Arab Human Rights Academy - Ahra

AHRA is the first and the only Arab Human Rights Academy set up to defend human rights in the Arab world through education, research, activism and art.

AHRA is a non political and not-for-profit organisation founded and run in London by the diaspora that aims at defending human rights in the Arab world and promoting a non violent and tolerant culture through research, education, art, journalism and activism, thus contributing to the creation of a vibrant, critical and confident civil society that can hold both states and non state actors accountable for human rights violations. AHRA’s projects focus on fostering respect for diversity and mutual understanding, using art and sport as a vehicle to stimulate debate and awareness around the key issues that concern human rights in Arab countries and deliver a message of peace and reconciliation. This includes publications, events, awards, training and even more, eventually aiming at a holistic approach.

Our Vision:

We believe in the inherent dignity of all human beings, regardless of their religious, ethnic, social, sexual or political background. We believe everyone has the right to live in an enabling environment that fosters his full human potential, and freed from fear, discrimination, violence, retaliation and censorship of the mind. We want to see the cultural diversity of the Arab world flourishing into a constructive and tolerant debate of ideas rather than sinking into hatred and violence. We want to mobilise the great resources of the region whose population is one of the youngest and culturally and religiously most diverse in the world. We believe that human dignity can only be achieved through the development of inclusive, participatory, liberal and democratic systems as well as independent judiciary systems, both separated from religion and politics.

We want to support the idea of an Arabic human rights revolution and transition from authoritarianism. We believe strongly in the universality of human rights which are too often undermined, politicised and instrumentalised in the narrow interests of national and international politics, to the detriment of those who seek to use them as a tool for improving people’s lives. We want to give those people a voice, empower them to bring a change from within their communities. We want to support art, literature and sport as vehicles to deliver the message of human rights; because we know that images and words are mightier than guns and bombs. This is a project whose overall success will be measured in generations rather than in years, but a journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step.

Our Values

o Knowledge over ignorance
o Education over Illiteracy
o Peace and forgiveness over violence and retaliation
o Equality and tolerance over discrimination and intolerance
o Integrity over corruption
o Welfare over poverty
o Solidarity and inclusiveness over exclusion and competition