Human rights, and especially minority rights, have a clear supranational dimension both in Europe and in South Asia. Europe has made wide use of the mechanisms and soft law approaches developed and implemented at regional level by the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the European Union.
In South Asia there is a long tradition of study and robust experience in the field of cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic management, including the gender dimension, within national boundaries (India in particular).
However, it is only recently that some albeit limited attempts have been made to enhance regional cooperation on these very sensitive issues. Studies carried out by South Asian scholars have created the knowledge base underlying the first rudimentary attempts by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the foresight initiatives of human rights NGOs and activists.
The overall objective of EURASIA-Net is to enhance the requisite knowledge-base for new policies and instruments to reduce ethnic-religious conflicts and to foster stability and security in South Asia. Achievements in this area are likely to create a favourable environment for cooperation with Europe and to contribute to repositioning Europe as a pro-active political interlocutor. 

EURASIA-Net creates the basis for future research cooperation in the field of South Asian regional cooperation on human rights and minority issues, a sector that is an important pre-requisite to lasting peace and economic development in the region. European research must create, together with colleagues from the region, the knowledge basis for an effective and comprehensive EU cooperation policy with South Asia. A first, indispensable step in this direction is to develop a joint research agenda focusing on human and minority rights as one of the most critical factors of South Asian regional stability (WP1). The information and exchange sessions with EU officials and institutions (WP3) as well as the trans-regional Platform (WP4) will certainly create the favourable policy environment for future research. The involvement of young researchers (WP2) will reinforce the basis of future cooperation and raise the interest of South Asian researchers in European studies.

The European-Asia Exchange Project on Experiences of the Politics of Recognition (EIDHR-Programme 2003-2006) finalized in 2007, explored with representatives of South Asian minority and indigenous groups as to what extent and how their rights and freedoms and interests can be protected and realised by means of self-government arrangements including forms of substantive autonomy based on evolving juridical and political ideas of shared sovereignty. The follow-up project EURASIA-Net should strengthen the network built up in the last decade.

EURAC as project coordinator is acting on behalf of the consortium towards the European Commission and third parties. Furthermore, to give a common frame of work to all partners, a Project Steering Group is installed: it supervises the technical, financial and administrative implementation of the project with the participation of all partners. The Project Steering Group consists of one representative of each partner organisation, and the coordinator holds the chair.

EURASIA-Net has been funded under FP7 SSH-2007-8.2 "Coordination and support actions" (Coordination) by the European Commission.

Other topics addressed in this project are "Articulation of rule of law and protection of human rights at national, European and international levels" (SSH-2007-4.2.2) and "Conflicts and Peace" (SSH-2007-4.2.1).

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In memoriam of Cristina Boglia, Head of Unit of International Relations Dept. and EURASIA-Net Project Manager