Karapatan is an alliance of organizations, groups and individuals working for the promotion and defense of human rights and people’s rights in the Philippines and at the global level. Its founders and charter members have been at the forefront of the human rights struggle in the Philippines since the martial law regime of the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.
Karapatan maintains that the fight for human rights and people’s rights is an essential component of the struggle of the peasants for land, agrarian reform and rural development. KARAPATAN promotes the rights of workers to decent living wages and favorable working conditions; women, .LGBTQI, persons with disabilities and the elderly. . KARAPATAN advocates for the right of self-determination for national minorities like indigenous and Muslim people access to basic services for the poor and access to education and other venues for growth and development for youth.