Atlantic believes that all people should be treated with dignity, respect and fairness, and have full and equal access to civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.
Human rights problems exist everywhere. As a result, we believe that our most important legacy is a sustainable set of organisations with the proven ability to protect and advance rights.
Atlantic seeks to build an enduring capacity to protect human rights in the geographies where we work and to promote reconciliation in Northern Ireland and South Africa. The programme also operates in the Republic of Ireland and the United States.
The Reconciliation & Human Rights Programme supports work that mobilises communities and develops effective leadership within them; builds strong, sustainable organisations that work together to advocate for change; secures legal gains that advance rights; and strengthens the culture of rights and the capacity of people at the margins to secure them.
In each geography, we work to protect the rights of immigrants. In addition, we also have specific priorities in each country, such as protecting people with disabilities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, integrating education in Northern Ireland, protecting the Constitution and advancing the rights of the rural poor in South Africa, and promoting racial justice, seeking to end the death penalty and restoring civil liberties and the rule of law in the United States.
In addition to these distinct objectives for each targeted region, we seek to achieve the following:
- A culture in which everyone’s rights are more likely to be respected and protected
- Societies which respect the rule of law
- Advancement of policies, laws and practices to protect human rights
- Mobilised constituencies working on behalf of human rights and reconciliation
- Enduring capacity to create lasting change and promote human rights and reconciliation.
