Forwarded Statement

International Solidarity Week to Re member the Sewol Ferry Tragedy – The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol! Period: 8 August 2014 (Fri) ~ 14 August 2014 (Thu) On April 16, 2014, hundreds of desperate voices cried out for rescue – but most of those cries went unanswered. The tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry cost the lives of […]

Lawyers Collective urge Ministry of External Affairs Responding to a statement made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 5th August 2014 on the   incident at CSR, the Lawyers’ Collective cautions the public not to be misled by the inaccurate contents of the statement of the MEA. (see the MEA statement at the end […]

Urges credible probe into the actions of the mob attack on 4th August Lawyers witnessed an event of a mob disrupting a peaceful meeting to discuss issues of disappeared families, held at Center for Society & Religion, located in the premises of a Catholic Church in Colombo 10, on 4th August 2014. This meeting was […]

A Statement from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Torture victims further tormented in their pursuit of justice While much ink has rightfully been spilt over the need to implement the prohibition against torture under international law in Nepal, it is unfortunate that numerous members of the police force […]

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Yangon International Airport, Myanmar, 26 July 2014 Introduction: Good evening and thank you all for coming today. I have just concluded my first official ten- day mission as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. The objective of my […]

Adding to a series of unconstitutional restrictions placed on the legitimate activities of the Non-Governmental Organizations, the Director General of the Department of External Resources (DGDER) has now published a Notice, “advising” the public on the legitimate activities of the NGOs. Having examined carefully the contents of the Notice, we state that the Notice is […]

The Singapore Working Group on the Death Penalty Statement on executions carried out on the 18th of July 2014. The Singapore Working Group on the Death Penalty deeply regrets, and is gravely disappointed at the executions of two individuals that took place today, 18th of July 2014. Inmates Foong Chee Peng, 48, and Tang Hai […]

Mr. Upul Jayasuriya, the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has been followed by an unidentified group (a motor bicycle and a three wheeler)  today (15th July 2014) for  hours. Mr Jayasuriya has been a strong leader of the Bar who has spoken strongly and fearlessly against the breach of Rule of Law, […]

Social Online Posting Claimed as a Breach of His Terms of Release Previously, Mr. Thanapol Eawsakul was summoned to report himself as per the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s announcement no. 5/ 2557 and was released on 30 May 2014. In order to be discharged from the military custody, he had to sign […]

A statement from the Friday Forum, Colombo, Sri Lanka forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission There have been several news reports recently about a surge of instances of baby elephants taken illegally from the wild and held in captivity by private individuals. Environmentalists and members of the public have expressed their concern. The Friday […]

The Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) has been providing legal representation to Air, an ethnic Karen girl who has filed a case against her former employers for inflicting on her cruel treatment and enslavement. On 30 June 2014, around 2pm, the Kampaeng Phet Provincial Court read a verdict for the  case filed by Air’s […]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Professor Surya P. Subedi, on Tuesday ended his 11th fact-finding mission to Cambodia, noting progress in some human rights areas and commending the Government’s response to a recent sudden and massive return of Cambodian migrant workers from Thailand. He called on the Thai […]

The Friday Forum has urged the Inspector General of Police to respond as a matter of urgency to the current public concern, including that of the Bar Council, on the deaths that are taking place in police custody. A particularly shocking recent incident involves the death of a 17year old minor after assault in police […]

For the third time, torture victims Raymond Manalo and Oscar Leuterio asked the Ombudsman to resolve the case of kidnapping, arbitrary detention, torture, physical injuries, threat and involuntary servitude and violation of RA 7438 (Rights of Persons Arrested, Detained or under Custodial Investigation) against their military torturers. Manalo and Leuterio were both victims of enforced […]

The National Council for Peace and Order  (NCPO) has seized the power since 22nd May 2014. Now it is almost a month that the NCPO has issued many orders and announcements, as of 16 June 2014,  there were 68 orders/announcements. Particularly, Order No.  59/2557 and Order No.  60/2557, dated  11 June 2014, regarding the administration […]

The Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) vehemently condemns the violent incidents and complete breakdown of law and order that transpired in Aluthgama on the 14th and 15th of this month. While condemning all forms of religious and ethnic intolerance, discrimination and violence, FUTA sees the Aluthgama incident as an individual expression of a larger […]

GENEVA (16 June 2014) – The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her deep alarm Monday at inter-communal violence taking place in south-western Sri Lanka in which two, or possibly three, people have reportedly been killed and scores injured. The violence erupted on Sunday 15 June in the town of Aluthgama following […]

‘Lawyers for Democracy’ views with alarm the spate of attacks on civilians by the police during the recent past.  The case of the torture of Udaya Kumara of Udawalawe police station, the killing of Subash Indika of Pasyala and the shooting at a Three Wheeler at Katunayake are serious incidents of police excesses.  From the […]

Civil Society Women’s Organisation 14 June, 2014 Shillong, Meghalaya The Civil Society Women’s Organisation (CSWO), an anti-corruption and women’s rights organization, Shillong, is deeply concerned of recent incidents of torture by police often leading deaths including other similar human rights violations in Garo Hills, Meghalaya. Ordinary people are often helpless in the hands of such […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following statement from the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FST-039-2014 June 13, 2014 A statement from the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) by the Asian Human Rights Commission CAMBODIA: statement calling for Thai government […]