Forwarded Statement

LAHORE, February 12, 2009: Five Ahmadis detained on charges of blasphemy in Layyah district have been held without virtually any proof or witnesses, the Human Rights Commission (HRCP) said on Thursday. The commission, which had sent a fact-finding team to Layyah district last week, said its findings concluded that an investigation, mandated by law prior […]

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Ms. Margaret Sekaggya; the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Mr. Frank La Rue; the Chairperson of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Mr. Santiago Corcuera Cabezut; the Chairperson of the Working Group […]

The office of the Working Group on Justice for Peace – Pattani was searched by a group of 20 police and army officers in the early hours of February 8. The officers arrived in three pick-up trucks and were under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Pravej Sudhiprapha who stated that the search was conducted under […]

IRIN, is the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. COLOMBO, 6 February 2009 (IRIN) – Some 1,600 civilians escaped fighting in the combat zone in northeastern Sri Lanka on 5 February, and fled to government-held areas, according to the Sri Lankan army. Another 600 civilians were […]

Source: Amnesty International (AI) Date: 04 Feb 2009 Amnesty International has denounced the reported use of cluster bombs in a civilian area by the Sri Lankan military as a serious violation of international humanitarian law. According to a UN spokesperson, the main hospital in the town of Puthukkudiyiruppu, was hit by cluster bombs and had to […]

Muslims live and worship freely in Australia despite occasional friction A Muslim cleric in Australia who said men have a right to force their wives to have sex has been told to apologise by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. The cleric, Samir Abu Hamza, reportedly questioned how rape can exist within marriage, and encouraged “light beating” […]

Government Should Not Appoint Palparan to Drugs Board (New York, February 3, 2009) – The Philippine government should investigate retired Major General Jovito Palparan for widespread rights violations by forces under his command instead of appointing him to a senior state post, Human Rights Watch said today. According to news reports, Philippine Executive Secretary Eduardo […]

Tamil Tigers Also Preventing Civilians from Fleeing Fighting (New York, February 3, 2009) – A Sri Lankan government statement that it is not responsible for the safety of civilians who remain in areas controlled by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) indicates an appalling disregard for the well-being of the civilian population and […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following joint statements on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka issued on February 3, 2009, by the United States and the United Kingdom, following the meeting between Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Foreign Secretary David Miliband at the Department of State in Washington, DC. […]

A Statement by a group of Bishops We are deeply concerned with recent reports of increasing civilian casualties in the Wanni war. Recent media reports have indicated that a significant number of civilians, including children, have been killed and much more injured over the past two weeks. These deaths were due to shelling as well […]

Dear Friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Minority Rights Group International. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Minority Rights Group International forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Sri Lanka – MRG warns 29 January 2009 The civilian death toll […]

We reproduce below a written complaint made by the President , Mr. Britto Fernando, to the Inspector General of Police regarding telephone calls received from an anonymous caller making death threats to staff members and a lawyer and stating that, ‘If you don’t stop your work two or three of you will be killed.’ This […]

ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/sri-lanka-update-150108?opendocument 15-01-2009 Ever more civilians have been leaving areas held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and entering government-controlled territory in recent weeks. The ICRC has been helping them to maintain acceptable levels of hygiene, to keep in touch with relatives and to maintain hope. […]

2009 will be the year of politics — electoral politics to be precise. Thus, when one attempts to speculate on the human rights situation next year, the result will probably take a very political slant. Human rights will be positioned against the backdrop of a turbulent political struggle for legislative and executive power, the result […]

(December 27, 2008) The behavior by Israel in bombarding Gaza is simply the commission of wanton aggression by a very powerful state against a territory that [it?] illegally occupies. Time has come to take firm action if the United Nations does not want to be rightly accused of complicity by omission. The Israeli airstrikes on […]

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT 23 December 2008 AI Index No: ASA 23/044/2008 The Cambodian Supreme Court must seize the opportunity to deliver justice in the high-profile murder case of union leader Chea Vichea on 31 December 2008, Amnesty International said today. Amnesty International calls on the Supreme Court to dismiss the case against Born Samnang […]

Dear Friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from ActionAid Pakistan and Bhandar Hari Sangat. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from ActionAid Pakistan and Bhandar Hari Sangat forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: People’s Declaration on Agrarian Reforms Note: The “Declaration on Agrarian reforms in Pakistan” […]

According to a news report on December 11, 2008, Maj. Gen. Verachai Nakvanich, commander of the Narathiwat Task Force Unit, chaired an event to receive ‘misled people’ who had decided to attend the People Cooperating to Do Good for the Realm project (Pracharuamjai Thamkuamdeepueapaendin project). According to the news, those (claimed to be) misled people […]

December 15, 2008: LRWC joins with the jurists, lawyers and legal academics from throughout Asia who assembled in Hong Kong on November 17-21, 2008 for the Fourth Regional Consultation on an Asian Charter for the Rule of Law and who approved an important resolution of support for the and against the military government.1 LRWC views […]

As the world marks the 60th anniversary of the on 10 December, in a report released today Reporters Without Borders looks at the record of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the main UN body concerned with such matters. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29587 The UN Human Rights Council is doing little better than its predecessor, the now-abolished Commission on […]