Unfurling a flag that calls for “a nation with anti-discrimination law,” Jang Ye Jung joins a growing chorus of advocacy that resonates far beyond her home country.

“Discrimination and hate do not affect just one vulnerable group or one isolated part of society... They affect all of us,” says Jang, who is Executive Committee Chair of the South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discrimination Legislation. “Politicians tend to address hate in a fragmented way, focusing only on particular issues when they see a political need to do it.”

Jang Ye Jung, Executive Committee Chair, South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discrimination Legislation.

© OHCHR/Chairat Chongvattanakij

 

Discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of a person or group based on diverse and often intersecting grounds, including race, descent, caste, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, occupation, health status and other characteristics. These forms of discrimination persist across Asia, where piecemeal laws leave protection gaps.

Existing constitutional guarantees are not enough. Shaheen Anam, Executive Director of the Manusher Jonno Foundation in Bangladesh, explains that a Dalit girl, for example, cannot be barred from going to school, but “if the bathroom is unclean, the teacher will ask her to go and clean it.”

Chet Narayan Rasaili (left), Human Rights Consultant, UN Human Rights,  

and Shaheen Anam, Executive Director, Manusher Jonno Foundation.  

© OHCHR/Chairat Chongvattanakij 

 

“Discrimination is rarely experienced along a single axis. Gender, race, descent, caste, disability, migration status, and sexuality intersect and compound one another, producing forms of exclusion. Yet intersectionality remains unevenly reflected in anti-discrimination law,” says Ashwini K.P., UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism. 

Ashwini K.P., UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism.

© OHCHR/Chairat Chongvattanakij

The key question, therefore, is not whether discrimination is prohibited, but whether the law provides a clear and accessible route to protection when discrimination occurs across education, employment, healthcare, access to public services and political participation.

This is why the UN Human Rights Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific is working to advance comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, which offers broad protection and translates international commitments to equality into enforceable rights under national law.

 

What are the hurdles?

 

“A significant challenge for advancing comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation is getting people in [wider] society to understand that this issue is actually relevant to them,” says Jarunee Siriphan, Director of the Foundation for Action on Inclusion Rights (FAIR) in Thailand. “Discrimination can happen at any moment. Without this legislation, people may be adversely affected in the future.” 

Another hurdle, identified by Narendra Khatiwada, Strategic Advisor at Youth Advocacy Nepal (YAN), is that when specific laws are already in place, it may be hard to reach “common consensus on why the anti-discrimination law should be formulated.”

Narendra Khatiwada, Strategic Advisor, Youth Advocacy Nepal. 

© OHCHR/Chairat Chongvattanakij

 

Other key obstacles cited by advocates from multiple Asian countries include lack of data, inability to accept differences and insufficient political will to overcome strong opposition from certain sectors of society.

 

What is the Asia Alliance for Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation?

 

To address these hurdles, the UN Human Rights Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific has been providing the space and facilitating the exchange of best practices among civil society organisations, legal practitioners, strategic litigation advocates, academics, national human rights institution representatives, UN experts and community leaders across Asia.

Hanae Hanzawa, Anti-Racial Discrimination Advisor, UN Human Rights Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

© OHCHR/Chairat Chongvattanakij

 

In September 2026, this work took an important step forward with the launch of the Asia Alliance for Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation, which comprises the following founding members: 

  • International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Japan 
  • South Korean Coalition for Anti-Discrimination Legislation, Republic of Korea 
  • LGBT Centre, Mongolia
  • Stop the Discrimination Coalition, the Philippines 
  • Koalisi Nasional Kelompok Rentan Anti Diskriminasi (KAIN), Indonesia 
  • People's Movement to Eliminate Discrimination (MovED), Thailand 
  • National Coalition for Equality and Non-Discrimination, Nepal 
  • Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR), India 
  • Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF), Bangladesh 
  • Law Connect Asia, South Asia 
  • Centre for Law and Justice (CLJ), Pakistan 

The launch of this Alliance is timely given Asia’s uneven progress towards holistic legal frameworks that provide broad coverage, effective remedies and strong enforcement mechanisms. 

Representatives from founding organisations express hope that the Alliance will reinforce regional peer learning and provide the collective strength, inspiration and wisdom to accomplish their common aim. 

“Across Asia, we are witnessing growing momentum for stronger legal protection against discrimination,” says Karin Buhren, Coordinator and Human Rights Officer. “While the context differs, a common aspiration unites these efforts: the desire to build societies where every person can participate fully and equally, free from discrimination and exclusion.” 

Discussion at launch of the Asia Alliance for Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation. 
© OHCHR/Chairat Chongvattanakij