Forwarded Article

Cyclic drought and rise in temperature due to climate change has again brought havoc to the people of Tharparkar. The worst affected being women and children. Shahid Hussain Tharparkar is one of the 23 districts of Sindh province and is spread over 77000 square kilometres. It is the continuation of ancient Indian Desert – the […]

Civil society organisations working for the protection of the rights of fishermen in Pakistan and India have launched a month-long joint campaign from April to May this year on both sides of the border to ensure release of fishermen and find permanent solution to avoid disturbing the fisher people of the two countries. Spokesman for […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following article from the Down to Earth, written by Sachin Kumar Jain. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-008-2014 April 1, 2014 An article from the Down to Earth forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: India growth story marred by […]

The address by Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka at the Convocation on March 30, 2014 As I rise before this august assembly for the second time since my last convocation having been re-elected. As the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka It is my pride and privilege […]

We wish to share with you the following article from Prachatai website, written by Thaweeporn Kunmetha. In October 2003, Jawa Jalo, an ethnic Lahu, was captured by armed state officials during a search of a litchi farm in a northern border province. Although the officials who captured him reported to their commanders that no illicit drugs were […]

by Nilantha Ilangamuwa The battle is on the edge. Few hours are left. Hopes and despairs are mixed in the air. One of the important establishments after the Second World War is about to take a crucial decision as its next move. This is a decision that would affect over 20 million people. This is […]

Two prominent Sri Lankan Human Rights Defenders who were detained and questioned at Kilinochchi by officials of the Police Terrorism Investigation Division(TID)on Sunday March 16th night were reportedly brought down to Vavuniya in the early hours of Monday March 17th night.They are to be transferred to Colombo for further interrogation by TID officials. The two […]

J.C. WELIAMUNA[1] This is among the many important challenges to the “democratically elected” Government of “democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka” (GOSL).  There may be various answers but let me offer five reasons why the present Government in the present frame of mind cannot win the support of the international community at the present moment. […]

Wednesday, January 8, 2014 (All day) The true or genuine creative writer of the calibre of a sensitive poet writes not for the entire public but for a self expression of some of his intimate feelings and experiences for one’s sake. Perhaps he or she writes for a particular reason, for a vanishing few admirers. […]

Billions of rupees had been wasted on government propaganda exercises but the Meteorological Department was not properly equipped and the Disaster Management Website, too, remained outdated due to lack of funds, an Opposition legislator charged yesterday. Eran Wickremeratne MP told The Island it was shocking that despite a total of over 1.6 million people being […]

Sri Lanka’s ratifications of United Nations human rights conventions signal a certain willingness to adhere to the UN treaties and to be guided by international law. But the record of actual compliance with the international treaties tells a different story. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties says individual states must comply in […]

(This article was first published by the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific (http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au) on November 7, 2013) There is little point in delegates gathering at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka unless rule of law issues in the South Asian nation are raised, a Sri Lankan […]

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka at the weekend, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that while his government ”deplores the use of torture, we accept that sometimes, in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen”. His statement is not only legally and morally indefensible, it is also factually incorrect. Torture is prohibited under […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following article from the Lawyer’s Weekly. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-025-2013 November 28, 2013 An article from the Lawyer’s Weekly forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA/AUSTRALIA: LCA condemns country’s worsening rule of law The Law Council of […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following article from the Financial Times (Daily FT), written by Ashwin Hemmathagama. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-024-2013 November 27, 2013 An article from the Financial Times (Daily FT) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Eran drops bombshell […]

THE widow of one of the journalists killed in the brutal 2009 Maguindanao massacre who has fled to Hong Kong believes the victims will not get justice under the Aquino administration. Myrna Reblando, widow of Manila Bulletin correspondent Bong Reblando, said she does not see the Quezon City Regional Trial Court handing down a verdict […]

During the month of July, casualties of violence remained as high as 1214 (deaths 572 and injuries 642). Some new trends in military operations and drone attacks also surfaced. Acts of violence kept demoralizing the population at large, and humiliating the state security apparatus (Dera Ismail Khan jail break or attack on the ISI office […]

The percentage of women working in civil services is 5.4 while the representation of women judges in superior courts is 2.91 percent as against the 33 percent required by the UN Beijing Conference of 1996 to which Pakistan is a signatory. The Constitution of Pakistan provides a framework for legislation to empower women. The Article 25 […]

The right to food is a basic Human Right and the government has to protect right of its peoples to produce and consume food for themselves, rather than on the dictates of market and corporations. In spite of that, some multi-national corporations are currently attempting to achieve the ability to command what we eat. According to recent news appeared in […]

The issue of minority rights in Pakistan is discussed often around the world these days, in parliaments, human rights groups like Amnesty International, religious freedom departments, foreign affairs committees and international organisations like the Commonwealth and the UN. By contrast, the Pakistani government hardly mentions it and pays very little attention to the repression minority […]