Human Rights, Asia
498 Articles at Lifeissues.net

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) works towards the radical rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in order to protect and promote human rights in Asia. Established in 1984, the Hong Kong based organisation is a Laureate of the Right Livelihood Award, 2014.

Website:http://www.humanrights.asia/

Articles

Asia: The mind of Junious (A Parable)

This story is about Junious. Please do not think that I made a mistake in naming the hero and misspelling Junious for genius. I quite understand some people's misunderstanding of that sort because an impression has been created and kept for a long time that Junious was in fact the genius. That is far from the truth. A Junious is rightly called Junious, as you will see when you read this story.

Date posted: 2023-12-08

Sri Lanka: The Arrest of Tharindu Uduwaragedera - Larger questions

While the conduct of the particular officers who carried out the arrest and whoever that directed them is most reprehensible, which should concern anyone worried for the kind of societal collapse to which the law enforcement agency itself is contributing, this episode will provide lot of reasons for shock and worry about the nature of the country that Sri Lanka has become.

Date posted: 2023-08-12

Sri Lanka: Is contempt of court unlike any other crime?

The purpose of the proposed Bill on the Contempt of Court is to criminalise the acts which may be considered to constitute the offence of contempt of court and to punish it. Clearly, this proposed Bill is meant to create offences under the contempt of court and therefore the purpose is to create criminal offences.

Date posted: 2023-08-12

Indonesia: Stop security approach in Papua Island

The security approach in dealing with social and human rights problems in the Papua Island shows a bad impact towards efforts to resolve the social conflict in the Papua Island. Applying this approach has implications for conflict escalation which continues to increase through various cases that find acts of violence against local residents, even resulting in the loss of lives.

Date posted: 2022-10-09

Bangladesh: Government Must Bear Responsibilities if Victims of Enforced Disappearances are Harmed

According to the families and eye-witnesses, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) is allegedly involved in abducting and disappearing at least 195 people. The Bangladesh Police have abducted and disappeared 88 people

Date posted: 2022-10-09

Philippines: My Arrest and Detention for Cyberlibel

My arrest and detention has been widely seen as the first major assault on democratic rights under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, which assumed power barely six weeks ago. This is likely the reason for the massive outrage and outpouring of support both nationally and internationally that was triggered by the incident.

Date posted: 2022-08-20

Sri Lanka: Illegal arrests and illegal detentions damage the legal system

Illegal arrests and illegal detentions do not only harm individuals, they also cause irreparable damage to the legal system as a whole. The recent wave of arrests of those who have participated in peaceful demonstrations has not only caused serious damage to the life and liberty of these individuals but they have caused even much greater damage to the entire legal system of Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2022-08-19

Indonesia: Human Rights Court for Paniai Case in Papua must Apply International Human Rights Standard

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) demands the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia to hold a Human Rights Court for gross violations of human rights of the Paniai Case in Papua which occured between 7 - 8 December of 2014 as fairly as possible from the start even before the trial was held.

Date posted: 2022-07-25

Sri Lanka: Malnutrition and Starvation- Next Stage of the Crisis

As people began to learn about the terrible consequences of the dollar crisis, there also emerged a political slogan that seemed to suit the occasion. "Gota Go Home" became the slogan and in no time it became the rallying cry from almost everyone throughout the country. There appeared at the time there is a unity of purpose and a unity of perspective among all those who were participating in adopting that slogan.

Date posted: 2022-07-25

Sri Lanka: A Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Ministry

We suggest that in order to address the most vital issue at the moment, which is to create the conditions for the proper functioning of the economic system with a view to resolving the consequences of the debt crisis, bringing about stability within the society and in the political system is the foremost priority.

Date posted: 2022-07-25

Sri Lanka: The absence of the will to do justice

Within a few days after the Rambukkana Police shooting, a large body of information has become available to the public about this incident. The attempt by the Government and also a section of the Police to give their own version about the incident has revealed a very routine pattern that exists in Sri Lanka whenever shocking revelations are being made about such extremely serious violations of human rights.

Date posted: 2022-04-28

Sri Lanka: Overcoming the crisis

As a political critic who has foreseen this crisis beforehand and written extensively about it before it burst out, I feel that I am obliged to explain the reality of the situation as I see it, and suggest the course of action to be taken to overcome the crisis.

Date posted: 2022-03-28

Myanmar/Burma: UN Member States' Urgent Actions Needed for Addressing Human Rights Catastrophe

You have rightly concluded that there is "a human rights catastrophe" in Myanmar. We agree with your recommendation that the "Member States must act urgently to prevent a further disintegration of Myanmar into a nationwide armed conflict or state collapse".

Date posted: 2022-03-11

Indonesia: Release Victor Yeimo and hold perpetrators of human rights violations in Papua accountable

CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, and Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are gravely concerned by the ongoing prosecution of human rights defender Victor Yeimo. He has been arbitrarily detained for speaking up against the serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Indonesian security forces against Papuans and must be released immediately.

Date posted: 2022-03-11

Sri Lanka: Suspend PTA immediately - UN Experts tells GOSL

The usual trick employed by Sri Lankan delegations before the sessions of the UNHRC by making various promises and even exhibiting draft Bills, thereby trying to create the impression that some compliance with the request of the Council is being considered by the Government was not able to convince the international community of the sincerity of the GoSL.

Date posted: 2022-03-11

Sri Lanka: A people's commission for women formed in Sri Lanka

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the inauguration of the people's commission for women in Sri Lanka. This new people's commission was launched on the 8th of March. About 150 persons participated at the opening ceremony held at the Mahaweli auditorium.

Date posted: 2022-03-11

Indonesia: The Gema Kreasi Perdana Company forcibly entered the land of the local community who refused mining in the Wanoii Island

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the President of the Republic of Indonesia

Date posted: 2022-03-11

Indonesia: 33 Years of Talangsari 1989: Changing Policies That Remain Unfavorable to Victims and Justice

According to various data and information, in the Talangsari massacre, 130 people died, 77 people were forcibly evicted, 53 people experienced the deprivation of liberty and 46 people experienced torture.

Date posted: 2022-02-24

Sri Lanka: Legal arguments against the proposal to present the draft Constitution

The proposal is based on a false premise as it denies the process of the making of the Constitution whereas it must provide everyone and every group of people the right of participation as it is a Constitution of the people and not of a Government.

Date posted: 2022-01-14

Sri Lanka: A Man Borrows c To Feed His Starving Children

While it may take a longer time to resolve the bigger problems relating to the economic crisis, the problems relating to the basic food needs, need to be addressed on an urgent basis. If the situation goes unnoticed, it is likely that under the growing crisis of the economy, there may be mass scale malnutrition and even starvation.

Date posted: 2022-01-08

World: Desmond Tutu: The man who revived the moral universe

Archbishop Desmond Tutu who passed away this week will be counted among the great human beings who have contributed on the one hand for the great political transformation of his own country, and a person who has revolutionized the idea of achieving equality even under the most difficult circumstances.

Date posted: 2021-12-31

Sri Lanka: A People's Constitution; The Need To Think Outside The Box

In dealing with the problem of the 1978 Constitution, we are in fact confronted with the falsification of several fundamental ideas relating to constitutionalism. The purpose of these falsifications is to create a semblance of democratic legitimacy and an appearance of democratic legality to a document that is extremely crude in nature in terms of the aims it wants to achieve. The core is to displace democracy altogether.

Date posted: 2021-12-27

Nepal: The State is Failing Its Citizens

The current situation is a result of political meddling in the functioning of the judiciary, a flawed appointment process, and bad precedents. The problems that beset the judiciary are not going to end unless political interference in the working of the judiciary ends.

Date posted: 2021-12-27

Indonesia: Appointing the Parliament and the Military to Resolve Human Rights Violations Proves that the Chief Security Minister Failed to Understand Justice

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) supports survivors and the families of victims of serious human rights violations and strongly condemns the two erroneous statements made during a meeting.

Date posted: 2021-12-27

India: A botched up counter insurgency operation and murders most foul

The current situation is a result of political meddling in the functioning of the judiciary, a flawed appointment process, and bad precedents. The problems that beset the judiciary are not going to end unless political interference in the working of the judiciary ends.

Date posted: 2021-12-27

Sri Lanka: Women take humans rights to the mainstream

"Given the fact that today nothing could be hidden in the world and that almost everything in the world is a globally spoken of affair, the attempt to keep the human rights violations from not being discussed in the world, seems to be accepted as very much of illusion.

Date posted: 2021-11-03

World: Measuring the impact of advocacy programmes

In this short essay, we use advocacy to mean those efforts to promote understanding and to win support for matters relating to human dignity, equality before the law and respect for human rights. This unique use of the meaning of the term advocacy needs to be thoroughly grasped in attempting to evolve the methods pertaining to the various measures that are taken for such advocacy.

Date posted: 2021-11-03

Sri Lanka: CPC Amendment Bill Will Undermine The Role, Function and The Independence Of Judiciary

"The essence and core of the Bill is to dispense with the requirements of the presence of the suspect at the time the Magistrate may make orders relating to him or her and the High Court Judge may also make similar orders including the dispensing of the presence of the suspect at the time of the trial. This very idea of dispensing of the presence of the suspect violates the very core of the Constitutional principle that is at the heart of the Sri Lankan Constitution which is the protection of the individual.

Date posted: 2021-11-03

Indonesia: Dozens of International Human Rights Organizations Encourage the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Indonesia

The international Franciscans are aware that civil liberties are increasingly being threatened in Indonesia. This issue is a human rights issue that needs the consideration of the UN HRC because it certainly threatens civil liberties that have been protected in international legal instruments.

Date posted: 2021-11-03

Sri Lanka: That Nonsense Called Criminal Justice

The entire Criminal Law Administration is an exercise in which certain acts are treated as punishable offenses. A crime therefore becomes a meaningless word if it is not followed by the necessary actions that the Law has laid down to be enforced when such a crime is reported. If a crime is committed, and it is reported, and the alleged criminal is left outside the Law, then that is not merely an abuse of power. It makes the whole process of declaring certain acts as crimes, a meaningless affair.

Date posted: 2021-11-03

Myanmar/Burma: Myanmar Situation Update (24 to 30 May 2021)

The protests continued in different parts of Myanmar despite the crackdown by the junta.

Date posted: 2021-10-23

South Korea: How to Honor the heroes of the Gwangju uprising in 1980?

On May 18th, the Gwangju uprising is being celebrated in the Republic of Korea as well as elsewhere. It has been the position of the Asian Human Rights Commission that May 18th should be recognized as a universal day of commemoration and also reaffirm the commitment to democracy, human rights, and human dignity.

Date posted: 2021-10-23

Cambodia: Civil Society Organizations call for the Royal Government of Cambodia to Amend the State of Emergency Law to Protect Human Rights

The State of Emergency Law was hastily passed in the context of a years-long government campaign to suppress and silence dissenting voices among the Cambodian public, civil society and independent media.

Date posted: 2021-10-23

Nepal: Myanmar's Military Coup - A Serious Blow to Democracy

This seizure of power by the military with the imposition of a state of emergency for a year, not only risks the fledgling democracy in Myanmar but also risks democracy at large in other parts of the globe as well.

Date posted: 2021-09-20

Indonesia: New Regulation on Special Autonomy for Papua must ensure protection for Indigenous Papuans

Human rights activists and indigenous Papuans regret that the revision of the Special Autonomy Law has not fully accommodated the demands of the Papuan people. The new law on special autonomy for Papua becomes evidence that the central government in Jakarta tend to resolve human rights problem in Papua merely from economic approach, without touching fundamental problem, which is human rights violations, impunity and various problems emerging from unfair trials and consistent discriminations.

Date posted: 2021-09-20

Bangladesh: Government Uses Arbitrary Detention and Degenerated Judiciary Against Dissidents

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) brings the issue of arbitrary detention and the degenerated justice mechanisms to the United Nations Human Rights Council focusing on the situation in Bangladesh, which is a Member of the Council.

Date posted: 2021-09-20

World: Measuring the impact of advocacy programmes

In this short essay, we use advocacy to mean those efforts to promote understanding and to win support for matters relating to human dignity, equality before the law and respect for human rights. This unique use of the meaning of the term advocacy needs to be thoroughly grasped in attempting to evolve the methods pertaining to the various measures that are taken for such advocacy.

Date posted: 2021-09-20

India: Annual Mystery fever returns to kill dozens, where are the authorities?

Mystery fevers are no strangers to many states in India. They keep returning, almost annually, leaving a death toll behind. They make news with their onset, media follows the trails, deaths subside and then the trails go cold.

Date posted: 2021-09-20

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka's rapidly shrinking public space

The Sri Lankan Government intensified its pressure against associations who are contributing to defend the rights of people against a series of serious attacks by the Government. The latest move by the Government in that direction is the declaration of emergency, which places the present state of the country above any law.

Date posted: 2021-09-20

Myanmar/Burma: Myanmar Situation Update (31 May - 6 June 2021)

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of 6 June, 849 people were killed by the junta. 4,674 people are currently under detention and 160 are sentenced. 1,936 warrants have been issued. 31 were sentenced to death, 14 people to three years, 39 people to 20 years, 5 people to 7 years imprisonment with hard labor. The journalists of Democratic Voice of Burma and Mizzima were sentenced to two-year jail in the past week.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Sri Lanka: Office on Missing Persons and the Zero Policy on Justice

"One of the issues that demonstrated the approach of the Sri Lankan authorities to the problem of enforced disappearances could be discovered in a close study of the narrative of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP). In essence, what it shows is the international diplomacy of deception that Sri Lankan authorities have cleverly developed and practiced over a long period of time in dealing with the United Nations (UN) Human Rights High Commissioner's Office and other UN agencies relating to human rights.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Bangladesh: Families Take to the Streets to Demand Justice for Enforced Disappearances

Families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, took to the streets across Bangladesh to demand justice. The families organised human chains and rallies in different parts of the country. In the International Week of the Disappeared, the victims defied intimidation and harassment by the agencies of Bangladesh.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Indonesia: Victims and Justice Seekers must be included in the Sustainable Development Goals

In Indonesian history, Suharto was President of the Republic of Indonesia for 32 years. He left many legacies. A few of them are gross violations of human rights, a weak Judiciary System and regulations. The regulations were not in favor of poor people, and vulnerable minority groups.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

South Korea: How to Honour the heroes of the Gwangju uprising in 1980?

On May 18th, the Gwangju uprising is being celebrated in the Republic of Korea as well as elsewhere. It has been the position of the Asian Human Rights Commission that May 18th should be recognized as a universal day of commemoration and also reaffirm the commitment to democracy, human rights, and human dignity.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Cambodia: Civil Society Organizations call for the Royal Government of Cambodia to Amend the State of Emergency Law to Protect Human Rights

Without urgent and substantial amendment, the new Law on the Management of the Nation in State of Emergency ("State of Emergency Law") grants the Royal Government of Cambodia ("RGC") powers to restrict the fundamental freedoms of the Cambodian people without limit.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Sri Lanka: Won the "War" but Lost the Law

Calling a civil conflict or a civil war, a war itself, is very misleading. Wars are fought with external enemies. However, civil conflict or a civil war is a fight that takes place among the brethren, with the people who should in fact be living together as a nation. What the ties of blood means within a family is politically and socially speaking what exists among everyone who belongs to a nation.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

India: Cremation Prices Soar High

Several Reports, from reputed Indian newspapers, have stated that as the deaths by Covid 19 go staggeringly high, cremation prices in many parts of India have been hijacked by profiteering groups. They are responsible for the increased cremation charges.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Myanmar (Burma): People's express mandate for greater democracy battled by military staging a coup

The military coup in Myanmar, deposing the legitimately elected Government previously led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has come under global condemnation.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Philippines: Anti-Terrorism Act is reminiscent of the dark history of martial law era, says CCA General Secretary

The Philippines' new 'Anti-Terrorism Act', which took effect on Saturday, 18 July 2020, is reminiscent of the use of repressive force and human rights violations of the dark history of martial law era, stated the General Secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), Dr Mathews George Chunakara.

Date posted: 2021-06-22

Indonesia: Victims and Justice Seekers must be included in the Sustainable Development Goals

"No one left behind" is the main principle of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Will the principle apply in Indonesia? Will the Government include victims and families of victims of human rights violations in the implementation of SDG's?

Date posted: 2021-05-24

Nepal: Instead of hearing out civic voices of the marginalized groups, the government is becoming more authoritarian

Besides poverty and caste based discrimination, deprived in the Dalit community of Madesh, the majority of Dalit youths are struggling for employment. It seems like the reflection of the Dalit community is an entrenched poverty and a wretched literacy rate. In addition, less attention from the Government towards the Dalit community highlights this reflection.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Sri Lanka: Why do Sri Lankan police officers torture suspects?

"Police officer" refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon to do police-related duties such as conduct interrogations, similar to the military and other agencies.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Indonesia: Elegy For "Mbokde" (Aunty) Suu Kyi

The reason for the capture of Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint, by the new military junta, under the command of General Min Aung Hlaing, is fairly naive and ridiculous.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Sri Lanka: A Lunatic Police Attack

A brutal attack by Police Officers caught on a video tape has gone viral on social media. It has caused expressions of public dismay about the levels of violence that Sri Lankan Police practice.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Indonesia: Balikpapan City Police Officers torture a man to death in custody

Unknown people forcibly picked him up from the Police station. In the end, the Balikpapan City police office officially informed Herman's family that he died while under Police detention. Herman's family faced difficulities in seeking to examine Herman's body. Seemingly, the Police did not provide enough access to the family to view the body.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Sri Lanka: UNHRC Resolution: A Ray of Hope for Sri Lanka

The resolution is based on a strategy aimed at preventing grave human rights violations. For many years Sri Lanka has successfully evaded taking responsibility for dealing with the violations that have been committed in the country. The present government took up the position of opposing virtually any collaborative efforts in dealing with these problems.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Sri Lanka: Black Sunday- Mourning the Death of Criminal Investigating Capacity

In answering the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka, the faithful living in various parts of the country wore black and attended the churches as a protest against the failure to provide justice for all those who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

India: The Bogey of Public Inconvenience to Snatch the Right To Protest

Democracies across the world are defined by the virtue of the right to protest. Yet, in India, that fancies itself as the largest democracy of the world, the governments are seen to be chipping off that very right by raising the bogey of public inconvenience. They have mobilised people, mostly their party members, to even physically attack such protests including in one case by a gun wielding man firing at peaceful and unarmed protestors.

Date posted: 2021-04-02

Philippines: Her Story Lives: Honoring the Predecessors of the #HijaAko Movement

Out of breath from running around the city with a big placard in one hand and a heavy, borrowed tripod on the other, I stood in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul with eighty other activists demanding for an official apology and reparation from the Japanese government.

Date posted: 2020-08-29

Sri Lanka: What Is The Value Of The Life Of Sunil Jayawardene?

Sunil Jayawardene was a representative for three-wheele drivers. He who went to make a representation to a finance company on behalf of one of the vehicle owners, whose three-wheeler had been taken by agents of that company. Sunil was assaulted by eight or more people in front of the company and murdered.

Date posted: 2020-08-20

India: The other, invisible victims of CAA in Meghalaya

Despite all the claims of them too being "atoot ang" or unbreakable part of the country, news from the North-Eastern states of India seldom make it to the national headlines, with The Telegraph, published from Kolkata being an exception, perhaps because of its proximity. So there were no surprises on national media hardly carrying any news of Meghalaya burning over opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) with three killed and scores injured forcing state-wide curfew including in Shillong.

Date posted: 2020-08-20

Bangladesh: Arbitrarily detained Journalist is at risk of infection with COVID-19 after returning from an enforced disappearance

Bangladesh's justice mechanisms have long records of intra-complicity in maintaining impunity at the costs of people's lives, livelihoods, liberties, and human dignity. The family of journalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol has been going through unspeakable grief, pain, and harassment for the last 100 days since his disappearance.

Date posted: 2020-07-04

Thailand: Government should commit towards locating missing activist and protecting human rights defenders

The Thai government's inadequate response to the enforced disappearance of pro-democracy activist Wanchalerm Satsaksit demonstrates its failure to protect human rights defenders and other dissenting voices.

Date posted: 2020-07-04

Sri Lanka: What Is The Value Of The Life Of Sunil Jayawardene?

The Thai government's inadequate response to the enforced disappearance of pro-democracy activist Wanchalerm Satsaksit demonstrates its failure to protect human rights defenders and other dissenting voices.

Date posted: 2020-07-04

Bangladesh: The nomination of A B M Khairul Haque as a judge of ICC must be opposed for the interest of justice and its integrity

The AHRC urges the international lawyers, human rights groups, and jurists to demand removal of A B M Khairul Haque's nomination. The ICC deserves judges having higher moral and ethical standards to administer justice to the victims of international crimes. Fulfilling the geographical vacancy must not be an excuse for the ASP in appointing a candidate with manifest disqualifications of very serious nature.

Date posted: 2020-07-03

Cambodia: Civil Society Organizations call for the Royal Government of Cambodia to Amend the State of Emergency Law to Protect Human Rights

Without urgent and substantial amendment, the new Law on the Management of the Nation in State of Emergency ("State of Emergency Law") grants the Royal Government of Cambodia ("RGC") powers to restrict the fundamental freedoms of the Cambodian people without limit.

Date posted: 2020-06-15

Bangladesh: Stifling expression using Digital Security Act must not be the norm to address COVID-19 pandemic

In times of crisis, people's health depends at minimum on access to information both off and online. Silencing journalists and activists and blocking websites, is not an effective public health strategy.

Date posted: 2020-06-15

World: Who Wants War (WWW)?

Whether it is the wildlife wet market or the Wuhan laboratory-related as declared by US officials are still wild guesses. The accused is innocent unless proven guilty and it is in this context that Beijing too is showing its marine muscle in both East and South China seas while both US and Taiwan are struggling with the virus.

Date posted: 2020-06-15

Pakistan: Government uses brutal tactics to infringe Freedoms of Press and Expression

The Pakistan Government has failed to improve its pattern of muzzling the Press and overall civic space. It is under the leadership of cricketing superstar/turned politician, Imran Khan. The Authorities have been using the same old abusive techniques with the State agencies.

Date posted: 2020-06-15

World: 'Identity Politics' Belittled in the Face of Covid 19 Global Assault

Corvid 19 is before us, alive and kicking in most insidious ways, hidden but active bypassing all scientific discoveries and G5 technology with artificial intelligence prepared to take over many areas in human activity. All such plans are on hold. The ordinary lives among us are taken over by the overwhelming fear of disease and death.

Date posted: 2020-05-17

Cambodia: Suspend MFI Debts and Return Land Titles Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

The suffering of millions of Cambodians who are facing economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic is being amplified by the country's ongoing over-indebtedness crisis, stemming from more than $10 billion in loans from aggressive microfinance institutions (MFIs). More than two and a half million Cambodians currently hold microloans. This puts millions of Cambodians' livelihoods, health and land tenure security at risk.

Date posted: 2020-05-17

Sri Lanka: Silent Enemy

Church bells will ring and lights will be lit to remember the 2019 Easter Sunday tragedy. Meanwhile, people have also been putting up a fight against the deadly coronavirus.

Date posted: 2020-05-17

Sri Lanka: Ringing church bells and lighting lamps

Church bells will ring and lights will be lit to remember the 2019 Easter Sunday tragedy. Meanwhile, people have also been putting up a fight against the deadly coronavirus.

Date posted: 2020-05-17

World: Father James Hurley SJ - A great friend of the AHRC

Father James Hurley, a great man and a humanist, passed away last week. I had the privilege of associating with Father Hurley since 1970. He impressed me as a man who was very deeply concerned with individuals as well as on the great social issues of his time.

Date posted: 2020-05-17

Sri Lanka: A Tragic Transformation: The Strange Case Of The 1978 Constitution

This was a tragic transformation. It was not merely a transformation of an individual but the transformation of the entire social and legal structure of Sri Lanka. The transformation was tragic for the individual concerned, and for all other individuals who will hold that post, and also for the entire nation.

Date posted: 2020-03-21

India: The other, invisible victims of CAA in Meghalaya

Meghalaya has had a long history of local tribal communities' unease against the "outsiders"- mostly Bengali, Marwari and Nepali Hindus as well as against the Bengali-speaking Muslim. The unease has often ended in violent attacks on them for over four decades now.

Date posted: 2020-03-21

Sri Lanka: The Tragic Injury to Pasindu Hirushan

People are shocked by the following tragic incident. A first-year student of the management faculty of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, PASINDU HIRUSHAN, suffered serious injuries. He has been in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for several days. According to reports his condition is quite serious.

Date posted: 2020-03-14

Sri Lanka: Second Anniversary of the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons

The establishment of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) on 28th February 2018 with a broad mandate to investigate the fate of the missing and disappeared and protect the rights of their relatives, represented an explicit acknowledgement by the State of its responsibility to establish the truth and ensure justice.

Date posted: 2020-03-11

Sri Lanka: How can unscrupulous lawyers manipulate delays in the law?

This article is about the manner in which unscrupulous lawyers could manipulate delays in the law to their personal advantage.

Date posted: 2020-03-07

Bangladesh: Torturous law-enforcement system with impunity and rewards to perpetrators impede protection of rights

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) draws attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures about the institutionalised practice of torture in Bangladesh, which is an incumbent member of the Human Rights Council.

Date posted: 2020-03-07

World: Dispossession caused by ultra-violent methods of civil rights suppression

The deprivation of rights is used as an instrument of dispossession of the people – isolating them from each other, including their leaders. It also isolates people from the rest of humanity.

Date posted: 2020-03-06

Philippines: Police Reforms Cannot Be Achieved Through Ultra-Violent Methods

The South China Morning Post recently published a report quoting Colonel Romeo Caramat stating that the Philippines' ultra-violent approach in curbing drugs has not been effective.

Date posted: 2020-03-04

India: Gang Rapes, Justice and Civilization in India and Sri Lanka

An incident was reported in December 2019 from India regarding the gang rape of a woman and what happened thereafter.

Date posted: 2019-12-21

Bangladesh: Defending rights requires unified resistance

On International Human Rights Day, the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), and Odhikar pay tribute to and stand in solidarity with the victims and survivors of human rights violations.

Date posted: 2019-12-21

Pakistan: Activist languishing in jail a month after his arrest on trumped up charges

Without a proper understanding of human beings that is grounded in natural law, human rights will always fall short of the lofty goals set by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If the U.S. Commission on Unalienable Rights is to help the U.S. protect human rights, it needs first to try to understand their nature.

Date posted: 2019-12-21

Sri Lanka: Election 2019 – Hamlet without a Prince of Denmark

The 2019 election has not generated any real enthusiasm among the people.

Date posted: 2019-12-21

Sri Lanka: What happens to the people happens also to judges, lawyers, and others

This memoir by former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake on the (now nullified) impeachment is a significant contribution to the cause of promoting the independence of judiciary in Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2019-11-17

India: Borewells and potholes kill more Indians than terror

To start with, the borewells are almost always private and illegal. They are dug flouting all the norms and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India- for water, in the face of increasing depletion of groundwater.

Date posted: 2019-11-17

World: Thai judge survives shooting himself in the chest in open court as a protest against interference with judicial independence

In a Thai courthouse on 4th October 2019, Judge Khanakorn Pianchana shot himself in the chest as a protest against interference with the independence of judges in their decision-making process. Fortunately, he survived the suicide attempt - made in open court - and is reportedly out of intensive care.

Date posted: 2019-11-10

Sri Lanka: Weaponisation of Ambiguity - Sri Lanka's 1978 Constitution

The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka is an outstanding example of how meaning can be manipulated through the weaponisation of ambiguity.

Date posted: 2019-11-10

Bangladesh: Claim of economic growth without protection of human rights is a fallacy

The issue of a State, which ratifies the United Nations' treaties and allows its law-enforcement agencies to commit gross human rights violations with impunity, deserves serious attention of the Council. From January 2009 to 9th September 2019, the ALRC documented 536 cases of enforced disappearances; 2188 extrajudicial executions; 128 custodial deaths due to torture, and thousands of arbitrary detentions.

Date posted: 2019-10-08

Asia: Human Rights Mechanisms need practical actions on domestic institutional developments for administration of justice

In most countries in Asia liberal democracy is replaced with various types of authoritarian governments violating the separation of power principle and favouring executive control of the entire system.

Date posted: 2019-10-08

World: Affirming rights by ratification, denying rights in actual practice

Affirming something through a declaration and denying the same in actual practice happens everywhere, but the real test of affirmation is the degree to which something is practiced. When what is affirmed and what is actually practiced is virtually divorced then the very act of affirmation becomes a mockery. That, unfortunately, is the situation regarding human rights in almost all developing countries. That is the situation in many countries in Asia.

Date posted: 2019-10-08

Myanmar/Bangladesh: Rights, dignity, and future of genocide survivors at stake

The Council is well aware of the grave human rights violations in Myanmar perpetrated by the Tatmadaw and other state- and non-state actors.

Date posted: 2019-10-08

Myanmar: Protect rights, ensure dignified repatriation and justice of the Rohingyas

Coalition for Human Rights draw special attention of the Human Rights Council and the Special Procedures to the acts of violence, persecution, extrajudicial executions, torture and inhuman treatment against the Rohingya population, who fled the genocide committed by the Myanmar Military in the Rakhine state (Arakan) of Myanmar and took refuge in Bangladesh.

Date posted: 2019-10-08

Sri Lanka: How the poor pay for the national debt and for corruption?

The one of the most frequent practices in the public hospitals now is that patients have to pay for everything.

Date posted: 2019-09-07

Bangladesh: Seized state power and institutional collapse key behind continued enforced disappearances

Despite continued outcry of the victims' families to return their loved-ones Bangladesh's law-enforcement agencies continue committing the crime of enforced disappearances. Under the incumbent government of Sheikh Hasina 532 people became the victims of enforced disappearances between January 2009 and July 2019.

Date posted: 2019-09-07

Bangladesh: Human rights groups urge government to implement recommendations on torture and other abuses after damning UN review

Following serious concerns expressed by the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) about torture in Bangladesh, seven human rights organizations call on the Bangladeshi government to recognize the magnitude of the problem and address and implement the nearly 90 recommendations made by the UN body.

Date posted: 2019-08-29

Nepal: Current problem of human rights violations in Nepal

We wish to stop Nepal from the critical situation of entering into a civil war again because of institutional corruption another human rights abuses such as murder, rape and abductions. We therefore call on the international community and the Asian Human Rights Commission, to take note of the atrocious situation currently occurring in Nepal.

Date posted: 2019-08-29

World: Angkhana Neelapaijit wins prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for championing fight against enforced disappearances and justice

This is the message the Asian Human Rights Commission sent to Angkhana Neelapaijit on her winning the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for championing the fight against forced disappearances.

Date posted: 2019-08-11

Sri Lanka: Sri Lankan Politicians as archetypes of destruction

In the Sri Lankan mind, politicians are thought to be engaged in the destruction of the lives of the people and the foundations of the nation.

Date posted: 2019-08-06

Thailand: Military authorities can still arbitrarily detain civilians

Military authorities retain the power to detain civilians without judicial oversight.

Date posted: 2019-08-06

Cambodia: Three years and still no effective investigation into Dr. Kem Ley's killing

Today, on the third anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, the 24 undersigned organizations renew calls on the Cambodian government to establish an independent and impartial Commission of Inquiry to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into his killing.

Date posted: 2019-08-06

Sri Lanka: Power without authority

An election can give political power to the winning political party and its leadership. Thereby, they could claim that their exercise of power is legitimate. From the point of view of formal legitimacy, that claim is justifiable.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

World: Healing wounds one story at a time

Maryknoll sister helps to shed light on human rights violations in Asia.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

Sri Lanka: Resuming the death sentence in order to divert public attentio

Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena announced that he has signed four warrants for execution of persons who were convicted of crimes related to drugs.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

Indonesia: Protection of peaceful assembly and association needs serious evaluation

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the Human Rights Council to the continuing violation of women's bodily integrity in India exposing them to serious health consequences in India.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

Bangladesh: Judiciary abdicates independence

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has been consistently expressing its serious concerns over the dysfunctional justice institutions of Bangladesh - an incumbent Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The victims' right to a fair and speedy trial and the lawyers' scope of contributing to the process of justice ceases to exist in the country under an illegitimate authoritarian government.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

Bangladesh: Free expression and free assembly cost high price

The United Nations Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures play a pivotal role in advocating for the people's freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly in the world, where authoritarianism and right wing political propaganda are on the rise.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

India: Government must end violation of bodily integrity and health of women

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the Human Rights Council to the continuing violation of women's bodily integrity in India exposing them to serious health consequences in India.

Date posted: 2019-07-14

Thailand: The Attacks of Political Activists

The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) and undersigned organizations are gravely concerned about the rise of intimidation against political activists throughout the past five years under the rule of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)

Date posted: 2019-07-14

Indonesia: A Review of the Indonesian Government's Obligation under International Human Rights Instruments in Regard to the Truth, Remedy and Justice of Gross Violations of Human Rights

This paper argues, the Government has an obligation to set up standard of justice for various cases of gross violations of human rights, which occurred in the past and present. The Government does not have any reasons to delay and deny its obligations under international and national human rights laws.

Date posted: 2019-06-19

Nepal: New laws and policies aim to throttle the NHRC, media, and civil society

The government of Nepal has been repeatedly throttling the civil society, media and human rights organizations in Nepal.

Date posted: 2019-06-18

Bangladesh: Human Rights Defender tortured while in arbitrary detention must be released and charges be dropped

Bangladesh authorities must immediately release human rights defender Mohammad Abdul Kaium, who has been allegedly tortured in custody during his arbitrary detention. The fabricated case filed against him under the Digital Security Act (DSA)-2018 and other penal laws should be dropped immediately.

Date posted: 2019-06-18

Sri Lanka: Extinct legal system caused security crisis resulting in Easter Sunday carnage

According to Sri Lankan Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake, the present security crisis facing the country was a result of the failures of many government institutions. In a television interview available on YouTube, he cited foreign exchange control failures to monitor money coming into the country, Customs Department failures, and intelligence coordination failures.

Date posted: 2019-06-18

Sri Lanka: Debate on restoring security is diverted to suit political end

The Easter Sunday carnage gave rise to expectations that a serious review of what is wrong with the Sri Lankan state would now become a primary theme of parliamentary and societal discourse. The anarchy prevalent in the country made these attacks possible, and thus finding a solution to end the anarchy was hoped for.

Date posted: 2019-06-18

South Korea: Eugene Soh, a great lover of genuine democracy passes away

On 16th May 2019, Eugene Soh, a man who dedicated his entire adult life working to defeat the military dictatorship in South Korea, passed away after a brief illness.

Date posted: 2019-06-18

Asia: The Sovereignty of the People, Freedom of Expression and Contempt of Cour

The sovereignty of the people is best expressed by the exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Both of these freedoms are essential to common people living with a sense of dignity.

Date posted: 2019-06-18

Sri Lanka: Extinct legal system caused security crisis resulting in Easter Sunday carnage

According to Sri Lankan Army Commander Mahesh Senanayake, the present security crisis facing the country was a result of the failures of many government institutions.

Date posted: 2019-05-25

Sri Lanka: A real debate on restoring security is diverted to suit the political ends

The Easter Sunday carnage gave rise to some expectations that at least now a serious review of what is wrong with the state of Sri Lanka would be a primary theme of parliamentary and societal discourse with the hope to find a genuine solution to prevent the chaotic situation the country is in.

Date posted: 2019-05-25

South Korea: Eugene Soh, a great lover of genuine democracy passes away

On 16th May 2019, Eugene Soh, a man who dedicated his entire adult life working to defeat the military dictatorship in South Korea, passed away after a brief illness.

Date posted: 2019-05-25

Sri Lanka: Internal Causes for Easter Sunday Carnage

Much is talked about the external factors behind the worst attacks on human lives experienced in Sri Lankan history within a single day. This search for understanding the external causes, the organizations and the individuals within, is amply justified.

Date posted: 2019-05-25

India: From women killed in wombs, to women without wombs

A newspaper carrying a story titled, "Why many women in Maharashtra's Beed district have no wombs" should have shocked India despite the current electoral frenzy the country is undergoing due to parliamentary elections

Date posted: 2019-04-27

Sri Lanka: Danger-the Rise of Ruthless Leadership Under Ruthless Political Governance

That there is mass dissatisfaction and frustration about the way the country has been ruled is today a commonly accepted proposition.

Date posted: 2019-04-27

Thailand: Election did not meet the international standards

International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) to the Kingdom of Thailand's 2019 General Election.

Date posted: 2019-04-27

Cambodia: Continuous repression of opposition political partie

Cambodian courts have recently issued arrest warrants for top Cambodian politicians living in exile, as they began preparations to return to Cambodia.

Date posted: 2019-03-26

India: Fighting Supremacist Majoritarianism a must to end racism

The world is celebrating the 53rd International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today, on March 21.

Date posted: 2019-03-26

Sri Lanka: Recognising the missing legal system

A well-functioning legal system can be measured by its response to daily crimes and complaints.

Date posted: 2019-03-26

India: Hiding data can't hide jobless growth

Contrary to the claims of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India seems to have been losing jobs at a staggering rate, with unemployment rates reaching a decade-long high.

Date posted: 2019-03-26

India: Farm income growth hits 14-year low amidst lack of effective action

Contrary to the incumbent government's electoral promise of doubling farmers' income, India's agricultural crisis has deepened, with the farm income growth rate hitting an unprecedented 14-year-low in the last financial quarter of 2018.

Date posted: 2019-03-25

Indonesia: New Penal Code Bill must protect freedom of religion and belief

Urge the Indonesian government and the Parliament, particularly the drafting committee to review and abolish the existing provision on humiliation (blasphemy) in the New Penal Code Bill.

Date posted: 2019-03-11

India: Country must bring its missing children back

Though there are various reasons why so many children go missing in India, destitution is one of the most important problems. Children sometimes flee their homes in desperation to escape poverty and hunger and land in difficult situations.

Date posted: 2019-03-11

Bangladesh: Criminalisation of torture goes hand in hand with institutionalisation

In reality, after criminalisation of torture in October 2013, the government has institutionalised torture in the country's law-enforcement system for eliminating its political opponents and dissidents.

Date posted: 2019-03-11

South Korea: Ghosts from the dictatorial past haunts innocent civilians even today

It is widely suspected that the Chinese authorities are behind the disappearances of the bookstore employees.

Date posted: 2019-03-05

Sri Lanka: From instability to greater disability

Perhaps one thing that was forgotten when Lord Dunmore gave Adult Franchise for all, and also when Sri Lanka became an independent nation, is the stability of the social structure of a country. This is what provides for the establishment of the government, which will ensure security and stability to all.

Date posted: 2019-02-02

World: New imagination needed to understand global human rights situation

"Unfortunately, today, that imagination is no longer manifested in the first world. The political elite in developed countries is now dominated by a narrow perspective that does not consider the conditions of the third world, where life is truly nasty, brutal and short. The first world is willingly turning a blind eye to the massive loss of human rights in the third world.

Date posted: 2019-02-02

India: Authorities remain in denial even as Aadhaar-linked hunger deaths continue in Jharkhand

Despite authorities' claims to the contrary, the problems in linking Aadhaar with the ration cards are manifold. Many of the most needy, like destitute elderly people, are the ones who fail to get the card.

Date posted: 2019-02-02

India: Flawed and divisive Citizenship Bill dangerous for the country

The Bill, notwithstanding its confusing use of the word immigrants for refugees fleeing religious persecution, seeks to replace the Citizenship Act of 1955 that bars illegal immigrants residing in India from acquiring Indian citizenship.

Date posted: 2019-02-02

Nepal: Dr. C.K. Raut needs urgent medical care and treatment

Dr. Raut has been harassed repeatedly by arbitrary arrests, illegal detention, torture, unnecessary harassments and false charges.

Date posted: 2019-02-02

Nepal: Government's only policy is to control NGOs and restrict press freedom

Nepal saw a year of poor human rights protection in 2018. The government was instead seen to further restrict people's rights by introducing harsh laws to control the functioning of human rights NGOs and INGOs with its National Integrity Policy (NIP).

Date posted: 2019-02-02

Sri Lanka: Almost a Million Children Hungry, and Invisible

Sri Lanka repeatedly tops the ranks in South Asia when it comes to hunger.

Date posted: 2018-09-18

Burma/Myanmar: Journalists' arrest threatens free press

According to the defence lawyers however, the prosecution's charges were not substantiated with evidence. Moreover, they argued that the arrest was merely aimed at interfering at the investigation that was being carried out by the reporters into the massacre at Inn Din village, where a mass grave had been found.

Date posted: 2018-09-18

India: Government must officially recognize manual scavengers in order to end the practice of scavenging

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the Human Rights Council to the continuing illegal and inhuman practice of manual scavenging - the cleaning and carrying of human excreta manually - prevalent in India.

Date posted: 2018-09-01

World: International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: Powerlessness before extra-judicial killings

Today, the world commemorates the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Enforced Disappearances is one of the recurring tragedies that is happening throughout the world.

Date posted: 2018-09-01

Bangladesh: Creation of country mandate needed to monitor human rights situation

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) once again draws the attention of the Human Rights Council and the Special Procedures to the massive arbitrary detention occurring in Bangladesh.

Date posted: 2018-09-01

Indonesia: Arbitrary arrest and detention in Papua must be ended; the Rule of Law must be amplified

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to inform the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) about repetition of cases of arbitrary arrest and detention in Papua (currently Papua Province and West Papua Province).

Date posted: 2018-09-01

Asia: Surface the missing, punish the perpetrators, end enforced disappearances

(Kuala Lumpur, August 30, 2018) Today is the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

Date posted: 2018-09-01

Sri Lanka: Understanding what governance means in a democracy

Phrases like 'good governance' are often used in less developed countries without attaching a specific meaning to them. The experience of the present government in Sri Lanka is a clear example of this.

Date posted: 2018-09-01

Nepal: Police resort to encounter killing of child abductors

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned by the police encounter killing of Ajay Tamang and Gopal Tamang on 6 August 2018. A team from the Metropolitan Police Crime Division shot dead Ajay and Gopal after the police figured out that they killed 11-year-old Nishan Khadka on Sunday evening from Kandaghari of Bhaktapur district.

Date posted: 2018-08-30

India: Women workers in Kerala win prolonged battle for 'right to sit'

The struggle for the right to sit is not a new one for female workers in Kerala. In Kerala, eight years ago, a women's collective Penkootu, took up the issue of the right to sit ('iruppu samaram') at the workplace, especially in saree and jewellery showrooms.

Date posted: 2018-08-30

Bangladesh: Teenagers teach discipline while authorities use torture and intimidation

Jammu and Kashmir has seen an estimated 70,000 killed, 8000 disappeared, and countless tortured and victims of sexual violence.

Date posted: 2018-08-30

India: Delhi hunger deaths sad indicator of increasing starvation across the country

The deaths of three girls aged eight, four and two from prolonged starvation has caused much shock and uproar throughout India.

Date posted: 2018-08-23

Sri Lanka: Moving towards mental torture

In Sri Lanka, many forms of torture have manifested in recent months. One of the most shocking forms of torture was revealed to be torture practiced on innocent persons in mental hospitals, as seen in three cases that came to the attention of the AHRC. This is a completely new direction of torture in Sri Lanka, and needs to be addressed immediately.

Date posted: 2018-08-23

Indonesia: Twenty years reform failed to increase standard of justice for torture victims

A Statement on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Torture remains a serious problem in Indonesia, even though it has been 20 years since it ratified the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

Date posted: 2018-08-23

Bangladesh: Civic space denied and ruling party takes laws in hand

The deaths of three girls aged eight, four and two from prolonged starvation has caused much shock and uproar throughout India.

Date posted: 2018-08-23

Indonesia: Stop deprivation of liberty and arbitrary arrest in Papua

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional human rights organization in Asia, condemns the repeated arbitrary arrest and detention occurring in Papua. Three particular cases have come to the AHRC's attention, documented below.

Date posted: 2018-08-23

World: Lies and filth are no conversation

The world has seen a lot of debate over falsehood being spread in the name of facts recently. This, though, is not a chance encounter. There is a very definite method in this madness. Lowering the quality of the conversation has always been a very well working mean of creating an environment of instability and violence.

Date posted: 2018-06-17

Indonesia: Summary executions recurring while perpetrators enjoy impunity

The recurrence of extrajudicial executions in Indonesia is largely due to the impunity enjoyed by the offenders, especially if they are part of the police or military institutions.

Date posted: 2018-06-17

India: Climate of impunity allows extrajudicial executions to go unchecked

The violent climate operating in India is allowed to flourish to the lack of accountability and encouragement of impunity for security forces and police officials that carry out these executions.

Date posted: 2018-06-17

India: Independence of lawyers and judges at the forefront

The judges revolt has its roots in another shocking case - the mysterious death of Justice Loya, a judge of a CBI court that was hearing a fake encounter case (i.e. the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case) and the subsequent alleged cover-up by hospital and police authorities.

Date posted: 2018-06-17

India: Right to freedom of opinion and expression deteriorating

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) along with its sister concern, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to bring the state of the right to freedom of opinion and expression in India to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.

Date posted: 2018-06-17

Indonesia: Extreme poverty in Asmat regency has caused measles and malnutrition

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to inform the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) about the extreme poverty and health crisis faced by Asmat regency in Papua, Indonesia.

Date posted: 2018-06-17

India: People's Watch condemns the indiscriminate and random police violence in Tuticorin

People's Watch calls for the order of immediate closure of Sterlite Copper Smelter Plant No. 1 and for the stoppage of construction at the Copper Smelter Plant No.2, by the Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy.

Date posted: 2018-06-02

Philippines: Statement from the Coalition against Summary Execution

We, at Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE)*, condemn in the strongest terms the Supreme Court's decision granting the Solicitor General’s petition for Quo Warranto against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Date posted: 2018-06-02

Philippines: Rights group slams acquittal of police officers in illegal arrest, torture of security guard Rolly Panesa

Karapatan expressed disappointment on the ruling of the Regional Trial Court Branch 36 of Calamba, Laguna yesterday, May 16, 2018, on the criminal cases filed by security guard Rolly Panesa against four police officers and other John and Jane Does.

Date posted: 2018-06-02

Indonesia/Asean: ASEAN parliamentarians urge Indonesia to tackle rising intolerance and protect freedom of religion or belief

At the conclusion of a four-day fact-finding mission, members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today called on stakeholders in Indonesia to tackle growing intolerance and ensure that freedom of religion or belief is afforded to all.

Date posted: 2018-05-19

Indonesia: Change blasphemy law to avoid abuse

The daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, issued her tearful apology to Indonesian Muslims over her poem which allegedly insulted Islam.

Date posted: 2018-04-21

India: Smokescreen judgments, police impunity and judicial overreach

The rule of law paramount and the real focus should be on improving investigative powers of the police and not reduce people to pawns of the system, by forcing them to jump through hoops to prove their bona fides and then subjecting them to a languorous criminal justice system anyway.

Date posted: 2018-04-21

Bangladesh: Government must stop crackdown on protesters

The daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, issued her tearful apology to Indonesian Muslims over her poem which allegedly insulted Islam.

Date posted: 2018-04-21

Indonesia: Indonesian Death Row and Problems of Unfair Trial

In the last two years, under the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Jusuf Kalla, the execution of death row inmates in Indonesia has occurred frequently. The government has said the executions are conducted due to the state of emergency cause by the narcotics problem. In 2015-2016, 19 prisoners were executed.

Date posted: 2018-04-21

Indonesia: Security forces unlawfully arrest 44 university students in Jayapura

A team of human rights defenders from various local organisations closely monitored the detention of the student at the Jayapura sub-district police to ensure that the police officers would not torture the detainees during interrogation.

Date posted: 2018-04-21

Nepal: Kathmandu-Terai expressway alignment should be changed to preserve arable land and local heritage

The affected locals are not demanding compensation, but preservation of their land and heritage. In particular, the preservation of the KU-DAY ancient sites of Khonami, probably one of the oldest Newar settlements, which must be at least 32,000 years old, should be ensured.

Date posted: 2018-04-16

India: Strict liability principle applied to compensate families of deceased manual scavengers

Though prohibited, the dehumanising and hazardous practice of manual cleaning of sewers by persons continues unchecked across the country.

Date posted: 2018-04-16

India: Acquittal of Pramod Muthalik and others is a shocking travesty of justice

The incident, which took place on January 24, 2009, involved women being slapped and dragged out from the pub by their hair; the assailants, who were allegedly members of the group, also verbally abused the women as "loose". The assault was captured on camera, and the existence of video evidence was considered as irrefutable proof of the accused's guilt.

Date posted: 2018-04-16

Indonesia: The UN Global Compact and Accountability of Trans-National Corporations

This paper will make an assessment on the implementation of the Principles of the UN Global Compact

Date posted: 2018-04-14

Indonesia: Weak Judicial System and Legal Aid Allow for Unfair Trials

A state based on the rule of law means that the law should be a solution for any problems that arise in the life of the state. Law has an important position and is strategic in the life of society, nation and state.

Date posted: 2018-03-28

Indonesia: War against terrorism should respect human rights and the Rule of Law

One of the fundamental problems in Law No. 15 of 2003 is related to the definition of terrorism.

Date posted: 2018-03-28

India: Stop harassment of anti-trafficking activists in Uttar Pradesh and ensure that the re-trafficked victims are rescued

It is clear that Sunil Kumar has been subjected to criminal intimidation and harassment, and that police personnel have failed to investigate the matter.

Date posted: 2018-03-28

Sri Lanka: Josefina Bergsten's documentary "The Activist"

Josefina Bergsten is a producer of several social documentaries. Some of these documentaries are, "Unjust - a story of three surviving widows of three human rights activists who were assassinated in their countries".

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Sri Lanka: Ignoring Crime Prevention is a Sri Lankan Policy

The idea of good governance in Sri Lanka seems to be - to make lot of good promises and thereafter to ignore all of them.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

South Asia: Asia's children on the verge of severe malnourishment

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw attention of the Human Rights Council to the massive relapse of severe malnutrition among children in Asia, reversing the advances made over decades.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Pakistan: Rising violence against children

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) would like to draw the UN Human Rights Council's attention to the rise in violence against children in Pakistan.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Indonesia: Recurring Torture Judicial System failed to address

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to inform the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding torture and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment occurring in Indonesia at this time.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Bangladesh: Law on torture is useless in a broken justice mechanism

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has repeatedly raised the issues relating to Bangladesh's torturous and coercive law-enforcement system coupled with a broken down justice mechanism in place.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Pakistan: Government facilitates curbing freedom of religion

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) would like to draw the UN Human Rights Council's attention to the issue of a continual curb on freedom of religion in the country. Pakistan's systemic discrimination against its minorities is a cause for concern.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Indonesia: Neither recognition nor protection for Human Rights Defenders

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to inform the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) regarding the situation of Human Rights Defenders in Indonesia (HRD). Defenders are still targeted for human rights violations in various patterns and forms.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

Pakistan: Impunity and disappearances rise hand in hand

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) would like to draw the UN Human Rights Council's attention to the practice of enforced disappearances, ongoing in Pakistan for the last many years.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

India: Mere legislation against custodial torture will not end the practice

The Government of India has once again started discussing about coming up with a national legislation to criminalise the practice of custodial torture and ill treatment.

Date posted: 2018-03-13

India: Protect victims of trafficking along the Indo-Bangladesh border

The reason for the arrests being that they were Bangladeshi women who were found illegally on Indian territory. Since the arrests, they have been put in detention in pursuance of a Court order.

Date posted: 2018-02-24

Philippines: Government must cooperate with ICC in line with international obligations

The Philippine government, as party to ICC and numerous international covenants on the protection of human rights, should demonstrate its full commitment to the international human rights system.

Date posted: 2018-02-24

World: Prominent Pakistani rights activist Asma Jahangir dies aged 66

It is with profound shock that we have just learnt about the passing of your fellow Right Livelihood Laureate Asma Jahangir. The news still seems surreal.

Date posted: 2018-02-24

Indonesia: The Visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Should Bring Changes

The Government should re-evaluate its policy priorities on human rights cases which remain unaddressed until now. Past human rights abuses which took place under former dictator Suharto remain unresolved. Consider the 1965-1966 Massacre

Date posted: 2018-02-24

Philippines: Debate on constitutional change ignores protection of rights

President Rodrigo Duterte's political allies in Congress are proposing to change from a presidential form of government, to a federal one.

Date posted: 2018-02-24

World: The truth will set you free - (Jn 8:32). Fake news and journalism for peace, Message from His Holiness Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Communications Day

Communication is part of God's plan for us and an essential way to experience fellowship. Made in the image and likeness of our Creator, we are able to express and share all that is true, good, and beautiful.

Date posted: 2018-02-24

Pakistan: Crucial human rights review

The European Commission is due to issue a status report this month on Pakistan`s compliance with the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus conditions, which also include an assessment of the human rights situation in the country.

Date posted: 2018-02-05

Indonesia: Papua faces health emergency

Concern about the health crisis facing Asmat regency in Papua, Indonesia. So far, 68 children have died from measles and serious malnutrition in Asmat.

Date posted: 2018-02-05

Pakistan: Sexual harassment - a manifestation of exerting power and Abuse of authority at workplace

Gender inequality is structural and deeply entrenched in the patriarchal mind-set.

Date posted: 2018-02-05

Pakistan: Statement on the occasion of International Day for human rights

Pakistan is a signatory to several international human rights conventions. The country has in its constitution a good set of fundamental rights. Yet, the human rights situation in Pakistan is deteriorating. All human rights are violated in Pakistan with impunity.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

Nepal: Government must move beyond partisan interests for realization of rights

In 2017, Nepal saw local elections taking place in the country after more than two decades. At the same time, 2017 saw no progress in the overall promotion and protection of human rights.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

India: Judiciary fails to stand up for equality, justice and human dignity

December 10 is Human Rights Day, and this year will celebrate 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The theme this year is "let's stand up for equality, justice and human dignity", a fitting exhortation for the year ahead in India.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

India: Farmers in border areas must be allowed access to their lands

The border regions of India are manned by members of the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who are always heavily armed, and wield significant power over the residents of these border villages.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

Philippines: CTUHR Statement On Spate of Extrajudicial Killings and Threat of Crackdown An all-out defacto Martial Law

Twenty workers, trade union organizers and labour rights defenders had been extra-judicially killed since President Duterte came to power and wage its bloody and brutal wars on drugs, on terrorism and insurgency.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

Pakistan: The last nail in the coffin of democracy

The nuclear state surrenders before a religious mob- virtually handing over absolute power and blanket immunity to fundamentalism and militancy.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

Indonesia: Critics Using Meme Against Public Authority is Part of Freedom of Expression

Last but not least, the KPK should consider the meaning behind the massive public criticism of Novanto.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

"Police Fails to Conduct An Impartial Inquiry Into the Accident that Killed A Doctor", Lawyer Tells The Court

A lawyer appearing for Dr Herath's family complained to the Gampaha Magistrate the Weeragala Police which had investigated into the accident has not reported the actual circumstances of the accident and as a result despite of this being a fatal accident, the suspect has been released on bail.

Date posted: 2017-12-23

India: AADHAR- starving the poor to death as the Supreme Courts looks away

Shakina Ashfaq, 50, is the latest life claimed by the AADHAR, the name given to the 12-digit unique identification (UID) number by the government of India. The reports suggest that she died of hunger.

Date posted: 2017-11-19

India: Do Not Endanger The Life Of Chandrashekhar Ravan, Revoke NSA and release him NOW

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expresses its deep concern over the inhuman and degrading treatment being meted out to Dalit rights activist Chandrashekhar Ravan by the government of Uttar Pradesh.

Date posted: 2017-11-19

Pakistan: Morality in the back burner as the LEA resorted to disappearing women and children

Despite lacking legal framework on disappearances Pakistan's constitution prohibits illegal and arbitrary detention and under article 10.

Date posted: 2017-11-19

Nepal: Rooting out torture requires new measures and mechanisms

The routine practice of torture in Nepal is nothing new; decades of work by human rights organizations working on torture and impunity can provide solid examples of the Nepal Police and Nepal Army practicing torture during their work.

Date posted: 2017-11-19

Nepal: Mysterious custodial death of a girl must be investigated

Photographs secured by the AHRC show that Priyanka's body was red and swollen, a visible sign of physical assault. There are visible scars on the body as well. It is therefore highly likely that Priyanka died from police torture, and her body was placed inside the bathroom to make it look like a suicide.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Indonesia: Human Rights merely a NORM under three years of President Widodo

Indonesia has ratified several key international human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and also the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Despite these ratifications, the fact is, Human Rights are merely a NORM, a model regarded as typical.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Nepal: Police use excessive force on protesters demanding investigation into mysterious child death

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is alarmed at the Nepali police's firing in broad daylight, with an intent to kill, at protesters who were protesting at the lack of investigation in the death of an 11-year-old child.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Sri Lanka: That the Constitution allows enforced disappearances is a big lie (Loku boruwak!)

The crux of the argument in that article is that the definition of enforced disappearances as contained in the International Convention on Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances is inconsistent with the Constitution of Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Sri Lanka: Extrajudicial killings with impunity are increasing

What is shown very clearly from the details about these killings is that they demonstrate an extraordinary level of carelessness by the law enforcement authorities regarding the lives of the ordinary people in the country.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Asia: A social revolution that is underway in Kerala, India

On 8 October 2017, the Kerala State Public Service Commission (PSC) announced the list of candidates who have been recommended by the PSC to be appointed as priests in Hindu temples in the state. Out of the 62 persons named in the list 36 are non-Brahmins. Out of this, 6 persons are from the Dalit community.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Nepal: Diluted proportional electoral system

In order to make the upcoming federal and provincial elections more inclusive, the Khas-Aryas should be excluded from the proportional representation system. It will not do any injustice to the Khas-Aryas, as they will be abundantly elected through the FPTP system. However, there is minimal chance for other communities including Madhesi, Dalits and women to win using the FPTP system, as they will be never nominated as candidates under the FPTP system.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

Pakistan: Court sentences Ahmadis to death

Three Ahmadis were sentenced to death on blasphemy charges by the Islamabad court of sessions on 12 October 2017, for allegedly tearing down a poster outside their place of worship.

Date posted: 2017-11-07

India: Superpower aspirations while 21 percent of children waste away

With the publication of the 2017 Global Hunger Index Report, it is clear that India's dreams of becoming a superpower, with world class airports and bullet trains, are all hyperbole. The utopian narrative of modern India overlooks the fact that it is a country that fell three places down to 100 in the 2017 Hunger Index, and 45 places down overall since 2014. It is also a country which has 21 percent of its children wasted, a one-percentage point increase from 1990-1994, when it was at 20. In other words, for nearly 25 years straight, India has failed its children, while moving ahead in other areas.

Date posted: 2017-11-05

Nepal: One-man struggle for medical sector reform deserves more public support

Nepalese citizens must come together and support Dr. KC in his crusade against medical irregularities and corruption in the country. The medical mafia, and corrupt politicians and government officials must be tackled with public support. The government must immediately implement the past agreements, and address Dr. KC's justifiable new demands. The government does not want blood on its hands.

Date posted: 2017-11-05

Indonesia: Indonesian Government irresponsibly denies human rights violations in Papua

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is very disappointed at the Indonesian government's irresponsible denial of human rights violations in Papua and West Papua province.

Date posted: 2017-11-05

Pakistan: Protests in Azad Kashmir against enforced disappearances by intelligence agencies

A strong resentment from the people of Pakistani held Kashmir against the enforced disappearances, torture, and other criminal activities of Pakistani intelligence agencies, have led to a series of protests throughout the territory known as Azad Kashmir.

Date posted: 2017-11-05

Pakistan: Impunity and violence against Transgender community rises

Pakistan's transgender community is the most ostracised and beleaguered community in the country. Shunned for being gender less, they are restricted to begging, prostitution and dancing, to earn their livelihood. Reduced to the level of sub-humans, the transgender community are devoid of any rights or even identity.

Date posted: 2017-11-05

Pakistan: A call to recover the Turk teacher and his wife and daughters who have disappeared after arrest

Despite being the host country of the highest number of refugees of the world, Pakistan is still not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or to its 1967 Protocol.

Date posted: 2017-11-05

World: Urgent Appeals Programme - celebrating 20 years of unique resistance

Twenty years ago, when the Asian Human Rights Commission's (AHRC) Urgent Appeals Programme started, we embarked on a new venture to demonstrate the potential of the Urgent Appeals in creating a culture that respects the sufferings of the victims, and to create a counter culture of concern and protest. It is time now to assess how far this original dream regarding the Urgent Appeals have been achieved in the last 20 years?

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Pakistan: State infringement of peoples' rights allows militancy to continue unabated

In the face of the world pointing accusatory fingers at the State for harbouring terrorists and militants, plus US President Trump's threat of sanctions against Pakistan, State Officials are denying the existence of militancy in the country.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Myanmar: The escalation of the Rohingya crisis requires a humane reaction from the Indian state

In August 2017, the government of India had termed Rohingya refugees residing in India as "illegal immigrants", and had conveyed its intention to deport them.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Indonesia: Stop persecution against human rights activists and victims of 1965-1966 massacre

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the attacks against the right to freedom of expression, opinion and peaceful assembly that have occurred frequently over the past year in Indonesia.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Pakistan: UN critiques reprisals and intimidation suffered by human rights defenders

A new United Nations report (A/HRC/36/31) warns that a growing number of human rights defenders around the world are facing reprisals for cooperating with the UN on human rights.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Pakistan: Justice Providers Disregard Missing Persons Issues

Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) is a non-political organization. It initiated campaigning to recover Enforced Disappeared Persons in Balochistan.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Sri Lanka: Time to bring cultural rights in to the centre of human rights discourse*A heartfelt thank you to Mr. Basil Fernando - Mr. Bijo Francis of AHRC, Hong Kong and Mr. Kim Yang-rae, and Mrs. Inrae You of the May 18th Memorial Foundation.

Sri Lanka became a British Colony in 1815 and gained its independence in 1948 and in 1983 we embarked upon the destruction, that was the ethnic civil war. After the war ended in 2010 a new type of destruction began with the unapologetic and undeterred advent of a highly racist movement with strong fascist undertones.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Burma: A statement calling to end the violence committed against the Rohingya community in Myanmar, and urging the Government of Myanmar to recognise the human rights of the Rohingya people.

A group of 58 Asian human rights defenders, including the Chairpersons of the National Human Rights Commissions of: Indonesia, Nepal, Timor Leste, and the Philippines, having converged in the global human rights city of Gwangju, hereby expresses our deep concern about the on-going violence committed against the Rohingya people by the Government of Myanmar.

Date posted: 2017-09-30

Asia: Rohingya injured by landmines as they flee violence and other stories in JUST ASIA

This week 'Just Asia' begins with Burma, where many Rohingya are suffering horrific injuries and loss of limbs by landmines along the Burma-Bangladesh border in their attempt to flee the violence.

Date posted: 2017-09-27

Pakistan: The police personnel should be sensitised to gender based violence and other gender issues

Police is the first respondent to Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG). Their attitude and response can have a dramatic impact on developments, including the prevention of future violent acts and the protection of victims.

Date posted: 2017-09-26

India: Natural resources must be protected, indigenous people consulted before commissioning large-scale development projects in Manipur

The floods that took place in mid-June in northeast India severely impacted the lives and livelihood of over 17 lakh persons, many of whom were displaced from their home villages.

Date posted: 2017-09-17

Indonesia: No justice for victims of enforced disappearances

More than two years since President Widodo was inaugurated in October 2014, the Indonesian government has shown little effort to settle cases of enforced disappearances which occurred under the Suharto dictatorship and under successive governments.

Date posted: 2017-09-10

Pakistan: The world's largest death row prisoners awaiting for their fate

The right to life is the inalienable right of every human being. Pakistan's Constitution, international norms and conventions dictate that no one shall be deprived of life and liberty. In Pakistan this right is only available to a select few.

Date posted: 2017-09-10

Myanmar: International intervention required to stop ethnic cleansing against Rohingya people

The Rohingya people are the Muslim minority community who live in the western region of Myanmar's Rakhine state.

Date posted: 2017-09-10

Bangladesh: Unbridled state power and a collapsed justice framework behind enforced disappearances

Bangladesh continues to disregard the calls of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) and the Human Rights Committee to end enforced disappearances.

Date posted: 2017-09-10

Sri Lanka: Lawyers, prosecutors and judges should face the mirror

A Press Release issued by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has threatened contempt of Court action being taken against a deputy minister who has made some serious criticisms against the Courts and the legal profession.

Date posted: 2017-09-10

India/Burma: Do not deport Rohingya and other refugees living in India

Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic group belonging to Burma, are considered the most severely persecuted people in the world.

Date posted: 2017-09-09

AHRC TV: Rohingya exodus continues as satellite images reveal burning villages and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 187

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where Rohingya refugees continue streaming to Bangladesh after violence erupted in Rakhine state just over a week ago.

Date posted: 2017-09-09

Indonesia: Serious violations of human rights in Papua should be investigated

The AHRC urges the Indonesian Authorities to ensure that cases of human rights violations that occurred in Papua must be investigated properly, under fair trial principles and the Rule of Law.

Date posted: 2017-09-09

Pakistan: Call to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance without any reservation

The state has utterly and miserably failed to restraints law enforcement agencies that are behind the enforced disappearances in Pakistan, which are indulging in the practice with impunity.

Date posted: 2017-09-09

India: Independence Day for cows as hospitals massacre children

How exactly can one react to a republic that lets more than 60 of its children die in just 48 hours for the want of oxygen as the company supplying oxygen to the hospital had stopped it after repeated warnings for the same over non-payment of Rs. 68 Lakhs?

Date posted: 2017-09-09

Sri Lanka: Is the Criminal Procedure Act still valid?

The procedures that should be followed by the police in the investigations into crime are found in the Criminal Procedure Code of Sri Lanka (CPC).

Date posted: 2017-09-09

Sri Lanka: The 'Satana' debate on delay of justice

Questions were raised on the responsibility of the entire Cabinet for resolving the issue of delay of justice.

Date posted: 2017-09-09

Sri Lanka: The death of Sub-Inspector Sarath Premachandra a Kafkaesque episode

Justice Ilancheliyan has struggled through most difficult areas over a long period of time without ever giving up the idea of upholding the rule of law and dispensation of justice.

Date posted: 2017-08-03

India: IT industry the new killing farms, techies the new farmers?

Gopikrishna Durgaprasad, a 25-year-old gainfully employed young man, committed suicide a few days ago in Pune, Maharashtra.

Date posted: 2017-08-03

Sri Lanka: Arrest of another DIG indicates a serious crisis in the state's machinery

DIG Lalith A Jayasinghe was arrested and is now being remanded for harbouring an offender and aiding the escape of the chief suspect Swiss Kumar, for the gang rape and the murder of 18 year old Sivaloganathan Vidya on 13 May 2015.

Date posted: 2017-08-03

AHRC TV: Bangladesh rights defender detained by Malaysian authorities and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 181

This week Just Asia begins with the case of Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights defender Adilur Rahman Khan, who was detained by Malaysian immigration authorities for more than 12 hours at Kuala Lumpur airport last week.

Date posted: 2017-08-03

Pakistan/Kashmir: Madness at line of control takes lives of innocent civilians

There have been repeated outbreaks of cross-Line of Control firing in Jammu Kashmir, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries including of civilians

Date posted: 2017-08-03

Pakistan: State failure allows jirga to order 'revenge rape'

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is horrified by the news of the rape of a 17-year-old on the orders of a jirga (tribal council). The girl from the Rajpur area of Multan, Punjab province, was raped to avenge the rape committed by her brother.

Date posted: 2017-08-03

Malaysia: Release Adilur Rahman Khan immediately

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Airport Immigration in Kuala Lumpur Airport has detained human rights defender Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan since 5:00 am today.

Date posted: 2017-08-02

Bangladesh: Affording justice to victims is not on the State's agenda

One of the three main goals of Bangladesh's War of Independence was 'social justice' coupled with 'equality', and 'human dignity'.

Date posted: 2017-08-02

India: Curious case of anti-farmer, anti-consumer, self-pricing tomatoes

Looking at the pattern of tomato pricing in India, year after year, could lead one to believe that tomatoes are pricing themselves, evilly conspiring against the farmers producing them and the consumers buying them, helping only the intermediaries in the process.

Date posted: 2017-08-02

Pakistan: Non-Muslims forced to do sanitary work

In an act of blatant discrimination against the Christian religious minority, and an infringement of Article 27 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has invited applications for the job of sewers from Non-Muslims only.

Date posted: 2017-08-02

Nepal: Hong Kong based Nepalese investigative journalist manhandled and threatened

Mr. JB Pun Magar has been attacked and threatened for writing on issues relating to the Nepalese community residing in Hong Kong.

Date posted: 2017-08-02

China: A state built on graves will not last

China has lost yesterday one of its great sons, Nobel Laurate Mr. Liu Xiaobo. Indeed, Liu Xiaobo was a criminal for the Chinese administration. They had sentenced him to undergo a prison term of 11 years, after being convicted by what is passed off as 'judicial process' in China. The crime for which Liu Xiaobo was convicted is 'inciting subversion of state power' by co-authoring the Charter 08 pro-democracy manifesto, which called for the Communist Party in China to uphold the commitments made in the constitution.

Date posted: 2017-07-17

Pakistan: Prosecute assembly member's family for murder of child helper

On 12 June 2017, Pakistan's print and electronic media was abuzz with the murder of a teenager serving a politically influential family in Lahore.

Date posted: 2017-07-17

India: Curious case of anti-farmer, anti-consumer, self-pricing tomatoes

Looking at the pattern of tomato pricing in India, year after year, could lead one to believe that tomatoes are pricing themselves, evilly conspiring against the farmers producing them and the consumers buying them, helping only the intermediaries in the process.

Date posted: 2017-07-16

Sri Lanka: How some lawyers trivialise legal proceedings

The case of torture of Mr. Daundalage Pushpakumara came up today at the Court of Appeal in Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2017-07-15

Pakistan: Non-Muslims forced to do sanitary work

This is not the first time that Article 27, which provides safeguards against discrimination in services or employment, has been so blatantly trampled upon.

Date posted: 2017-07-15

India: What the Byculla riot tells us about the state of Indian prisons

The death of prisoner Manjula Shetye in Byculla jail last month reminds one of the 1983 Mulla committee report on prison reforms.

Date posted: 2017-07-15

Pakistan: Government before UN committee reluctant to make law against torture

The government of Pakistan has stated before the UN Committee on the Convention against Torture (CAT) that it does not intend to set-up legislation against torture and ill-treatment.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Pakistan: Human rights lawyers verbally and physically abused in court over case involving other lawyers

With the collapse of the overall system of governance in Pakistan, the jail system followed suit and collapsed.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Bangladesh: Institutionalization of torture within law enforcement defeats the purpose of criminalization

Bangladesh's law enforcement agencies have institutionalized torture within their day-to-day operations.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Nepal: Police continue using torture as the only resort in the year 2017

Fast forward 43 years later, and the widespread use of torture by state forces in Nepal continues. While the Nepalese police officer of 1974 used the shield of "necessity" and "practicality" to justify torture, most 2017 police officers are using torture to further their own criminal intentions, such as obtaining a bribe or assisting politicians and elite, or simply because they were drunk and felt like beating someone up.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Sri Lanka: Recommendations of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on his mission to Sri Lanka

On occasion of the International in Support of the Victims of Torture 2017 we think it is appropriate to recall the recommendations made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Dr Juan E Mendez in his report.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Indonesia: Torture occurs repeatedly as perpetrators enjoy impunity

Torture remains a serious problem in Indonesia, even after 18 years of police and legal reform.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Pakistan: World Refugee Day - half of all refugees are children and millions are out of school or getting a makeshift education.

Around the world last year, an average of 28,300 people every day were driven from their homes by conflict, persecution or human rights violations.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

India: A country where torture is the norm

India is the only country in Asia that has during the past seven decades remained a parliamentary democracy, having elected its government through a transparent and accountable democratic process.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Pakistan: The AHRC thanks the Prime Minister of Belgium for saving the life Sajid Hussain

We laud and commend the swift action of the Government of Belgium and for taking into considering the case of Mr. Hussain, which demonstrates Belgium commitment in protecting human rights and rule of law.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Sri Lanka: Rapid collapse of the secular state

The events that unfolded this week shockingly foretells the story of the very rapid collapse of the secular state in Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Hong Kong: Hong Kong to withdraw from UN Convention against Torture

This week, to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, celebrated annually on June 26, Just Asia has a special report on Hong Kong's plan to withdraw from the UN Convention against Torture

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Sri Lanka: UN Rapporteurs point to glaring system failures in the Sri Lankan Justice system

For all those who are concerned with the uplifting of Sri Lanka from its commonly admitted political mess and the crisis of the administration of justice would find in this report, extremely valuable recommendations for reforms that would benefit the nation.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Nepal: Police resume crackdown on protests and conduct mass arrests in Nepal's Tarai

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is alarmed by the Nepal police's unjustified use of force and arbitrary arrests of protesters in various Tarai districts.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Sri Lanka: In support of religious minorities, rule of law and Lakshan Dias

Religious minorities in Sri Lanka - particularly Muslims and Evangelical Christians - faced serious persecution under the Rajapakse Government, which has continued even under the Sirisena-Ranil Government.

Date posted: 2017-07-06

Sri Lanka: A letter to the public from a retired Judge

I am writing this to the public as a judge who has presided over the affairs of the public for 16 years as a Magistrate and as a District Court Judge. For all those 16 years, my record has been impeccable.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

South Korea: Ghosts from the dictatorial past haunts innocent civilians even today

Dr. Kang Yong-ju is a medical doctor from Gwangju, South Korea. Dr. Kang is a victim of the notorious National Security Law and the Security Surveillance Act of South Korea.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Pakistan: Interior ministry crackdown on social media sees 200 persons grilled

The common perception in Pakistan, that ordinary citizens are not free to express their thoughts, has been validated with state inaction against hate mongers and clamping down on social media activists.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Bangladesh: Peoples'mobilization needed to end enforced disappearances

Enforced disappearance is universally recognized as a 'crime against humanity' under International Law. This crime is widespread across the world.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

India: Officers like Leetul Gogoi are the real threat to national security

Exonerating, and often awarding officers who have committed serious crimes is not new in India.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

India: Arbitrary death sentencing policy must go

The gangrape and murder of the 23year old physiotherapy student in New Delhi on the night of Dec 16, 2012 shook the nation.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Pakistan: Glamourizing 'good' terrorists-new way to serve state interests

Glamorizing terrorists as born again saviours of humanity is the new tactic adopted by the state to abet home grown terrorism.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Pakistan: Media management hides casualties to protect powerful tycoon

A criminal nexus between the police, tycoon and media was exposed one week after the collapse of an artificial stadium killing three persons and injuring some 150 persons.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Pakistan: Attempted lynching to dislodge Hindu business

Mob violence continues to grab national headlines; most recently, a mob of some 500 persons gathered outside a police station in Balochistan, demanding that Hindu trader Prakash Kumar, arrested on blasphemy charges, be released so they could publicly lynch him.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Sri Lanka: Reconciliation in a country entrenched with multiple

"In spite of several years of discussions and talks the work towards reconciliation in Sri Lanka has not made much progress.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

India: Biometric identity cards, shelters for stray cows, what for wasted children?

The government of India recently informed the Supreme Court that it has formed a Committee for looking into ways to stop the smuggling of cattle - cows in particular. The proposal does raise lot of serious questions in a country that has 38.4 percent of its children stunted, 21 percent of its children under 5 years wasted and another 7.4 percent severely wasted because of lack of food.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

Pakistan: Travesty of justice in the name of jirga

Women in Pakistan continue to be prey to jirgas, a parallel justice system held by the influential and landed aristocracy.

Date posted: 2017-06-03

India: Breaking down the Supreme Court judgment in the Babri Masjid demolition case

On April 19, 2017, the Supreme Court of India(SC) passed an important judgment with respect to the fraught Babri Masjid demolition case.

Date posted: 2017-05-07

Cambodia: Prime Minister Hun Sen Was A Successful Wartime Leader But Certainly Not One In Peacetime Cambodia

Cambodian society is full of mistrust and suspicion. Regardless of which party wins, Cambodia needs a credible, peaceful power transfer mechanism to avoid major conflicts during the transition

Date posted: 2017-05-07

Indonesia: Considering Victims to Strengthen Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about an essay with title "Considering Victims to Strengthen Truth and Reconciliation Commission."

Date posted: 2017-05-07

Sri Lanka: Meethotamulla tragedy to be duplicated at Muthurajawela?

Dealing with the Meethotamulla waste dump has now become a major national problem for Sri Lanka. At least 30 persons have lost their lives due to the collapse of the waste dump. Many others might have died or suffered serious diseases due to the existence of this waste dump polluting the entire environment over a long period of time.

Date posted: 2017-05-07

India: Assamese Human Rights Defender Bondita Acharya violently threatened on social media.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing about the death threats, rape threats and other abusive messages received by renowned Human Rights Defender, Bondita Acharya, in Assam. She shared her thoughts on a social platform in Jorhat, condemning the arrest of three people for the possession of beef.

Date posted: 2017-05-07

Over 100 foreigners die in Malaysian detention centers

Just Asia begins with Malaysia, where more than one hundred foreigners in immigration detention centers have died in the past two years. A commissioner from the National Human Rights Commission who has visited several detention centers, described conditions as "appalling" and said the deaths should be investigated as a criminal matter.

Date posted: 2017-05-07

Sri Lanka: Man killed by police officers in the Paliyagoda Police Station

On 8 March 2017, International Women's Day was observed with much fanfare across India. But women have to live by dint of their own effort, with no access to public institutions of welfare or justice.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Sri Lanka: Man killed by police officers in the Paliyagoda Police Station

Mr. Chadik Shyaman Wickramarachchi (42) had been extra-judicially killed on 25 February 2017 by officers of the Paliyagoda Police Station.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

India: Sexual violence and religious responsibility

On February 27th, a Christian priest in Kerala, Mr. Robin Vadakkancherry, was arrested on charges of raping a minor-girl.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Myanmar: Family of sexually assaulted girl killed by a solider seeks remedy

A 22-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted and killed by a soldier.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Pakistan: International Women's Day - Let's advocate change in the patriarchal mind-set

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, said the following in a message on International Women's Day. "On International Women's Day, let us all pledge to do everything we can to overcome entrenched prejudice, support engagement and activism, promote gender equality and women's empowerment."

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Sri Lanka: Life of human rights defender under threat

This case illustrates how the Sri Lankan Police, while arresting people for suspected crimes, do not adhere to the Police Manual, and choose to willfully torture and harass suspects, abusing them mentally and physically with impunity.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Asia: Are Asia's criminal justice institutions capable of addressing torture?

Since the promulgation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, out of 48 Asian states, 40 states have ratified/acceded to the CAT, whereas 8 states, including countries like India, have refused to ratify the convention.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Indonesia: No justice for past human rights abuses as the government aims to avoid the Human Rights Court

The ALRC recommends that the Government should take all necessary measures to ensure that past human rights violations are redressed.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

Pakistan: Militants again victorious against world's sixth largest army

Barely one and a half months into this year, eight terrorist attacks in different parts of Pakistan have claimed at least 50 lives, including of 24 security officials.

Date posted: 2017-03-14

AHRC TV: UN publishes new report of rape and other abuses against Rohingya and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 158

This week's episode of Just Asia begins with the UN's new report detailing mass gang rape, killings and other human rights abuses against the Rohingya by the Burmese military.

Date posted: 2017-02-21

Pakistan: Government outsources justice dispensation

It is unimaginable for any democratic, law-abiding society to outsource its key function of justice. And yet, the Government of Pakistan first outsourced the dispensation of justice to the military, and now to the Panchayat and Jirga, which are known for aiding and abetting grave human rights abuses, and are the primary cause of rising honour killings and cruelties by the powerful people in the country.

Date posted: 2017-02-21

Nepal: Police must follow due process in arrest and investigation

More than a dozen police personnel broke the lock of the gate and harassed his wife and children before manhandling and arresting Dr. Raut. The lack of due process in his arrest is a matter of concern.

Date posted: 2017-02-21

Indonesia: Past abuses remain untouchable

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about a paper entitled "Kidnapping and Forced Disappearances of Activists in 1997-1998: Who was Responsible?"

Date posted: 2017-02-21

Sri Lanka: The people discuss the film Usawiya Nihandai

The film by Prasanna Vithanage titled "Usaviya Nihandai" ("Silence in the Courts"), is being shown not in cinema halls only, but also at popular gatherings.

Date posted: 2017-02-21

Burma/Myanmar: Assassination of U Ko Ni a tragedy for Myanmar

The Commissions were established two years ago to investigate conflict-era cases.

Date posted: 2017-02-15

Pakistan: The state must prosecute TV channels inciting violence against liberals and secular elements

The government of Pakistan is conspicuously silent on an organised and malicious campaign started by two television channels for inciting hate and violence against activists who are protesting for the recovery of five disappeared bloggers.

Date posted: 2017-02-15

Sri Lanka: 'Silenced Shadows': A fine presentation of compassionate resistance Poetry in Sri Lanka

The Amnesty International has published a collection of poems titled ' Silenced Shadows'.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

India: Another Adivasi student suicide marks Rohith Vemula's death anniversary

Rohith Vemula's suicide a year ago shook the country. The circumstances of his death left no doubt that it was an institutional murder committed through continuous harassment, and not a simple suicide.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Pakistan: The state of Balochistan - a millennial Hazara lawyer's view

The morning of 8 August 2016 brought dramatic changes to my life; on that day 56 lawyers of the Balochistan Bar Council and Balochistan Bar Association got killed in a split second in a suicide attack.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Sri Lanka: Six Police Officers Sentenced to Death

Last week, in the High Court of Badulla five police officers and a security officer were sentenced to death for causing the murder of Sadun Malinga, a 17-year-old boy.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

India: Where police rape women and NHRC seeks mere compensation

It is almost a week since the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) admitted to having found prima facie evidence of the security personnel of state government of Chhattisgarh having raped and sexually and physically assaulted at least 16 women, mostly women belonging to the indigenous communities.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Sri Lanka: The job of a judge is to do justice, regardless of nationality

Concerns have been raised about the preliminary report of the Consultation Task Force (CTF), particularly about hybrid courts and foreign judges.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Pakistan: Sessions judge and his wife must be prosecuted for employing and torturing minor

A 10-year-old child working as a household help was tortured by her employers, an Additional Sessions judge and his wife; the girl has been severely injured.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Farmlands 'developed' a bit more into farmer graveyards in 2015

How does one deal with a 42% spike in suicides by farmers/cultivators in a country where "development" has been the buzzword for the last couple of years?

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Sri Lanka: Conspiracy to deny due process rights to Sri Lankan citizens

Again questions arise: why have Sri Lankan governments desisted from granting this basic right to Sri Lankan citizens?

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Pakistan: State-sponsored attack on worship place of Ahmadis

It now seems that the government announcement to finally recognise the services of the great Nobel Laureate Dr. Abdus Salam was mere eyewash.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Asia: Cannot remove hunger without functioning public institutions

The year 2016 has proved to be a difficult year in terms of food and livelihood security for the poor and marginalized communities across Asia.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Nepal: Unceasing choreography of injustice

Just like 2015 and the years prior, 2016 has been no different in terms of human rights, rule of law, and functioning of justice institutions in Nepal.

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Thailand: Military regime must go

How does one deal with a 42% spike in suicides by farmers/cultivators in a country where "development" has been the buzzword for the last couple of years?

Date posted: 2017-02-14

Sri Lanka: UNCAT Committee recommends the Government appoint independent investigating body to inquire into torture

The Committee makes recommendations to the Government on almost all aspects of the system of administration of justice in Sri Lanka that the Committee finds to have serious defects.

Date posted: 2017-01-17

Bangladesh: Aspirations for democracy and the rule of law cannot be defeated by authoritarianism

Bangladesh's incumbent government, its law-enforcement agencies, and its Judiciary, complement each other in maintaining the spree of gross human rights abuses. They have operated in tandem to intensify the pattern of human rights violations to a new level in the nation's history. The country's gruesome human rights realities have, apart from numerous other things, contributed to changing public knowledge and perception about institutions of the State, heightening alienation.

Date posted: 2017-01-17

Sri Lanka: Aspirations to justice defeated at all level

In Sri Lanka, what remains widespread in political, social, and cultural life is widespread shameless impunity relating to every form of abuse of human dignity and human rights. This widespread shameless impunity is also widespread in the entirety of the legal system in Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2017-01-17

Nepal: Dr. C.K. Raut and supporters arrested and tortured at peaceful gatherings

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Nepal Police who arrested Dr. C. K. Raut and more than two hundred supporters of his campaign.

Date posted: 2017-01-17

India: Mr. Khurrum Parvez's arrest exposes a system that lacks justice at its core

Mr. Khurrum Parvez is a human rights defender, the chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, working in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Since 15 September 2016, Khurrum is in detention.

Date posted: 2017-01-17

India: Neither democracy nor justice as core values

The incumbent government has pushed the people to one of the worst living conditions they have faced in recent collective and individual memory. Millions of Indians are repeatedly queuing up before banks and currency dispensing machines, struggling to withdraw legitimately earned money.

Date posted: 2017-01-17

Mass destruction in Burma and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 149

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority.

Date posted: 2017-01-01

AHRC TV: Mass destruction in Burma and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 149

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18.

Date posted: 2016-11-27

Pakistan: Government disrupts education of 11,000 students to appease Turkish president

In an unprecedented move, the government of Pakistan has abruptly closed down 28 Turkish schools and colleges, issuing deportation orders for the 108 teaching and administrative staff to leave the country within three days.

Date posted: 2016-11-27

India: Demonetisation last nail in the coffin of already beleaguered peasantry

Even if one puts the cacophonous debate on the merits and demerits of demonetisation of Rupees 500 and 1000 currency notes aside, one thing is clear: it has hit hard the farmers all set to sow Rabi crops.

Date posted: 2016-11-27

Bangladesh: Bushra case encapsulates this injustice system

The Police, Prosecution, Judiciary, and Jails are designed to protect perpetrators of crime that are associated with the powerful elites in the country. This is how the system was devised over 200 years ago, and all who are associated with the institutions have only further twisted this system against the common people since.

Date posted: 2016-11-27

Pakistan: Universal Children Day - implement international obligations towards children's rights

On the occasion of Universal Children's Day 2016, the Children Advocacy Network- CAN Pakistan, a group of Child Rights activists reinforced their previous demands from Government of Pakistan for immediate enactment of "The National Commission on the Rights of Children bill" introduced in National Assembly back in March 2015 which is still pending with National Assembly's Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

Date posted: 2016-11-27

World/Philippines: Stop the killings! End impunity! Human rights for all!

There has been an epidemic of summary killings and extrajudicial executions across the Philippines for decades now.

Date posted: 2016-11-27

Sri Lanka: De Facto State of Emergency?

Has the dysfunctionality of the justice system in Sri Lanka virtually created a situation of a de facto emergency?

Date posted: 2016-11-27

Sri Lanka: An 'ethical state' and the division of people into upper and lower castes

An ethical state arose in the very early stages of Sri Lankan history and the basic character and outline of that state came with the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2016-11-17

Thailand: Parents of suspect who died in custody to sue police for damages

Parents of Mr. Anan Kerdkaew, a suspect who died in police custody while being interrogated, shall file a charge against the Royal Thai Police with the South Bangkok Civil Court about the injuries and death of Mr. Anan Kerdkaew.

Date posted: 2016-11-17

Nepal: Off the rails?

Unlike Kathmandu, the situation in other districts of Nepal, surprisingly, looks quite different from the conflict victims' perspectiv

Date posted: 2016-11-16

Bangladesh: Courts impose inequality before the law

Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently rebuked her political counterpart and former Premier Khaleda Zia that the latter "lacks courage" and "just can't face the court".

Date posted: 2016-11-16

India: Detention of Mr. Khurram Parvez exposes country's criminal justice process

Mr. Khurram Parvez is a human rights defender from the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. On 14 September 2016 when Khurram turned up at the New Delhi international airport to travel to Geneva, the authorities prevented him from boarding the plane and exiting the country.

Date posted: 2016-11-16

Pakistan: Animated Video on Transgender

The Asian Human Rights Commission, in its work to enhance outreach and awareness on human rights abuse, has issued third animated video on transgender.

Date posted: 2016-11-16

Pakistan: Animated video on persecution of Religious Minorities

Despite several conventions, laws, and constitutional guarantees in place, there is grave impunity and State apathy to incidences of discrimination against religious minorities, particularly the Shias.

Date posted: 2016-11-15

Thailand: Abolish all trials of civilians in military courts

In the past two years since the coup, it is clear that Military courts do not accord same rights as Thailand's civilian courts do. They also violate internationally protected fair trial rights.

Date posted: 2016-10-14

Sri Lanka: Forensic inquiry must be conducted into the death at Pussellawa police station

Kaviratne Raviraj, 30 years old, arrested and taken to the Pussellawa police station by some plain clothed police officers and was later pronounced dead upon admission to the Pussellawa Hospital. According to the relatives of the deceased, he was assaulted by the officers at the time of the arrest, and one of his brothers states that he saw his brother being assaulted inside the police station.

Date posted: 2016-10-14

Sri Lanka: The OMP - A Flawed Attempt to Deal with Complaints of Disappearances and/or Missing Persons in Sri Lanka

To say that the Office of Missing Persons (OMP)) is a flawed attempt even before the Office is established would sound ridiculous. But the path taken to enact the law creating it and the provisions that got into the Act in the midst of a hullabaloo in the Parliament of Sri Lanka makes such a statement plausible.

Date posted: 2016-10-14

Pakistan: Stop prison executions of the mentally ill on death row

The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the case of Imdad Ali, a mentally ill, death row inmate in Pakistan. He is to be hanged on 20th September 2016 on the orders of the Sessions Court, despite a medical report that diagnosed him as "insane".

Date posted: 2016-10-14

Nepal: Government must serve justice to Ganga Maya Adhikari and prevent a senseless death

Krishna Prasad was brutally murdered by the Maoists at Chitwan in June 2004 while he was visiting his grandparents.

Date posted: 2016-09-19

India: Mewat rapes and murders expose the total failure that is the police

Armed robbers broke into a house, gang-raped two women of the family, in front of the family members, and then bludgeoned an elderly couple to death, while also grievously injuring others.

Date posted: 2016-09-19

Philippines: Failed justice system cause for extrajudicial killings

The extraordinary measures taken by the newly appointed President of the Philippines, to allow the killing of persons involved in the drugs trade and notorious criminals, has received global attention.

Date posted: 2016-09-19

AHRC TV: JUST ASIA, Episode 136 marks International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance

This week Just Asia marks the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearance, August 30, by looking at the situation of disappearances around Asia. Enforced disappearances are frequently used to terrorise individuals, communities and societies.

Date posted: 2016-09-19

Pakistan: Punjab government fails to adopt policy for the protection of children from sexual abuse

The Government of Punjab, one year after the Kasur child sexual exploitation scandal, is yet unable to come up with concrete policy reforms, legislative development and behavioral change programs, to reduce threats of violence against children.

Date posted: 2016-09-19

Review: 'The Ethics of Invention'

A Harvard academic's new book on the ethics of technology asks important questions about the regulation of developments in science and research.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Australia urges Cambodia to crack down on surrogacy services

With commercial surrogacy now outlawed in Thailand, India and Nepal, desperate couples are turning to agencies in Cambodia.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Pakistan: Innocence lost with no respite for children from abuse

Words fail to express the grief when the victim of a heinous crime is a child who has been a victim of parental greed. Children, who are the future of a nation, form the vulnerable faction of society; children are most prone to being beaten, sexually exploited, forced into bonded labor, and murdered in Pakistan.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

India: For peace, end impunity in Kashmir

The Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has seen curfew for the last 41 days. Sixty-six persons have been killed, as a result of the "actions" of government forces.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Thailand: Restore rule of law and democracy

On 7 August 2016, Thailand held a referendum to decide upon the country's new constitution, as drafted by the military.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Pakistan: Balochistan unearthing dead bodies in the thousands

According to official reports, nearly a thousand bullet-ridden corpses have been recovered from various parts of Balochistan in the past six years.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

India: Rotten 'mother tongue' of Kerala Police must be condemned

The Kerala State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) Chairman, Justice K. Narayana Kurup, recently spoke about the widespread use of abusive language by the Kerala Police, as reported by a local newspaper.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Nepal: Herculean tasks lie ahead for transitional justice bodies

Nepal's transitional justice bodies closed registration of complaints on 10 August 2016, with over 60,000 cases registered during the last four months.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Pakistan: Children suffer for being the progeny of lesser gods

A wave of anxiety has gripped the most populated province of Punjab, following the kidnapping of more than 700 children within this past year.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

India: Did Modi just legitimise 20% of cow vigilante violence?

The growth he had promised is nowhere to be seen in economy. The only thing that has really grown under him is violence, be it large scale rioting that crippled Haryana and Gujarat for weeks, or its MSME version.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Cambodia: Ruling Elite's crimes against humanity revisited

Cambodians' dissatisfaction with the country's direction is well-documented.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Sri Lanka: Proposed Office of Missing persons is no substitute for immediate investigations into murders

Why should the dead be assumed to be merely missing? The answer would be that there is no proof of death, as the dead body has not been found. The argument is that in the absence of a corpse, there is no proof of death.

Date posted: 2016-08-28

Pakistan: Reasons behind rejection of the Government's Commission for Missing Persons

The evidence was provided, which confirmed involvement of State institutions in the abduction and dumping of mutilated bodies of Baloch political workers in Balochistan.

Date posted: 2016-08-18

Nepal: Playing political musical-chairs for the peace of the graveyard prolongs transition

National and international human right organizations and victim groups have reiterated the need for prosecutions at least for serious human rights abuses committed during the conflict period, 1996 to 2006.

Date posted: 2016-08-18

Thailand: State must act to end torture and harassment of those fighting it

Compounding the grave concern that the AHRC has over the ongoing use of torture in Thailand and the lack of accountability through either judicial, administrative or legislative means, is the alarming use of institutions from all branches of government to persecute those who dare to hold alleged perpetrators to account.

Date posted: 2016-08-18

Sri Lanka: When shall we ever learn?

When shall we ever learn that the nation is more important than the power quarrels and ambitions of this or that person?

Date posted: 2016-08-18

India: Save yourselves, women of India, as the Republic will not

Delhi, the national capital of India, has witnessed another gory incident involving the rape-murder of a minor.

Date posted: 2016-08-18

Pakistan: Dimensions of poverty

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have released a report "Multidimensional Poverty in Pakistan" which depicts a grim picture of social well-being in the country.

Date posted: 2016-08-18

Pakistan: Prevention of Electronic Crime Act is draconian

Notorious for its enactment of arbitrary laws such as the Hudood ordinance, Blasphemy laws and the Protection of Pakistan Act, the Pakistan government has now added the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act 2015 to the increasing list of laws infringing upon citizens' fundamental freedoms.

Date posted: 2016-08-18

Pakistan: WSC Deeply Saddened and Condemns the Violence, Harassment and Killing of Sindhi Hindus

After an alleged incident of burning Quran in Ghotki on 26th July, in all the large and small towns of district Ghotki including Ghotki, Dharki, Mirpur Mathelo, Rahrki the proxies of the state agencies and vigilantes of religious extremist have started a campaign of harassment and hatred against Sindhi Hindus.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Pakistan: Government must immediately stop communal violence in Sindh

The pretext of blasphemy has once again led to communal violence in Sindh, with one teenager Hindu shot dead and another critically injured. The violence started after a newly converted Muslim drug addict allegedly burned pages of the Quran. Twenty-four hours after the incident and his arrest, agitators in the presence of police and the Rangers started closing shops and blocking the roads.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Indonesia: Wiranto's Cabinet appointment will strengthen impunity

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely dismayed by President Joko Widodo's decision to appoint retired Army General Wiranto as a Cabinet Minister of Politics, Law and Security (Menkopolhukam). An individual with such a dubious human rights record should be prosecuted for his actions, rather than given a seat in government.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Indonesia: Stop the third execution of death row inmates. It denies their right to life and brings no effective solution for the eradication of illegal drugs

After an alleged incident of burning Quran in Ghotki on 26th July, in all the large and small towns of district Ghotki including Ghotki, Dharki, Mirpur Mathelo, Rahrki the proxies of the state agencies and vigilantes of religious extremist have started a campaign of harassment and hatred against Sindhi Hindus.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Thailand: Structural and legal threats to free expression in referendum process

By arbitrarily pressing charges, the police impair the people from freely expressing their views on the Draft Constitution.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Nepal: Ajit Mijar's death - not suicide, but murder

The Report states that though it has been announced as a suicide, when his body was found, his legs touched the floor. Furthermore, the rope that was used was that of a tent, and fragile, and the rope was not found tied to his neck very tight.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Pakistan: Dimensions of poverty

The concept of poverty has evolved over time. As knowledge about the complexity of human societies is growing, poverty has found new meanings and coping strategies.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Pakistan: HRCP advises government against reviving POPA

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed concern over moves to revive the Protection of Pakistan Act (POPA), which had expired on July 15, and urged the government to avoid resorting to laws that violate the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Sri Lanka: 1983 - Betrayal of the Absolute Right to Justice

It has been 33 years since Black July, 1983. These 33 years have been part of our lifetime. We have witnessed not only the horrendously criminal acts of July 1983, but also what happened by way of justice after those serious crimes.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

India: Schoolgirl commits suicide following alleged sexual assault by BSF Personnel in West Bengal

In West Bengal, a Border Security Force (BSF) Guard allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year-old schoolgirl who was returning home from her classes. Later, the same day, the young girl was found to have committed suicide.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Sri Lanka: 14 year old rape victim reveals that a woman constable beat her at the police station

A police woman constable had beaten the young girl, and told her that when she is taken to the judicial medical officer, not to reveal that she had been raped by the bus driver.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Hong Kong: Government is responsible to answer for Lee Bo's and Lam Wing-kei's disappearances

Hong Kong enjoys a unique position in Asia, being a jurisdiction where the presence of the rule of law is a felt experience among the general public. In this Special Administrative Region of China, though not a democracy in the true sense of the word, everyone enjoys equal protection under the law. Unfortunately, recent events that have unfolded in Hong Kong have tainted this image, and the scenario is sinister.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

Afghanistana: Law Curbing Women's Rights Takes Effect

Afghanistans influential international supporters should insist that President Hamid Karzai act to amend the notorious law that formalizes discrimination against Shia women, Human Rights Watch said today.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

North Korea defends its right to a nuclear deterrent in face of 'US aggression'

North Korea's top diplomat for US affairs has said Washington "crossed the red line" and effectively declared war by putting leader Kim Jong Un on its list of sanctioned individuals.

Date posted: 2016-08-02

India: Cow worshippers chew up the rule of law

A magisterial / judicial order directing the police to register a first information report and investigate a family that lost its provider in a mob lynching would seem impossible for anyone living in a rule of law system. But in the self-designated largest democracy of the world, this is what happened on 14 July 2016

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Pakistan: Use of anti-terror laws against peasants' movement

The Pakistani state's black brush is being used to paint any dissenting voices as terrorists under the National Action Plan. It is now been directed towards the ongoing peasants' movement in the heart of Punjab province.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Asia: A New Book - Tragicomedy of Constitutional Autochthony - By Basil Fernando

That the legal system is faced with such a crisis is something acknowledged virtually everyone. However, despite this acceptance, there is very little conversation in Sri Lanka on how to face this challenge, and what are the priority areas that need attending, to turn the ship around.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Sri Lanka: Former President's statement against the Office of the Missing Persons is a blatant attack on rule of law

The prime strategy for the protection of an organised society is the prosecution of crimes.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Pakistan: Is racial discrimination an issue in Pakistan?

We have to choose between continuing to live in a society fragmented on the basis of caste, colour, descent, ethnicity and language, or make efforts to ensure equality, justice and accountability through internal and external scrutiny according to international standards of human rights.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

India: Cycles of violence and revenge must end

The case has brought attention to 'fake encounters' or extrajudicial killings by members of the armed forces of the Union (including the Army) and by members of the police in Manipur.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Indonesia: Racism and assaults against indigenous Papuans ignored by government in Yogyakarta province

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns racism, insults and assaults against indigenous Papuan students in the Papuan students dormitory at the Kamasan I Jalan Kusumanegara, Yogyakarta province, Indonesia.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

India: Turning cows into man-eaters

Gujarat is simmering again. Dalits are agitating over criminals indulging in criminality. These criminals, who are fondly referred to as "cow vigilantes" by the mainstream media, have recently stripped and flogged four Dailit youth in Una.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

India: Gang rape survivor gang raped by the same accused again

In a rule of law jurisdiction, the story of a victim of gang rape being raped by the same accused against whom court proceedings continue, might be outlandish. But, in India today, these are the common stories that confront anyone willing to see reality: A Dalit gang rape survivor has allegedly been gang raped again by the same five accused of raping her earlier.

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Pakistan: Journey from Pakistan to Al-Bakistan

Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister, once said, "Extremism can flourish only in an environment where basic governmental social responsibility for the welfare of the people is neglected. Political dictatorship and social hopelessness create the desperation that fuels religious extremism."

Date posted: 2016-07-25

Pakistan: The richest poor man is no more

His legacy shall forever live in the hearts and minds of Pakistanis; the great philanthropist shall always be remembered for his fortitude in the service of humanity.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

Sri Lanka: ASPs hold the key to change at police stations

The media reported a speech made by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara., wherein he stated quite openly and categorically that the police should make use of the present opportunity and take steps to change.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

Nepal: State silence on Ganga Maya Adhikari screams murder

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the negligence of the Government of Nepal. The State has shown utter indifference towards Ganga Maya Adhikari, surviving wife of late Nanda Prasad Adhikari and mother to late Krishna Prasad Adhikari. Maoists at Bakulahar Chowk of Ratnanagar, Chitwan allegedly murdered her son, Krishna Prasad, in June 2004, accusing him of being a police spy.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

Pakistan: Hatred against Ahmadis results in another horrifying murder

On the 20 June 2016, Chaudhry Khaliq Ahmad, son of Chaudhry Bashir Ahmad, was shot and killed in a religiously motivated attack in Karachi, carried out by unknown assailants.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

Bangladesh: Militant attacks are the result of failed institutions

The country experienced bloodshed on July 1 and 2. A group of militants attacked a Spanish restaurant in the diplomatic zone at Gulshan in Dhaka, at around 9 p.m. on Friday. Around 8 gunmen captured the Holey Artisan Bakery at gunpoint and took all staff and customers as hostage.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

India: Ruby Rai and the joke called Juvenile Justice

Her alleged crime is that of cheating to secure top rank in the state senior secondary school examination. Questioned by a journalist after the exam, she couldn't correctly answer even the most elementary questions. She is not the only one to be caught red-handed. There are three others who all failed to answer basic questions on subjects they had just"opped" in the exam.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

Nepal: Torture seen as 'necessary evil'

Due to the lack of strong anti-torture legislation, torture is rampant in Nepal.

Date posted: 2016-07-17

Indonesia: Lack of genuine policy and rights in Papua

After monitoring 20 months of the human rights situation in Papua and West Papua provinces under President Joko Widodo's administration, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is dismayed at the utter lack of progress in the protection and realization of people's rights.

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Sri Lanka: What Poddala Jayantha means to us

What happened to Poddala Jayantha is something so serious that it should, even belatedly, lead to an adequate response from the society as a whole.

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Pakistan: Mothers set fire to daughters in Nuclear Nation

A State that prides itself on being a nuclear State, a symbol of strength and technological advancement, needs a double take. There is something very wrong in a nation and a society where the most fundamental human relationships are mired in violent brutality.

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Indonesia: Open Prisons to Reform

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the detainees and prisoners in Indonesia face serious problems, in particular those related to overcrowding.

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Sri Lanka: Government's delay in dealing with laws delays

Journalist, Poddala Jayantha in a moving article, written in Sinhala, recalls his ordeal which took place exactly 7 years ago in the evening of June 1st that shocked the entire nation.

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Asia: New Book - Children and Violence; The Politics of Conflict in South Asia

Those charting the history of conflict in South Asia with particular reference to violence against children may be interested in this recently released book.

Date posted: 2016-06-26

India: Gates of Justice Being Closed for the People of Narmada Valley

A Written Submission to the 32nd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Pakistan: Special report on grim situation of freedom of expression

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)'s bi-monthly magazine, article 2, has produced a special edition on "The state of freedom of expression in Pakistan".

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Thailand: Unfair Trial in the Military Courts

A Written Submission to the 32nd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre

Date posted: 2016-06-26

Sri Lanka: A Comment on the proposed Office of Missing Persons

The attitude towards murder is one thing on which hardly any progress can be made in Sri Lanka. Murder is regarded as quite normal and not something to worry too much about. This attitude is also something that should worry everyone.

Date posted: 2016-06-05

Bangladesh: Stop the reprisals against Odhikar

Bangladesh is a place where the government uses every institutional entity and legislation to silence free voices.

Date posted: 2016-06-05

Thailand: Court compensation order important step in fight against torture

The past two years have seen Thailand's military junta tighten its grip on power and severely repress fundamental rights

Date posted: 2016-06-05

World: Stop Enforced Disappearances now

The clamor of the families of victims of enforced disappearance from across the globe to resurface and bring back their disappeared loved ones is louder than ever.

Date posted: 2016-06-05

Pakistan: Jirga's antidote is fair and functional justice system

In the absence of a fair and functional judicial system that can uphold the rule of law, Pakistan citizens are at the mercy of landlords, who dole out punishment in whimsy.

Date posted: 2016-06-05

India: Watered Down Verdicts Will Make Drought Drama Recur

The Supreme Court's rap to the Union and to various state governments for their apathy to drought victims is welcome. But, it is akin to a few drops sprinkled onto a parched desert under the oversight of unconscious executive governance.

Date posted: 2016-06-05

India: The Elephant in the Room: The brutal rape and murder case in Kerala and the need for police reform

The press has reported on three rapes in Kerala in the last month. The one that everyone is talking about is the brutal rape and murder on April 28 of the Dalit law student, whose dismembered body was found by her mother in their home. The ones not discussed as much are the gangrape of the 15 year old girl in Attingal and that of the 19-year-old student in Varkala.

Date posted: 2016-06-05

Thailand: Stop Judicial Harassment of Human Rights Defenders

Strengthen protection mechanisms and ensure accountability for human rights abuses.

Date posted: 2016-05-17

Nepal: Political parties choreograph transitional injustice

The political parties have ganged up to undermine the ongoing transitional justice process, to flout the verdict of the Supreme Court of Nepal - on how those involved in crimes committed in the conflict period can be given amnesty, and to ignore the voices of conflict victims and national and international human rights community.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Pakistan: Deafening silence on the rape of Hindu girls

Women and girls belonging to minority groups are far more vulnerable and are easy targets for sexually repressed religious zealots who use this vulnerability to their advantage.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Sri Lanka/World: Torture is a common practice in Sri Lanka - UN Special Rapporteur on torture

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment Mr Juan E Mendez, published his preliminary findings on 7th May 2016 following an official visit to Sri Lanka. He has observed that torture is a common practice in Sri Lanka.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Thailand: Drop charges against pro-democracy activist mother

Ms. Patnaree Chankij, a 40-year-old single mother of four children, including anti-junta student activist Mr. Sirawit has been charged with defaming the monarchy. Mr. Sirawit has been actively involved with the campaign to recall democracy in Thailand, as a result of which he has been pressed with charges in the Bangkok Military Court.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Pakistan: Labour Day meaningless for country's working class

Throughout the world, the day is marked to commemorate the struggle of the working class; in Pakistan however, that class is kept deliberately unaware of its rights. When the ruling elite become an integral part of the state, the state becomes the exploiter.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Pakistan: Demanding land rights is not terrorism

A massive repression of the peaceful peasant movement, the Anjuman Mozareen Punjab (AMP), is underway. Most of its leadership has been arrested under false anti-terrorist laws. Dozens of members are missing, while over 50 remain behind bars.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Sri Lanka: Kondaya, Raised to the Status of Mysterious Criminal

The name Kondaya is now a household name, following the tragic Sadewmi case, the abduction, rape and murder of a little girl of around 4 years.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Burma/Myanmar: Despite presidential amnesty, some political prisoners remain jailed

The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) welcomes the release of political prisoners and student protesters in Burma. This is another positive development, and the AHRC will continue to monitor developments and work closely on criminal justice reform in the transitional period toward democracy.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Indonesia: Police overlook vigilante dispersal and intimidation of public events

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned by the Indonesian police's failure to protect and ensure the right to freedom of expression and assembly of various groups over the past two months.

Date posted: 2016-05-16

Pakistan: Military farms in the 21st century, Orwellian

That the Pakistan Military has been extending its tentacles to envelop the State apparatus is no secret. However, a lesser-known aspect is the economic hegemony it is perpetuating over peasants in the shape of Military Farms Okara.

Date posted: 2016-04-30

Pakistan: Safe Haven for Rapists in Uniform

Pakistani women, be they young or old, or even dead or alive, suffer rape by perverted elements that use rape as a tool to suppress and oppress half of the country's population.

Date posted: 2016-04-30

India: Negligent about negligence: Mass disasters and the Indian State

A fireworks display had been in operation for the Temple festival, and initial reports suggest that a firecracker fell into a stockpile, causing an explosion. The result of traditional competitive pyrotechnics between two groups, playful sparring in the skies, had tragic consequences.

Date posted: 2016-04-24

Sri Lanka: Losing the sense of right and wrong

What would happen in a society where there is no sense that murder is a grave wrong to be prevented by the state and the people? The same thing could be asked about rape, sexual abuse of women, children or anyone else, about robbery and theft, extortion and drug trafficking.

Date posted: 2016-04-24

Sri Lanka: Why investigations into mass graves failed so far

The existence of a mass grave may come to the notice of the public by many different ways; a statement by a witness made during a court hearing - as in the case of Chemmani Mass Graves: discoveries of some scattered remains of bones by workers when digging a site for constructions purposes, as in the case of the Matale mass grave; or by surfacing of some remains of human bodies as a result of heavy rains or due to any other accidental reasons.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Burma/Myanmar: Prosecutor concludes that case against soldiers for Ko Par Gyi killing "erroneous"

Processes left no doubt that the military had abducted, illegally detained and killed Ko Par Gyi, and had then attempted to cover up the killing. Furthermore, when the facts of the case came out, the army attempted to distort the narrative by concocting allegations that the killed man was an insurgent; allegations that were shown to have been baseless.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

India: MNREGA budget cut in the times of drought

The rural distress plaguing large tracts of the Indian countryside is no secret. This distress has heightened in the wake of the devastating drought that is affecting more than half of India's 676 districts.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Pakistan: Government non-compliance with minimum standards against human trafficking

Reports indicate that police accept bribes to ignore prostitution and sex trafficking. Women and girls are also sold into forced marriages; in some cases, their "new husbands" prostitute them in Iran or Afghanistan. In other cases, girls are used as chattel to settle debts or disputes.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Indonesia: End excessive force and criminalization against indigenous Papuans

The AHRC has learnt that the police have warned and intimidated local religious leaders to avoid political activities and speaking about human rights violations and referendums in churches.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Philippines: Justice for the Victims of the Kidapawan Carnage Deadly Disaster Management in the Philippines

The starving and unarmed farmers of Kidapawan cried for rice. They were given bullets.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Thailand: Protect human rights defenders in Loei

A group of human rights defenders in northeast Thailand are facing death threats and a defamation case in court over their attempts to protect community resources against a gold mining operation.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Bangladesh: Call for justice after another police shooting of a human rights defendert

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, the Asian Human Rights Commission, and Odhikar urge the global human rights community to raise its voice and call for justice for the several human rights defenders and journalists who have been shot in the limbs by police forces in Bangladesh.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Sri Lanka: Electoral change beyond mere placebo effect

In medical science a placebo effect means a remarkable phenomenon in which a placebo - or a fake treatment, an inactive substance like sugar, distilled water, or saline solution, can sometimes improve a patient's condition simply because the person has the expectation that it will be helpful. These days many people question as to whether the electoral changes achieved in 2015, had only a placebo effect, or whether it is possible to achieve something rather substantial instead.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Thailand: Order bestowing sweeping powers and impunity to military breaches rule of law and human rights

The Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) urges the Head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, to review and revoke the order to uphold the rule of law and human rights safeguard, particularly the right to justice process which is fundamental and indispensable for the restoration of democracy in Thailand.

Date posted: 2016-04-17

Burma/Myanmar: Students to boycott failed judicial system

The students protest against the failure of judicial system, as well as the 2010 Union Judiciary law, and are also calling for amendment to the 2008 Constitution.

Date posted: 2016-03-17

Frivolity Judiciary's real crisis, not backlog

The Indian Judiciary is facing a crisis of credibility, which is a challenge from within.

Date posted: 2016-03-16

Thailand: Failure of justice for human rights defenders

One year after the assassination of human rights defender Mr. Chai Boontonglek, a member of the Southern Peasants' Federation of Thailand (SPFT), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned about persistent impunity in human rights murder cases.

Date posted: 2016-03-14

Thailand: Renewed call for justice on the twelfth anniversary of the disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit

March 12, 2016 is the twelfth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelaphaijit.

Date posted: 2016-03-13

Sri Lanka: The rise of the underworld and the future of good governance

Reports of a series of killings attributed to underworld elements have sent shockwaves amongst all Sri Lankans, whether living in Sri Lanka or outside.

Date posted: 2016-03-13

Burma/Myanmar: Rise in politically motivated arrests and charges

Burma has experienced its first democratic election in November 2015, and is going to have a newly elected civilian government this April, after half a century under military government. But, despite the historic election having taken place, peaceful protestors have continued to be subject to rights violations.

Date posted: 2016-03-13

Nepal: The Madhesi hunting spree continues

The government's trend of arresting political leaders and cadres at the forefront of recent Madhes protest, in order to weaken the ongoing Madhes movement, continues.

Date posted: 2016-03-13

India: Maharashtra Cabinet on Disaster tour to curb farmer suicides

Domestic violence is rampant throughout the world. In Pakistan, however, female victims of such violence are left without reprieve, as they have to suffer the dogma of being labelled loose women if they decide to stand up to their abusers, who are usually male family members.

Date posted: 2016-03-07

Pakistan: Women friendly laws are a start to turn the tide

Domestic violence is rampant throughout the world. In Pakistan, however, female victims of such violence are left without reprieve, as they have to suffer the dogma of being labelled loose women if they decide to stand up to their abusers, who are usually male family members.

Date posted: 2016-03-07

Indonesia: Human rights defender summoned by police after speaking on TV

Mr. Erwin put forth two points: first, that Inspector General Anton tends to be Judge Sarpin's lawyer rather than a police officer, and second, that the Indonesian police is a machine of criminalization.

Date posted: 2016-03-06

Thailand: Rights defenders threatened for documenting army torture

On 11 February 2016 the Thai army threatened human rights defenders for documenting the military's continued use of torture on detainees in the country's south.

Date posted: 2016-03-06

Nepal: Truth and disappearance

Credibility is a prerequisite for any successful truth seeking process. Earning credibility involves independence, transparency, trustworthiness, competence, sensitivity and rationality. However, both the commissions lack most of these qualities.

Date posted: 2016-03-06

Sri Lanka: Policing Sri Lanka's Police Force

"Daily abuse of civilians by police and military personnel is now routine - and goes unpunished. Sexual torture through sticks and hot pepper powder is widely practised. Families who complain about such torture are themselves subject to interrogation. Old mothers who speak out are pushed in the mud," laments Dr. Katsiaficas.

Date posted: 2016-03-06

India: From Khairlanji to Hyderabad: what post-outrage?

These two cases separated by almost a decade,are far more than a statistic of ordinary crime, such as that committed in a fit of rage or planned in cold blood; they are a comment on the very body politic of the republic.

Date posted: 2016-03-06

Pakistan: Government uses brutal force against protesters, killing three officers of national airlines

Personnel from the Pakistan Rangers have used brute force against unarmed protesters, causing the death of three Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) employees, who were out protesting against the privatisation of the State owned airlines.

Date posted: 2016-03-06

Pakistan: Universal Children's Day - Children still face high risk to safety and security

Universal Children's Day is being celebrated today (20th November), world over, with regrettably a majority of Pakistani children still facing a number of threats to their safety, security, and welfare, either due to the lack of or inadequacy of laws, and hazardous living environment.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Burma/Myanmar: An end to sham politics

The results of the 2015 general election held on November 8 in Burma, or Myanmar, have slammed the door shut on the sham politics of the last five years.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Sri Lanka :The Loss of Sri Lanka's 'Truth-Telling' Monk

George Orwell once reminded us that 'in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.' That powerful injunction came immediately to mind even as the flames dimmed this Thursday over the funeral pyre of Sri Lanka's inimitable 'truth teller', the Most VenMaduluwaweSobitha who led the'yahapalanaya' (good governance) upsurge this year.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Burma/Myanmar: The world must support Myanmar's fledgling democracy

The people of Myanmar have once again spoken, and spoken very loudly, of their wish to return to democracy for the first time since 1962. One of Asia's longest-lived military dictatorships has again been told by the people to leave, so they can be allowed to rule over their own affairs.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Pakistan: Dowry is a form of violence! Alas this has yet to be declared officially in the Islamic republic of Pakistan

Violence inherent in dowry is continuously facing exclusion. It therefore does not appear as the major, and most prevalent, form of violence - not only against women and girls, but men as well - in the Islamic republic of Pakistan.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Indonesia: New bill on the Indonesian Penal Code needsimmediate review

In the latest version of the bill submitted by the government to Parliament, what has struck the AHRCare both the benefits on one hand and the weaknesses and potentialfor misuse on the other.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Pakistan: Parliamentarians hammer final nail in the coffin of democracy

In a shameful assent to military rule, on 11 November 2015, the National Assembly approved an amendment to the Pakistan Army Act (PAA), 1952. This amendment provides legal cover to arrests already made by law-enforcement agencies, including the Army.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

AHRC TV: Weekly Roundup, Episode 98

AHRC TV opens with the historic national elections that have just concluded in Burma. Despite some serious flaws, observers have declared the elections 'reasonably free and fair'. Aung San SuuKyi and her NLD party have won a stunning outright majority of the votes.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Cambodia: Hun Sen's Impermanence

It's good to return to the webpages of the Asian Human Rights Commission. For the last several months it has been my honor - and a real learning experience - to work with award-winning filmmaker, Ellen Grant, Director of Media Services at Evergreen State College, to finalize her documentary film, "Cyber-democracy: Cambodia, Kafka's Kingdom."

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Group of indigenous persons accused of being rebels by military

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that a group of Banwaon tribesmen were threatened, harassed and accused of being members of the New People's Army by the 23rd Infantry Battalion and Civilian Armed Forces geographical Unit (CAFGU) identified as Mama Manpinsahan.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Burma/Myanmar: Serious concern about the on-going hunger strike of student protesters

The Asian Human Rights Commission is gravely concerned about the health situation of student protesters who are currently carrying out hunger strikes in the prisons.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Sri Lanka :The Curse of Sri Lanka's Political Leadership

At one time, we had women survivors of rape and abuse in Sri Lanka praying that the Goddess Kali may visit their attackers when they failed to get justice in courts. Probably they still do.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Pakistan: 40 killed and 33 missing in another industrial accident

The granting of the General System of Preference (GSP+) status to Pakistan, applicable from 1 January 2014, has done little to improve the condition of labourers in Pakistan, while industrialists continue to disregard minimum wage rule and industrial safety standards.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

WORLD: An Overview of Major Challenges in Law and Practice regarding Gender Perspectives on Torture and Ill Treatment

A Paper - "An Overview of Major Challenges in Law and Practice regarding Gender Perspectives on Torture and Ill Treatment", by Therese Maria Rytter, Director of Legal Affairs and Advocacy, DIGNITY - Danish Institute against Torture, and Member of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Pakistan: An 8 year old girl was raped by Imam of a mosque - no end in sight for child sexual abuse

An eight years old girl, Miss N (real name withheld), who is the daughter of Meer Muhammud, from Golrachi Village, in the Badin District of Sindh Province has been raped by a religious leader in the mosque. Her Quran teacher, Imam Khameesa, someone who is also a local mosque leader, reportedly raped her on 25 October.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Sri Lanka: A demonstration is not a riot; AHRC tells the NPC

We are re-producing below a letter written to the National Police Commission, Sri Lanka, by the AHRC on the inquiry into the attack on students by the riot police on 29th October 2015.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Burma/Myanmar: MNHRC appeals the President to pardon the all political prisoners

A Statement from Myanmar National Human Rights Commission forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Pakistan: Christians are required only as sweepers

On September 28, the Punjab Cardiology Hospital issued a corrigendum stating that both Muslims and non-Muslims were eligible for sanitation-related jobs. The ruling Muslim League found Punjabi Christians a useful substitute for filling jobs left by fleeing Hindus.

Date posted: 2015-11-22

Nepal: Independent Citizens' Call on International Community to Address Humanitarian Crisis in Nepal

We undersigned citizens are deeply concerned that the de facto economic blockade of the past two months by India has resulted in a grave humanitarian crisis in Nepal. We appeal to the concerned parties of Nepal, and to the international community including India to recognise this crisis and take effective steps to bring it to an immediate end.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Pakistan: Blogger arrested for tweets about judge

Pakistan's law enforcement agencies have extended their tentacles to a web blogger who found cyberspace the only avenue available to him to expose the underbelly of corruption in the country.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Sri Lanka: The AHRC condemns the attack on students by the Riot Police

The Asian Human Rights Commission is seriously concerned about the attack by the riot police on the students of Inter Student Collective for the Protection of the Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA), who have gathered to present a petition to the Minister of Higher Education at the University Grants Commission, in Colombo yesterday, 29th October 2015.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

India: Medieval mind-set no answer to country's justice deficit

The recent judgment by the Madras High Court, wherein the Court has suggested the government consider an amendment in the penal code to include as punishment the castration of convicts of child sexual abuse offences, illustrates the medieval and barbaric thinking that still finds place in the Indian justice process.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Burma/Myanmar: Hold Police Accountable for Crackdown at Letpadan, Free Wrongfully Imprisoned Protesters

Myanmar police officers used excessive force during a crackdown on protesters and arrested more than 100 individuals in Letpadan, Bago Region in March.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Pakistan: Supreme Court makes landmark judgment

In a landmark judgment on 7 October the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) upheld the death sentence of Malik Mumtaz Qadri, 30, who murdered the former Governor of Punjab, Salmaan Taseer, a liberal Muslim, on 4 January 2011.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Burma/Myanmar: Imminent elections causes spike in politically motivated arrests

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the state of freedom of expression in Burma, at a time when Burma is awash in election campaigns.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Pakistan: Patriarchal culture amongst the lawyers reaches alarming level

This is not the first time India has seen a spurt in sectarian tension.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Pakistan: Patriarchal culture amongst the lawyers reaches alarming level

Women in Pakistan are treated as second class citizens. Denied their fundamental rights, the they are often viewed as property, to be dealt with as their owners deems fit.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Pakistan: Country needs a public policy and legislation against dowry related abuses

Dowry-related violence, a serious problem that affects the lives of millions of Pakistani girls and women, and their children, is not seen as a wounding tradition even by the educated ones, and even if they are against the custom, very few dare to protest against it.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

Sri Lanka: Sense and nonsense on judicial matters

A Psychiatrist who has been attending Courts, to give evidence in many cases, sarcastically mentioned in a televised interview recently, that in one of the child sexual abuse cases, in which he is an expert witness that the incident happened when the child was an 8-year-old.Now this child is a 20-year-old adult, but the case is still being heard in the Courts.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

India: Nutrition and TB: An Essential but Ignored relationship Prashant Kumar Dubey

Nutrition and TB are two entities which need to be considered together, not separately. It is unfortunate that our country has not taken any initiative in this area resulting in a disregard for this relationship.

Date posted: 2015-10-31

NEPAL: Apply Panchsheel on Nepal

Attempting to write a modernist Constitution in 'post-modernist' times, there are many holes and loopholes in the statute. This is a rights-based document that makes promises to all, rather than the spare, basic law we have been taught to be the ideal, and it makes many promises conditional upon the enactment of laws.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

Sri Lanka: Brutal Murder of little Seya and the relevance of the OHCHR Investigation Report

The abduction, rape, and murder of Seya Sadewmi of Kotadeniyawa on 12 September 2015 has led many Sri Lankans to react across the country, and provoked many demonstrations by women's organisations and also by children.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

India: Let them eat rasgullas

Death of children under its care is nothing novel for the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics located in Cuttack, Odisha. It took 58 of them to die in less than 10 days for it to become scandalous.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

Indonesia: Jakarta Governor forcibly evicts and attacks thousands of Kampung Pulo residents

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction and viscious attack on residents in Kampung Pulo, Jakarta, Indonesia, conducted by the Jakarta Governor, and supported by the police, the military, and the civil service police unit (Satpol PP).

Date posted: 2015-10-01

Pakistan: Where are the 8,363 Balochis arrested in the last nine months?

The Interior Ministry of Baluchistan has recently stated that it has arrested 8363 Baloch over the span of 9 months. No further details pertaining to the arrested have been revealed.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

Pakistan: Government determined to curb freedom of speech

The Pakistani National Assembly's Standing Committee on Information Technology approved the Cyber Crimes Bill 2015 on September 17 for a second time, after making some cosmetic changes to clauses that curb free speech.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

India: Woeful child malnutrition persists amidst wonderful schemes

A social justice bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising justices Madan B. Lokur and U.U. Lalit recently lambasted the government yet again for its failure in implementing welfare schemes for children belonging to the lower strata of society.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

Nepal: Immediate measures for Biratnagar violence needed

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Nepal government to take urgent measures in order to defuse alarming on-going violence in Biratnagar.

Date posted: 2015-10-01

Sri Lanka: Final Report on the 'Policy and Legal Framework Relating to the Proposed Counter Terrorism Act of Sri Lanka'

The Foundation for Human Rights ('FHR') and the University of Pretoria's Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa ('ICLA') have collaborated to produce this joint paper.

Date posted: 2015-09-30