Human Rights and the Oceans: This contribution to our series on the human rights and environmental impacts of corporate and government practices on seas and oceans comes from The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.  It reports that a growing coalition of stakeholders is calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining ahead of the Council of the International Seabed Authority meeting in July 2026. The Council’s previous meeting in March failed to adopt a finalised code on mining. READ THE ARTICLE.

In this issue, we profile DTP Australian alumna Srey Kang, a leader of Sydney's Khmer community, provide information about DTP's programs and webinars, news from alumni, partners and the region, and calls from the UN for your engagement.

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2026: REGIONAL CONSULTATION AND CONSULTATION ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S RIGHTS CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS

Chiang Mai, Thailand, 25-27 June 2026:  Held in partnership with the Asia Indigenous People's Pact (AIPP). The consultation brought together representatives of Indigenous People's organisations and networks from across Asia to reflect on over 20 years of DTP's capacity building programs, and to set future directions for DTP's Indigenous People's programs. READ MORE

2026: UNDERSTANDING THE UN CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

Australia, 26 June 2026: This training, in partnership with STARTTS and The Bill Crews Foundation, was led by Louisa Yasukawa of UNICEF Australia. The program was designed to strengthen understanding of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and explore practical applications of child rights frameworks across law, policy, health, education, and refugee services. READ MORE

2026: HUMAN RIGHTS AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN INDONESIA, AN INDONESIAN DIASPORA FORUM

UNSW Sydney, Australia, 18 June 2026: Held in collaboration with Gerakan Sydney Untuk Bersuara (GUSAR). The event featured Saurlin Siagian (Commissioner of KomnasHAM), Herlambang P. Wiratraman (Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadijah Mada), and Gita Putri Damayana.  Drawing on their respective areas of expertise, the speakers examined the challenges facing democratic governance, civic participation, and human rights protection in contemporary Indonesia. READ MORE

2026: BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS, THE OECD GUIDELINES, AND NATIONAL CONTACT POINTS

Jakarta, Indonesia, 8-12 May 2026: Held in partnership with INFID and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. Twenty-six participants from across Indonesia gathered in Jakarta to share experiences of how business impacts human rights and the environment, with a focus on the potential of the OECD Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct to drive critical change and accountability. READ MORE

2026: SPECIAL ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ON CHILD RIGHTS AND DIGITAL RIGHTS, WITH DR VICTOR KARUNAN

DTP was pleased to host eminent human rights activist Victor Karunan in late April. Victor shared with us “The Youth Charter: Advancing the 2030 Global Development Agenda”, the outcome of a meeting of more than 170 young delegates representing over 45 countries convened in Malaysia for the Future Action Summit in November.  READ MORE

2026: HUMAN RIGHTS, CLIMATE CHANGE AND BUSINESS IN THE PACIFIC 

Suva, Fiji, 23-27 March, 2026 in partnership with PIANGO, FCOSS and OHCHR-PRO. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Professor Surya Deva, was the lead trainer on the program, which hosted 23 participants from 10 countries, including DTP's first-ever participants from Palau and Niue. The program was opened by the Honourable Filimoni Vosarogo, Fiji’s Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Regional Pacific Representative of the OHCHR Heike Alefsen, and Emeline Siale Ilolahia, Executive Director of PIANGO. READ MORE

2025: HUMAN RIGHTS DAY WORKSHOP ON ENGAGING WITH UN ANTI-TORTURE MECHANISMS

Sydney, Australia, 10 December 2025, in partnership with STARTTS and the Whitlam Institute. Nineteen refugee and migrant community leaders participated in a capacity-building workshop lead by Steven Caruana on Human Rights Day. Read the program report here.

2025: PACIFIC VOICES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Australia - November 12 - December 3, 2025 in partnership with PIANGO. 15 climate advocates from seven Pacific countries participated in this intense knowledge exchange and capacit- building program. They met with academics, climate experts, parliamentarians, government officials and civil society. Australia's Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Matt Thistlethwaite M, was a special guest speaker at the Closing Reception hosted by DTP’s Chair, Michael do Rozario,o at Corrs Chambers Westgarth. The program was funded by DFAT’s Australia Awards Fellowships Program. WATCH DEBRIEF VIDEO FROM VANUATU FELLOWS and READ DRAFT REPORT HERE.

2025: BUILDING RESILIENCE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY THROUGH CAPACITY BUILDING

2025: 33rd ANNUAL HUMAN RIGHTS AND PEOPLING PROGRAMMES' DIPLOMACY TRAINING PROGRAM

See program highlights short video VIEW HERE

2025: REGIONAL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS EXCHANGE - LEARNING AND TRAINING 2025

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER (HRD) GUIDELINES: A DTP AND FRONT LINE DEFENDERS WEBINAR SERIES

Watch Webinar 1: What are the HRD Guidelines?

Watch Webinar 2: HRDs and Diplomats - Reflections from Practice

BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE OECD GUIDELINES ON RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS CONDUCT AND THE NATIONAL CONTACT POINTS (NCP) WEBINAR SERIES

Watch Webinar 1: Introduction to the Australian NCP

Watch Webinar 2: Promoting Human Rights through the Supply Chain

Watch Webinar 3: Free, Prior and Informed Consent

INDONESIAN ALUMNI WEBINAR SERIES: HUMAN RIGHTS, CLIMATE CHANGE, BUSINESS AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: INDONESIA'S FOOD ESTATE IN WEST PAPUA AND ITS IMPACTS 

Watch Webinar 1: Community Impacts of the Food Estate

Watch Webinar 2: Impacts on Community and Climate

Watch Webinar 3: Merauke and Indonesia's Climate Bomb

WEBINAR SERIES - HUMAN RIGHTS, DIGITAL RIGHTS AND AI An Introduction to Governing Digital Rights and Children's Online Rights

WEBINAR SERIES – Ending Impunity for Violators of Human Rights - The Magnitsky Acts and Australia in partnership with STARTTS. WATCH HERE 

HUMAN RIGHTS WEBINAR SERIES - UN Human Rights Accountability Mechanisms in partnership with STARTTS. WATCH HERE

GENOCIDE WEBINAR SERIES - three webinars on Genocide and the Genocide Convention in partnership with STARTTS. WATCH HERE

UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES (UNDRIP) WEBINAR SERIES NOW AVAILABLE HERE.

BANGLADESH FORUM-ASIA joined twelve other organisations in a joint statement warning that Bangladesh's proposed National Human Rights Commission Bill 2026 would weaken the Commission's independence, shield security forces from accountability, and narrow its human rights mandate compared to the 2025 ordinance it replaces. READ MORE

PHILIPPINES Business and Human Rights Centre reports that the Balatoc Indigenous Peoples have asked the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples to cancel a mining agreement granted to Makilala Mining Company in Kalinga, alleging the company used deceptive tactics and forged signatures to manufacture consent and violated their right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent. READ MORE

THAILAND-VIETNAM FORUM-ASIA joined a joint statement warning that expanding Thai-Vietnamese security cooperation, including a proposed extradition treaty, is enabling transnational repression against Vietnamese dissidents in Thailand, citing the 2025 forcible return of Montagnard defender Y Quynh Bdap and the ongoing detention of activist Le Chi Thanh, and calling on the EU to press both governments to end the practice. READ MORE

CAMBODIA Business and Human Rights Centre reports that thousands of Cambodian garment workers remain at risk from unsafe commutes, mostly on motorbikes or crowded private taxis, following two fatal truck crashes on the same morning that killed fourteen workers, with Adidas among the brands saying it was looking into solutions without specifying concrete action. READ MORE

The 114th International Labour Conference has closed with the adoption of the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, 2026, the first global labour standard for platform workers, alongside resolutions on gender equality in the world of work and on strengthening social dialogue and tripartism, and special sittings examining the human rights situations in Belarus and Myanmar. READ MORE

The Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons calls for contributions on the topic of autonomy, participation, and human dignity of older persons with cognitive impairment. Contributions will inform the Independent Expert's report to the 63rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Deadline 6 July 2026. READ MORE

The UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples is inviting applications from Indigenous Peoples' representatives to attend COP31 of the UNFCCC and the fifteenth UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, with subsistence allowances covering travel and accommodation for selected participants. Applications close 12 July 2026. READ MORE

OHCHR calls for contributions from human rights defenders on the topic of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment to inform a thematic report to the 64th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Deadline 21 August 2026. READ MORE

OHCHR and the University of Peace invite registrations for an E-learning course, “Mainstreaming the Right to Development in Voluntary National Review Reporting”, application deadline 8 August 2026 APPLY HERE

The University of Peace invites registrations for an E-learning course “Operationalising the Right to Development in Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals”, application deadline 11 July 2026 APPLY HERE

The UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum for Asia-Pacific will be held in Bangkok between 15 and 17 September 2026. The forum's theme will be Building Resilience, Advancing Rights. READ MORES and REGISTER HERE

ASIA PACIFIC SOCIAL FORUM (APSF), an open space for civil society and social movements across the region, is holding a preparatory session from 10 to 12 July 2026 ahead of the APSF World Social Forum 2026 in Cotonou, Benin, from 4 to 8 August 2026. REGISTER HERE

SAVING TUVALU FILM The producers of the upcoming feature documentary, Saving Tuvalu, is hosting an open mic night on 24 July 2026 dedicated to raising awareness and funds for the film. Saving Tuvalu is scheduled for release in 2028.  READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS has launched a free online course, "Advocacy for Environmental Human Rights Defenders: A Pathway," on the ISHR Academy, offering a conceptual, legal and strategic resource to help environmental human rights defenders and their allies turn local environmental struggles into coordinated international and regional advocacy. READ MORE

ARDEA INTERNATIONAL is hosting a webinar on 23 July 2026 which will explore how the European Union's forthcoming Forced Labour Regulation guidelines and risk database will impact Australian companies which place, make available, or export products to the EU READ MORE

BRAZILIAN INSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS, with the support of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, has published “UPR: A Practical Guide for Civil Society Coalitions to Engage in Implementation Mechanisms”, a practical tool for national coalitions working within the UPR mechanism READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION: “Collective Voices: Back to Basics” is a series of podcasts of around 20 minutes each, on international labour standards and workers’ rights READ MORE  

DTP’s 2025 Annual Report is available here.  In 2025, DTP provided training to 186 human rights defenders across eight programs in Asia and the Pacific.  We know from our alumni the value of this training, and we see it in their decades-long work for human rights across Asia and the Pacific.

Het Actie Fonds (The Action Fund) is seeking grant applications from frontline grassroots movements, including for their Climate Justice Grant program. Grants of up to €2,500 per year per group are available for projects that enable movement building and the development of radical strategies toward climate justice READ MORE

The Lighthouse Global Protection Fund delivers emergency assistance to human rights defenders and civil society organisations operating in high-risk environments worldwide.  Grants are available to eligible groups READ MORE

Tifa invites applications from civil society organisations, grassroots groups, and informal collectives from East and Southeast Asia for the Re-D Fund.  The fund provides microgrants to civil society groups using digital technologies to expand civic participation, advance rights-based reforms, and strengthen organisational resilience in the digital era. Deadline 5 June 2026 READ MORE

DTP acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, the Bedegal people of the Eora Nation. We recognise their lands were never ceded, and we acknowledge their struggles for recognition and rights and pay our respects to the Elders – past, present – and the youth who are working towards a brighter tomorrow. This continent always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

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