Forwarded Statement

SRI LANKA: Abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement will Escalate Spiral of Violence

(A list of the groups appears at the end of this statement) Joint Statement Abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement Will Escalate Spiral of Violence The government’s decision to abrogate the Norwegian-facilitated Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed with the LTTE in 2002 is a matter of the gravest concern to the undersigned civil society organisations. Truces historically tend […]

SOUTH KOREA: The National Human Rights Commission of Korea is very concerned by the draft reorganisation of the government’s institutions

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from National Human Rights Commission of Korea forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SOUTH KOREA: The National Human Rights Commission of Korea is very concerned by […]

KOREA: Letter from High Commissioner for Human Rights regarding the independence of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea

Forwarded herewith is a letter written by Louise Arbour the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Mrs. Lee Kyung-sook, the Chairperson of the Transition Committee of the President of the Republic of Korea regarding a recommendation made by this Transition Committee to place the (NHRCK) directly under the control of the President of […]

CHINA: Hu Jia’s lawyer put under house arrest, foreign journalists prevented from visiting wife and daughter

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontiers forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission CHINA HU JIA’S LAWYER PUT UNDER HOUSE ARREST, FOREIGN JOURNALISTS PREVENTED FROM VISITING WIFE AND DAUGHTER […]

NEPAL: Condemnations over the lackluster police investigations vis-a-vis the murder case of Maina Sunuwar

The attention of this committee has been drawn towards the lackluster performance of police authorities in carrying out effective investigation in connection to the arrest, torture and subsequent killing of juvenile Maina Sunuwar, a permanent resident of Kharelthok, Kavre District, by the then Royal Nepal Army four years ago. After the authorities concerned failed to […]

PAKISTAN: Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists terms 2007 as the bad year for journalists

Six journalists were killed, three of them while performing their professional duties, 73 were injured, mostly by the police in the worst year for? the journalists?in a decade while media remained under government pressure through laws and threat, Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), said in a report release on Sunday. Unprecedented incidents of violence […]

SRI LANKA: Abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement will escalate spiral of violence & War against Terrorism is leading to More Terror

03.01.08 Media Release 1 Abrogation of Ceasefire Agreement Will Escalate Spiral of Violence The government has announced that it will abrogate the Norwegian-facilitated Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) signed with the LTTE in 2002 on account of the ground reality where conditions of continuing war and terror prevail.  For the past two years the government and LTTE […]

CHINA : Outrage at human rights activist Hu Jia’s arrest in Beijing

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontiers forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission CHINA : Outrage at human rights activist Hu Jia’s arrest in Beijing The arrest of leading […]

PAKISTAN: Replace the Ruling Tyranny of Pakistan with Real Civilian Democracy

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Information Press Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Information Press forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: Replace the Ruling Tyranny of Pakistan with Real Civilian Democracy By AITZAZ AHSAN Date: 23 December 2007 (InformPress.com) – The […]

SRI LANKA: National Human Rights Commission Downgraded for Failure in Human Rights Responsibilities

REF:  TIC Statement Date: 18 December 2007 The recent decision by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of the International Co-ordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions (ICC) to downgrade the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) from Status A to Status B is an unequivocal message to Sri Lanka from the international community that its human […]

PAKISTAN: End persecution of lawyers and judges

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Human Rights Watch. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Human Rights Watch forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: END PERSECUTION OF LAWYERS AND JUDGES Free and Fair Elections Impossible With Dismantled Judiciary (New York, December 19, 2007) […]

MALAYSIA: Government failing to respect the right to freedom of assembly Amnesty International

Public Statement AI Index:  ASA 28/009/2007 Amnesty International condemns the arrests of human rights lawyers, activists and members of the public in the past few days as they exercised their right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. These include members of Bersih, a national coalition of NGOs and opposition politicians, calling for free and […]

CHINA: Condemnation against continued violence directed at a Shenzhen labour group: A joint statement from Hong Kong civil society organisations

In the recent weeks, we, a group of Hong Kong groups and unions who cover labour issues in China have learned of a series of violent attacks on a labour group and its legal person in Shenzhen. We are very upset, concerned and enraged about the recent development. The Shenzhen Dagongzhe Centre (DGZ Centre) has […]

SRI LANKA: Reflections from Trincomalee town and Mutur

General situation Trincomalee remains heavily militarized and tense.  In the short stretch of around 85km between Habarana and Trincomalee, the bus I traveled was stopped at five checkpoints, where we had to get down with all our bags and walk a few hundred meters in the hot sun. Consideration was extended though to older people […]

SRI LANKA: Leader Publications printing house set on fire, printing machines destroyed

Leader Publications printing house set FMM reports with outrage that unidentified gang set fire to one of the major newspaper printing houses early this morning (21st Nov 2007). Printing press of the Leader Publications, which publish weekly The Sunday Leader, mid weekly Morning Leader and Sinhala Weekly Irudina was completely destroyed by the fire. The […]

INDIA: Statement from Concerned Citizens on the Shameful Events in Nandigram in the last few days

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from Article 21-Now, a human rights group based in India regarding the recent attack in Nandigram. The statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) titled INDIA: The state government of West Bengal is promoting organised crime can be read at AS-265-2007. The AHRC has also […]

PAKISTAN: MAST FM103 Shutdown by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority

Karachi, Pakistan – On 3rd of November 2007, MAST FM103 Karachi station was invaded by PEMRA () officials with heavy police force and was forced to shutdown transmission and all broadcast equipment was confiscated. The grounds stated by the officials of PEMRA were Mast FM103 broadcasting hourly news bulletins and current affairs programmes, from BBC. […]

PAKISTAN: The International Bar Association calls upon the world’s bars and law societies to support lawyers and judges in Pakistan

The International Bar Association (IBA) is calling upon its member bars and law societies across the globe to support . Since President Musharraf declared a state of emergency and suspended the Pakistan constitution on 3 November 2007, mass protests, led by judges and lawyers, have taken place. Recent reports suggest that thousands of lawyers have […]

PAKISTAN: Arrest of media personalities

The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) is shocked to hear of the sudden and irregular arrest of SAFMA founding Secretary General Imtiaz Alam in Lahore, Pakistan, yesterday (November 5th, 2007) afternoon and, alarmed that Mr. Alam’s current location is not known and that the Pakistani authorities have, so far, not even acknowledged his detention. […]

PAKISTAN: High Commissioner alarmed about Pakistan state of emergency

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour  said today she is alarmed over the suspension of fundamental rights and  imposition of a state of emergency in Pakistan. Pakistan has not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and  Political Rights, but the High Commissioner noted that, under accepted  rules of international law, fundamental rights, […]