International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism
Corporate brand
UnclaimedIMADR is a Tokyo-based international human rights NGO founded in 1988 to eliminate all forms of discrimination and racism and to secure the rights of minorities.
Last updated September 26, 2026
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Overview
The International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) is an international non-governmental human rights organization headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded on 25 January 1988 at a constitutive assembly in Tokyo, convened at the call of the Buraku Liberation League (Buraku Kaihō Dōmei) together with discriminated-against groups and individuals in Japan and abroad. Its mission is to eliminate all forms of discrimination and racism worldwide and to establish the rights of minorities. IMADR works across several thematic areas: elimination of discrimination based on descent (including Burakumin and Dalit issues), the rights of indigenous peoples, the rights of minorities, business and human rights, and the development and use of international human rights mechanisms by minorities. A cross-cutting theme is intersectional or compound discrimination, where multiple forms of discrimination overlap and produce compounded effects. In Japan, IMADR focuses particularly on discrimination against Burakumin, the Ainu people, Ryukyu/Okinawa communities, Koreans and other people from former Japanese colonies and their descendants, and migrants and foreigners. Organizationally, IMADR maintains a head office in Tokyo, an Asia Committee based in Sri Lanka, and a Geneva office adjacent to the United Nations European headquarters. Its board members and advisors are drawn from Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Germany, Ireland, France, the United States, and Senegal. The organization emphasizes three core values: empowerment (centering minority voices), solidarity (linking minority communities and expanding their connections), and advocacy (strengthening laws and mechanisms against discrimination and racism at national and UN levels). IMADR achieved United Nations consultative status in 1993, becoming the first Japan-based human rights NGO to do so; this status was upgraded to "special" consultative status in 2009. It engages with UN bodies including the Human Rights Council and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), publishes human rights materials and translations of UN documents, and runs campaigns, seminars, and advocacy initiatives. Its website serves as a hub for news, events, campaigns, UN updates, and publications, including a Japanese edition of a practical guide to comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation.
History
IMADR was founded on 25 January 1988 at a constitutive assembly in Tokyo, held at the call of the Buraku Liberation League (Buraku Kaihō Dōmei) and involving discriminated-against groups and individuals from Japan and abroad. The organization describes itself as an international human rights NGO aiming to eliminate all forms of discrimination and to establish the rights of minorities. From its inception it engaged with the human rights of minorities worldwide, including Dalits, Roma, people of African descent, and indigenous peoples. In May 1990, the IMADR Japan Committee was established. In October 1991, IMADR opened its Geneva office, positioning itself adjacent to the United Nations European headquarters. In March 1993, a North America Committee was established, and in June 1993 IMADR participated in the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. In July 1993, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) formally granted IMADR consultative status, making it the first Japan-based human rights NGO to obtain such status. In September 1995, IMADR participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. In November 1996, the Asia Committee was established in Sri Lanka. In August 2000, the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution on discrimination based on occupation and descent. In August 2001, IMADR participated in the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. In August 2002, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) adopted General Recommendation 29 on discrimination based on descent. In June 2005, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, Doudou Diène, conducted an official visit and IMADR hosted an NGO meeting; in December 2005, IMADR launched emergency relief and reconstruction support for minorities affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami. In May 2006, IMADR began the Sayama International Solidarity Campaign. In January 2007, it launched the International Campaign against Exploitative Migration and Human Trafficking. In February 2007, the NGO Network for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ERD Net) was formed with IMADR as its secretariat. In April 2009, IMADR participated in the Durban Review Conference in Geneva, and in September 2009 its UN consultative status was upgraded to "special." In June 2011, IMADR held an international consultation marking ten years of Dalit rights advocacy in Geneva. In March 2012, it held a side event on the 90th anniversary of the founding of the National Levelers Association and on discrimination based on descent in Geneva. In February 2013, a symposium marking the 25th anniversary of IMADR's founding was held in Sri Lanka. In June 2016, IMADR reorganized, integrating its international and Japan committees. In January 2018, IMADR marked its 30th anniversary, and in April 2018 it held an international consultation on the elimination of discrimination based on descent in Osaka and Tokyo. Throughout its history, IMADR has maintained a head office in Tokyo, an Asia Committee in Sri Lanka, and a Geneva office, and has worked through empowerment, solidarity, and advocacy to strengthen anti-discrimination law and mechanisms at national and UN levels.
Constitutive assembly of the International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) held in Tokyo.
IMADR Japan Committee established.
Geneva office opened.
North America Committee established.
Participated in the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna.
UN Economic and Social Council formally granted IMADR consultative status; first Japan-based human rights NGO to obtain it.
Participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
Asia Committee established in Sri Lanka.
UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution on discrimination based on occupation and descent.
Participated in the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa.
Products and positioning
An international human rights NGO centering minority voices and combining empowerment, solidarity, and advocacy to eliminate discrimination and racism through law and UN mechanisms.
Commentary on the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Japanese edition)
Practical Guide for Enacting Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation (Japanese edition)
IMADR Bookstore publications
UN human rights document translations
Sources4 sources
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