall socio-political context faced by the younger generations of activists has transformed markedly.
Society has become increasingly conservative and terrorism and other typesof organized violence by non-state actors have grown out of state control.
At the same time, the media is freer than at any time in the past and newcommunication tools and techniques are available to the current generation.
To deal with these new challenges and leverage new technologies,
younger activists must overcome structural weaknesses within the humanrights movement. Religious conservatives and non-state actors consistently
charge that human rights and democracy represent a “Western Agenda,”
and many human rights activists lack sufficient clarity and understandingof these concepts to counter these charges at the grassroots level, or worse,
they themselves may also subscribe to these beliefs.
Human rights activists, especially those working in rural areas where
human rights violations are most serious, have great commitment but lackthe skills and resources as compared to groups working in urban centers.
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Furthermore, many organizations in Pakistan do not have well institutionalized decision-making processes, systems, or internal democracy, whichhampers an organization’s sustainability, transparency, capacity to networkand form vibrant coalitions, and ability to remain effective over time. In
addition, Pakistan lacks centers for human rights education, which can befound in many other countries, dedicated to strengthening the knowledge
and skills of human rights defenders and the institutionalization of humanrights work more broadly.
Centre for Human Rights Education- Pakistan
The Centre for Human Rights Education - Pakistan (chre) emerged in thiscontext in 2010 and has been operating in the challenging environment
since its formation. Over the last few years, it has been focusing on multiple
themes to address and counter the situation - Democratic Development,
Peace and Tolerance and Human Rights.
It is now a reputed organization among the civil society for its courageous standpoint on human rights issues and timely initiatives against
religious extremism, intolerance and terrorism and its qualitative training
programs to produce the cadre of trained human rights defenders.
Objectives
Chre envisions building the capacity of members of the civil society, communities and government institutions to foster a culture of human rights.
Chre strives for the advancement of equality and respect for humandignity in Pakistan and around the world through human rights education
programs, research and advocacy initiatives.
It has the following objectives:• To build the capacity and knowledge of members of civil society groups, human rights defenders and officials of government
institutions;• To enhance the realization and understanding of Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights standards;• To research and advocate for policy and legislative reforms for theprotection and promotion of human rights; andHuman Rights Education and Pakistan•

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To develop strategic alliances and partnerships with like-minded
individuals and civil society groups in order to carry forward its
vision and mission.

Main themes of CHRE Education Programs
Respect for All
Development of a culture which believes that all human beings are born free andequal in dignity and rights and everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, without any discrimination.
Freedom of Expression
Fostering of a culture which allows free expression of opinions and ideas, ensuring
the democratic process is followed in decision-making which is not only important forindividual dignity but also to participation, accountability and democracy.
Integrity
Working transparently as compatible to the vision and mission of CHRE. Creating
and maintaining an environment conducive to following and implementing the systemsof accountability.
Gender Mainstreaming
Expanding the scope of gender mainstreaming by maintaining the equal
opportunity environment for men and women at all levels, ensuring the participationof women in decision-making through their presence in the Governing Body andmaximum inclusion in programs.
Democratic Decision-making
Maintaining a democratic culture by ensuring that the decisions follow thedemocratic process, and the team members fully participate in discussions, deal
openly with differences of opinion and hence play an important role in decision making.
Partnership building
Development of strategic alliances and partnerships with those committed to theadvancement of democracy and human rights programs.

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Main Programs
Chre strives for the advancement of human rights through four main programs and all projects are designed and implemented under these programs
according to specific needs:• Capacity Building Program;• Research and Advocacy Program;• Partnership; and• Consultancy.
Capacity Building Program
The chre Capacity Building Program aims to build the capacity andknowledge of members of civil society groups, human rights defenders andofficials of government institutions for the advancement of a human rights
culture.
The program has short courses on human rights, democratic development, gender equality, religious tolerance and harmony. These courses provide the foundation for research and advocacy initiatives.
The program aims
• To provide information and conceptual clarity on human rights,
democracy gender equality, religious tolerance and harmony;• To encourage the development of skills, and the formulation andapplication of policies, necessary to transform that information
into practical professional behavior;• To sensitize the participants to their particular role in the advancement of a human rights culture;• To build partnerships and networking among the participants andtheir groups; and• To facilitate planning and strategy development to translate theparticipants’ learning into practice.
Each course has a duration of approximately one hundred forty hours.
Graduates of the courses are called chre Alumni, who become members ofalumni organizations that help to put their learnings into practice and areable to contribute to the over-all struggle of the civil society for the advancement of human rights.

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Research and Advocacy Program
The Research and Advocacy Program focuses research on the following
thematic issues:• Human Rights;• Gender Equality;• Democratic Development;• Religious Tolerance and Harmony.
The research follows innovative advocacy initiatives in collaboration
with chre Alumni and like-minded organizations.
Partnership Building
Chre serves as a Partnership Point for the Alumni, civil society organizations and state institutions working for human rights education. It adopts
innovative and technology-friendly ways and means for partnership andnetwork-building.
Activities and Initiatives
Trainings/workshops
Participatory Course on Democracy and Human Rights
CHRE annually organizes the Participatory Course on Democracy and
Human Rights (pcdhr) since 2010. Pcdhr is an in-depth long-duration
learning program for human rights defenders, university students, journalists and political activists; which puts a strong emphasis on the transfer oflearning. Therefore the participants are required to develop an individualplan to ensure that the learnings are put into practice.
The course is conducted using a participatory methodology to enhance
the understanding of the participants on the concept of human rights anddemocracy and to strengthen their skills on effectively working for the protection and promotion of human rights.
The pcdhr has the following objectives:• To provide in-depth knowledge on the concepts of democracy andhuman rights and the international human rights standards andmechanisms;• To impart and strengthen skills-designing and implementation of
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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 ctools etc. to enhance the ability of the human rights defenders towork effectively;• To expose the participants to institutional approaches to help civilsociety organizations function more systematically and with transparency following democratic norms and values;• To sensitize the participants to their role in protecting and promoting democracy and human rights;• To empower and strengthen the second tier leadership within thehuman rights community;• To build partnerships and networking among the participants andtheir groups; and• To plan to strategize for “putting learnings into practice” throughresearch and advocacy initiatives.
Pcdhr consists of participatory techniques and methods which help
to develop understanding on different social subjects, provide the opportunity to interact and to network with people from diverse backgrounds
and from different parts of the country. It also provides an opportunity
to learn about different ways and forums to highlight different social
issues, which helps to practice the democratic values and respect of human beings and provides the opportunity to learn from renowned experts
of different social issues.
Chre believes in participatory learning approaches therefore the indoor and outdoor sessions/activities of the course are conducted in participatory methodology to enhance the understanding of the participantson the concepts of democracy and human rights and to enhance theirskills on working effectively as human rights defenders.
The pcdhr curriculum has the following parts:
Part 1. Conceptual clarity and knowledge development• Concepts of Human Rights• Principles of Human Rights (universality, indivisibility, interdependence, equality, human dignity, respect and non-discrimination)• Global Culture of Human Rights• International Human Rights Mechanisms• Democracy and its Principals• Democratic Culture and its Requirements• Democratic Governance and its Requirements• Situational Analysis in the Context of Pakistan

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Historical and Political Overview of Pakistan.\

Part 2. Skill Development• Advocacy Tools• Media Management• Planning and Organizing• Report Writing• Participatory and Rural Appraisal(PRA) Tools• Proposal Writing• Public Outreach and Mobilization (strategies for mobilizing effective campaigns).
Part 3. Putting learning into practice• Preparation of Individual plans.
The participants are required to make individual plans for putting theirlearning into practice by designing advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives with the support of chre and their organizations. The individual plans
focus on issues related to Democratic Development and Human Rights.
Participatory Course on Peace and Tolerance
The Participatory Course on Peace and Tolerance (pcpt) is a newly
launched training program designed to strengthen concepts of non-violence,

PCDHR course participants.

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Comments & Feedback
Environment of the course:
The environment of the course as well as of the institute and its management
was very respectful, open, and cooperative. I would especially like to acknowledge
the level of personal interaction of the staff and the participants. This environment
had a twin effect. On the one hand, it pulled shy participants out of their cozy comfort
zones and pushed them to share their opinions, ideas, and recommendations. On
the other hand, it created a comfort zone for those (in this case I am the one) who
were overzealous and worried to their bones lest they offend someone with their
extrovert personalities. So it was a balanced environment, creative enough to learn,
and disciplined appropriately to tame!
Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Methodologies of the course:
The M&E methodologies put into practice during this session were also very
good. The indicators set against those methodologies were relevant and reliable. All
the forms ensured to not only measure the change of knowledge but also to identify
the gaps in the content and the delivery of the content. The only gap that I foundin the M&E methodology was that no indicator was set to measure the impact ofdifferent tools of teaching. For instance, there could be a question that would inquire
about our preferences for the type of teaching tools like lectures, role-plays, group
work/discussion, etc. As this indicator would have helped the project design team
to come up with more innovation in the future. So, my argument here is that anindicator should be included in the M&E methodologies that would also determine thestrength of a specific teaching tool for a specific module. In addition, some closed-end
questioning techniques could also be utilized in the evaluation forms. - Nighat Anwar,
a development practitioner from Society for Sustainable Development, Bagh, Azad
Jammu & Kashmir. She attended the PCDHR in 2015/2016.
PCDHR means a learning to get [to] know [how to] probe in depth about humanrights and democracy through practical [work]. PCDHR leaves strong impact on mypersonal life [by] changing my mindset [through] learning and practical environmentand [my realization of …] the meaning of life and how I should spend my life respecting
and caring [for] everyone’s rights [as] the only way … toward peaceful life. Aftergoing through PCDHR my professional life changed a lot [too]. I become more caring
about my family, colleagues, friends, neighbors and every human being in society
respecting their rights and wishes and become equal positive thinker for all and feelingHuman Rights Education and Pakistan

Field work of PCDHR participants.

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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 ca true human being myself. - Muhammed Muhammed Asif Nadeem, a journalist who
attended PCDHR in 2015.
It’s a very well structured participatory learning course about the basic right that
we have being a human and to understand the concept of true democracy. It’s anopportunity to learn by listening, thinking, doing and sharing of ideas. I was able toview human as a human and not as someone who belongs to class, religion, gender,race ethnicity or any other division in our society. The knowledge and information that
I get during the course will help me to make my university students on sociology tobetter understand the state of human rights and democracy in Pakistan. I can myself
be a change agent and [make] more people [become aware] about human rights
and [the] true spirit of democracy.” - Nosheen Raza, Lecturer of Sociology at Karachi
University. She attended PCDHR in 2015.

religious tolerance and respect for diversity including religious diversity in a
multi-religious society for a peaceful co-existence. Moreover, to expose theparticipants to history of non-violent movements and international standards for peace and conflict resolution, promote volunteerism among youth
and to develop their skills in promoting non-violence, religious tolerance
and respect for diversity in the society through peaceful ways and means.
Pcpt has widely been appreciated and a very significant impact has
been observed through oral and written feedback given by its beneficiaries
who are not only satisfied with their learning and self- transformation, butalso are actively working in areas for the promotion of religious tolerance.
Content of pcpt:
Conceptual Clarity• Introduction to the concepts of human rights and principles (nondiscrimination, religious tolerance and respect for diversity including religious diversity in a multi-religious society);• Philosophy of Non-violence and History of Non-violent movements;• International Standards and UN Mechanism for Peace and Conflict
Resolution;• Impact of religious extremism and intolerance (in the context
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Role of civil society and other stakeholders for promoting religious tolerance and respect for religious diversity for a peacefulco-existence.

Skills Development• Conflict Management;• Advocacy and Lobbying;• Creative Report Writing;• Communication skills;• Use of Social Media for promoting religious tolerance.

Comments & Feedback
PCPT for me, it’s a family of learning and experiences, a platform that polish mypersonality. It gave me [an] opportunity to understand what others have to say andcreated [a] sense of tolerance to me. I was one of those who think that eating with
non-Muslim is not right. However, after PCPT I believe religion and humanity do notstop us [from doing] this [and] I think I have turned more [tolerant]. My professional
degree is in geology and I have to [meet] a lot of people as I am student and would
be working in the field in the coming year. PCPT has transformed my personalities
from Islam/Muslim into humanity, love, peace & care for all. - Ali Azhar, a student from
Rawalpindi, attended the PCPT in 2015.
PCPT means [propagating] peace, tolerance and respect for equal rights of each& everyone without any discrimination. PCPT brought not only change in my personal
life but also touched me on how to feel peaceful life. PCPT has [taught] new ways,
ideas, and innovation in my professional life as a student of social [science] since I
am now able to utilize my skills in new direction. - Zubair Ahmed Khan, a student from
Peshawar.
The overall experience PCPT was very good. I learnt a lot of things related tohuman rights, peace, tolerance and the concept of Rwadari. The way to conducting
lectures was awesome and [there] was a good activity on interfaith harmony that had
contributed as a practical way for learning. I will try to participate in another course
which will [focus] on the same work for peace. This training has great impact on mypersonality. - Amna Ibrahim from Lahore.

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Putting Learnings into Practice• Preparation of Individual Plans.
The Participants are required to make Individual Plans in order to put
their learning into practice by designing advocacy and awareness-raising initiatives with the support of chre and their organizations. These Individual
Plans should focus on issues related to Peace and Tolerance.
Advocacy Campaigns
Chre, along with likeminded civil society groups and with the supportof its Alumni who were trained through the training programs launched
Rwadari Tehreek (Movement for Pluralism & Peace) in mid-2015. The movement aims to generate a debate on the importance of religious tolerance ina multi-religious society and to put pressure on the government, politicalforces, state institutions and other stake-holders to seriously address andcounter religious extremism and religious intolerance in the society which
has created an atmosphere of fear among the citizens and has upset public
life, particularly for those belonging to religious minorities.
Pakistan’s public culture in general is riddled with hard line views andelements that do not allow tolerance for divergent views. As a result, civil
liberties are being drastically squeezed. A peaceful environment has becomea dream and fundamentalism, extremism, hatred, discrimination and vio-

Oath for Peace ceremony.

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lence have deepened in the society. The reversal of this challenging situation
has become inevitable, but this is not easy. State institutions, political forces,
media, civil society and most importantly, the people, have to play a very
active role to undo what is happening and to do what is required to makePakistan a better place to live for every citizen.
In this situation Rwadari Tehreek is trying to counter extremist mindset
and to enhance the scope of peaceful co-existence in the country. Rwadari
Tehreek, is a non-violent social movement which has been initiated by concerned citizens of Pakistan to counter religious extremism, intolerance andterrorism and to promote the respect of all types of diversity including religious diversity, religious tolerance and to bridge gap between people ofdifferent faiths and religions and from different walks of life.
Initiated in May 2015, Rwadari Tehreek has been widely hailed by thepeople of Pakistan. More than fifteen thousand people belonging to different sections of society including teachers, social and political activists,
members of different political parties, journalists, lawyers, doctors, religious
leaders of different religions, artists, and students are registered members
while approximately five hundred civil society groups have formally joined
Rwadari Tehreek.
Jamshed Iqbal, an Islamabad based-writer and radio producer, views
Rwadari Tehreek as an exemplary initiative by saying thatwhen our stakes in sanity are higher than ever before; Rwadari
Tehreek is doing direly needed work for a saner and safer
Pakistan. It is engaging diverse communities as stakeholders. It
is an indicator of its deeper understanding that conflict is natural but violence is not. This golden path will lead [the] movement
to success because as it appreciates differences [it also] works
on commonalities. What makes its work exemplary for today’s
peace builders is the path of non-violence which the movement
has taken, and it is the only path which leads to peace. Likewise,[the] movement’s devotion to spiritual principle of “peace within, peace without” makes it truly a native movement, and evenmore effective. No movement can succeed without public support. So, the greatest strength of the movement is its huge volunteer-base. Ever-growing force of Rwadari volunteers showcases
our collective thirst for peace and, at the same time, unveils that
we can no longer support violence by remaining inactive.

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Rizwan Gill, a lawyer and political activist from Lahore, considers
Rwadari Tehreek as a timely initiative and says that
Rwadari Tehreek seems to me like a cool breeze in this environment of terrorism and hatred among the society. It is a timely
initiative by its members. Such an initiative was the need of
the hour to give a counter narrative to terrorism and hatred.
Needless to mention here that this noble cause is being pursued
by its members by risking their lives as terrorism and hatred has
grown to a very high degree and needs to be eradicated. I wish
all the best to Rwadari Tehreek for a better Pakistan.
Rwadari Tehreek, in the beginning of 2016, has made a strong presencein Central Punjab, South Punjab, and North Sindh; and 2016 started with
its successful launching of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa while the ground has begun for mobilization and membership in the Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (fata) and Gilgit Baltistan. The Rwadari Tehreek Team is still finding
difficulties to step into Baluchistan for various reasons; however the team isalready in contact with different people to explore the possibilities.
Rwadari Tehreek has made its place in social media which has helped a
lot in popularizing the agenda of Tehreek and attracting youth. Amazingly,
the national and local print and electronic media gave very significant coverage to the activities of Rwadari Tehreek which is a good sign for its future.
Rwadari Tehreek has temporarily been structured at Central, ProvincialSindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (kpk), and in Punjab while office bearers havebeen elected by the Rwadari Group Members in almost twenty districts.
Rwadari Tehreek has emerged as one of the most popular social movements in the current time and has not only responded to the emergencies
but also initiated courageous campaigns asking the government to declare
16 December as National Day against Extremism and Terrorism and Token
Hunger Strike to demand action against the banned outfits and hate speech.
The campaigns showed the strength of the team of the Tehreek and it washailed for taking up serious issues with a proactive strategy.
The Chairperson of the fata Commission of Human Rights andCoordinator of Rwadari Tehreek-fata, Zar Ali Khan Afridi, views Rwadari
Tehreek from the perspective of fata and says that
FatA comprised of a great chunk of people of religious minorities like Sikhs, Christians and others who now have left [the]area due to indecent behaviors of Muslim extremist[s] and nowHuman Rights Education and Pakistan

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Hunger strike against hate speech.

are in exile-like situations. In such circumstances a movement topromote harmony and tolerance among people was needed andthere was a vacuum which needed to be filled. Rwadari Tehreek
did fill this place and it came to Peshawar to establish its chapters at Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and fata levels. This movement
was needed and a need of the hour and people in all breadthand width in kp and fata appreciated it and hoped that a social
harmony would be increased among different people of various
schools of thoughts and religions in kp in general and in fatain particular.

Rwadari (Pluralism) CARAVAN
In order to respond to the wave of religious intolerance and to counter religious extremism chre, in collaboration with pahel Pakistan and 29 otherorganizations, held a Rwadari Caravan to generate a debate on the importance of religious tolerance in a multi-religious society and to put pressure
on the government, political forces, state institutions and other stake-holders to seriously address and counter religious extremism and religious intol-

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Appreciation from Muslim religious scholars.

erance in the society which has created an atmosphere of fear among citizens and has riddled public life, particularly for those belonging to religious
minorities.
The Caravan began from Lahore on 14 March 2016 and ended at the
Shrine of famous Sufi saint and poet of Sindh Hazrat Sachal Sarmast on 18th
March 2016. Seventy members of chre and Rwadari Tehreek travelled from
Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (kpk) and were joined by many othersfrom Sindh Province.
The Caravan travelled by road and was warmly welcomed in ten different locations on the way. On arrival at Sukkur, a rally was held which started
from Sukkur Bypass and ended at Sukkur Press Club where a Press Briefing
was held by the leadership of Rwadari Tehreek.
During its stay in Sukkur, the members of Rwadari Caravan held goodwill exchange visits of Imam Bargah, a Hindu Temple, a Church and shrines
in Sukkur to express solidarity with the religious minorities and to spreadthe message of religious tolerance and respect for diversity for a pluralistic
society.

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Sufi (mystic) music at Rwadari festival.

Rwadari Festival
Chre organized the Rwadari Festival in 2014, 2015 and 2016 as annual programs which brings approximately 1,000 people of different faiths and walksof life at one platform to pledge for exercising Rwadari (Pluralism) and work
for its promotion all around the country.
The following are the specific objectives of the Rwadari Festival:• To enhance the scope of religious tolerance and respect of diversity in Pakistan’s multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic
society;• To display the expression of commitment and belief of people on
Rwadari and sending a message of unity against religious extremism and terrorism;• To put pressure on the government to express its seriousness andto take appropriate measures for the implementation of counter extremism and terrorism policies.
Chre’s alumni, volunteers and member-organizations from different
parts of the country participate in the Rwadari Festival; chre likewise invites different civil society organizations as collaborators in the organizingof the festival.

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The festival consists of different items including lectures on the importance of religious tolerance and respect for diversity in a multi-religious society, theater performances, speech competition for students, panel discussions, Sufi music performance, etc.
Democracy Festivals
Chre held “Democracy Festivals” in 2013, 2014 and 2015 to commemorate
International Democracy Day and International Human Rights Day withthe theme “Non-Discrimination: The Basic Principle of Democracy” in different cities throughout Pakistan.
Why Democracy Festival on International Human Rights Day?
Democracy and Human Rights are interlinked. Democratic values - freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, respect of human beings and theirrights, right to vote through election, non-discrimination, respect for diversity, equal citizenship etc. are similar to the principles of human rights.
Since human rights are not being respected in Pakistan and violationsof human rights are at such a large scale, the democratic system is not powerful enough and democracy is struggling to cement strong roots in society. Therefore, this situation requires greater support for democracy which
could effectively protect and promote human rights. Human Rights Day is
an international day which has enormous importance and impact. Therefore
Democracy Festival was held on this day with the following aims:• To show the commitment and belief of people of Pakistan on democracy and giving a message to every entity and anti-democratic
force to respect democracy and to avoid derailing it;• To make the democratic forces realize that they should follow the
principles of democracy - equality, non-discrimination, rule of law,respect of diversity, etc.;• To highlight and promote the culture of non-discrimination whichis the core value of democracy and a basic standard of human rights.
The theme of Democracy Festival “Non Discrimination: The Basic
Principle of Democracy”, is derived from Article 2 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Discrimination is prevailing in Pakistani society on the basis of faith,
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affiliation etc. Therefore this theme was selected to address the problem of
discrimination and to demand actions to end all types of discrimination.
Campaign on Political Participation
In order to generate debates for a transparent and credible electoral process
in the context of general elections in 2013, chre launched a campaign which
included interaction with the political parties, the Election Commission,and awareness-raising forums to enhance the scope for transparency of theelection process. At the same time, the Election Commission initiated significant changes in the electoral system and the citizens displayed greater
sense of responsibility on their political participation, especially in the electoral process.
Frequent interaction with the Election Commission enabled a healthy
working relationship with this important stakeholder. The Election
Commission considers chre as one of the active and effective organizations
and participates in the chre’s activities.
Chre’s slogan for the Election Campaign “Paisay se na Josh se-----Votedalo Hosh se” (Not for money and Not emotionally--rather--Cast your Votewith Sensibility) has become a powerful slogan through frequent use ofsms (short message service) technology, social media and public educationmaterials.
The participation of the members of marginalized communities remained the priority, especially those of religious minorities and the transgender community of Pakistan. In a very rare attempt, a Charter of Demand
was developed and announced for the political participation of the transgender community and a resolution was moved in the Provincial Assembly.
It is very encouraging that members of transgender community fromMultan, Sukkur, Gujarat, Karachi, and Sargodha contested in the generalelections for the first time in the history of Pakistan, while women fromfata also contested the elections.
Concluding Remarks
Chre is one of the most vibrant organizations at the forefront in responding
to emergencies, e.g., protesting against incidents of terrorism, hate speech,

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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 cpersecution of minorities, violence against women, torture and other human rights issues.
The response from chre comes through protest demonstrations, rallies
and also through press statements. This is why the Facebook page and website of chre and of Rwadari Tehreek are quite popular in Pakistan.
But chre also believes in the slower process of increasing the capacity of human rights activists who have to continuously face various issues
as part of their work. Thus, there is a need to ensure that their knowledge
and skills as human rights defenders are adequate and their institutions areworking properly not only to address human rights issues but also to operate based on democratic principles such as transparency and accountability.