Regional Asia Pacific Programme on Human Rights and Sustainable Development (RAPP 1)

The overarching goal of RAPP 1 is to contribute to a just, inclusive, and sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region by promoting the simultaneous protection of human rights, gender equality, and the environment.

In terms of its specific focus on climate change and human mobility, RAPP 1 aims to enhance the capacity of academic institutions in the Asia Pacific to integrate human rights and gender-based approaches into displacement issues within the contexts of disaster and climate change. RAPP 1 has successfully developed a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) and Blended Learning Course (BLC) on climate change, human mobility, and human rights. These modules were collaboratively developed with university partners in Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. This online learning platform has engaged 163 participants from 21 countries within the region. Moreover, these capacity-building initiatives also led to the integration of human rights and gender-based approaches into undergraduate-level course modules across various disciplines (e.g., sociology, geography, environmental management) at universities in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands.

Furthermore, to amplify the voices of Asia Pacific scholars at global levels addressing climate-related mobility issues, RWI supported the establishment of the Asia Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement (APANDD). APANDD comprises scholars from the Asia Pacific region with specific expertise in disaster displacement and broader knowledge on climate-related mobility. Globally, RWI and APANDD actively provide inputs to various UN Special Rapporteur thematic reports, such as concerning displacement in the context of slow-onset adverse impacts of climate change and the human rights crisis in resettlement following evictions and displacement. At the national level, RWI and APANDD also play active roles in national policy processes, such as contributing to the development of Bangladesh’s National Strategy on Internal Displacement Management and Indonesia’s Guidelines for Mainstreaming Human Rights in the Regulation and Legislation Formulation Process.

Over its seven years of implementation, RAPP 1 has produced numerous studies and publications on climate change, human mobility, and human rights. These include the seminal edited volume titled “Climate Change, Disasters, and Internal Displacement in Asia and the Pacific: A Human Rights-Based Approach” (2020) and “Climate-related Human Mobility in Asia and the Pacific: Transdisciplinary Rights-based Approaches” (forthcoming 2024).

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Project Duration:

2017-2024