ADRF is a platform of Dalits and those working with Dalits in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Japan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka:
- committed to the empowerment and emancipation of communities subjected to descent and work based (caste based)discrimination and violence (DWDV).
-aiming at addressing violations of the rights and entitlements of these communities, in particular their women and children, in the respective countries as well as collectively in Asia.
- Supporting all those communities subjected to DWDV in any part of the world in their noble aspirations and courageous struggles to establish an inclusive society that is marked by equity and equality, dignity and self-governance, justice and freedom.
- committed to collaborating with all national and international agencies - civil society organizations and human rights agencies, UN bodies and state institutions espousing the cause of eliminating DWDV and building an inclusive and egalitarian society in Asia, Africa, Europe, and elsewhere in the world. Asia Dalit Rights Forum has been working on the inclusion of the excluded communities especially Dalits in the developmental process in South Asian Countries. 260 million Dalit, Roma, Buraku, Quilambo and Osu people and those similarly discriminated based on the Work and Descent, especially women among these communities, face the problem of caste based exclusion, segregation and violence. Caste is also an important determinant of inter-generational poverty due to exclusion from access to development and rule of law. Discrimination based on work and descent and other forms of discrimination are not only human rights violations but also major obstacles to achieving development. Inequalities inevitably diminish development gains and are among root causes of armed conflicts. Ineffective allocation of human resources due to discrimination based on work and descent distorts the labour market and affects the efficiency of an economy.
Gathered in one place, they would be the 6th largest nation in the world and It is a great tragedy if once again this issue and people affected by it are left behind unaddressed in the Sustainable Development Goals.
ADRF has represented and participated in the UN Intergovernmental Negotiations on Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals in March 2015 and June 2015. Also sphere headed the working group on Discrimination based on Work and Descent (Caste). ADRF Chairperson Paul Divakar has participated in the Third world conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Addis Ababa in July.
In the regional Level, ADRF has been working for ensuring political, social, economic and legal rights and entitlement to the Dalit Communities. The work go past the human and gender rights also ensuring equal representation in policy making and implementation, budget rights, service delivery and access to justice. Nationally apart from the above mentioned activities, we also concentrate on action against atrocities and violence as well as disaster risk reduction. NO - Mr. Paul Divakar - Chairperson - India
Ms. Durga Sob - Vice Chairperson - Nepal
Mr. Zakir Hossain - Executive member - Bangladesh
Ms. Nimalka Fernando - Executive Member - Sri Lanka
Mr. Sono Khangharani - Executive Member - Pakistan
Mr. Padam Sundas - Executive Member - Nepal
Mr. Bhakta Biswakarma - Executive Member -Nepal
Ms. Asha Kowtal - Executive Member- India
Mr. Ramesh Nathan - Executive Member- India
Ms. Manjula Pradeep - Executive Member - India
Mr. Siva Pragasham - Executive Member - Sri Lanka
Ms. P. Logeshwari - Executive Member - Sri Lanka
Fr. Aloysius Irudayam S. J.- Adviser - India TheMemorandumofAgreement-constitution3.docx