Press Release

(Hong Kong, March 16, 2012) Invoking public interest for the protection of Constitutional and Statutory rights, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today has written to the Secretary of the Department of Justice (DoJ) asking them to reverse and resolve promptly a petition questioning the dismissal of the complaint of torture by five victims. In his […]

(Hong Kong, February 6, 2012) In this episode of cast, the AHRC comments that the phenomenon of murders in Cebu, particularly the killing of a lawyer’s wife and two others, is a result of breakdown of the law in a society. In this report (time code: 02:30-05:09), Virginia Sesbreño, wife of lawyer Raul Sesbreño; her friend Soledad […]

(Hong Kong, February 1, 2012) In this episode of cast, the AHRC comments on how the policemen who are investigating the killing of court judges and lawyers have been using the “lack of witnesses and evidence” as justification of their neglect and incompetence in solving cases. In this report (time code: 14:05- 16:45), the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial […]

(Hong Kong, January 30, 2012) In this episode of cast, the AHRC comments on separate incidents involving the arrest of three policemen for charges of robbery, illegal drugs and the rape of a minor. In this report (time code: 14:05- 16:45) a police officer in Tacloban City, in the Visayas, is detained after he was arrested for […]

(Hong Kong, January 27, 2012) In this episode of cast, the AHRC comments on the inequality before the law and the lack of protection to poor villagers charged for offenses as a result of poverty. In this report (time code: 20:47-21:53), a villager named Giovani Maceda of Mayorga, Leyte is being detained after he was arrested for […]

(Hong Kong, January 26, 2012) In this episode of cast, the AHRC comments on two television reports that illustrate how fundamental rights to the fair trial of persons arrested by the police and held in custody were disregarded. In these reports by the ABS-CBNs local TV Patrol, a man was arrested for allegedly selling illegal […]

(Hong Kong, January 19, 2012) On January 17 the Asian Human Rights Commission sent an open letter to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka on the issue of the AG’s Department taking over the defense of a Superintendent of Police in a private plaint. In that letter the AHRC said: By this decision you will […]

(Hong Kong, January 19, 2012) A workshop was held for the undergraduate students of the Criminology Department of the Sri Jayawardanapura University on December 19 and 20 2011 on rule of law and prevention of police torture. The workshop was held at the auditorium of the Help Age Institute at Gangodavila. Janasansaya , a human […]

(Hong Kong, January 17, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission has been informed that Melanie Cordon, the Overseas Filipino Worker who was arrested in Saudi Arabia has been released after serving her prison term of four months. Melanie was arrested after being accused of theft by the mother of her employer on August 14, 2011. […]

(Hong Kong, January 10, 2012) A Burma-based rights group has released a new publication documenting and recounting the courageous fight against land expropriation, intimidation and false prosecution of a group of rural villagers.  The 38-page Burmese language booklet, “Forced expropriations of farmlands and partial victories”, written and published by the Farmers’ Rights Defenders Network, retells […]

A Press Release by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (Hong Kong, December 23, 2011) The Asian Legal Resource Centre on Friday issued an appeal to bar councils worldwide to support lawyers in Burma who have had their licences revoked for political reasons. In a special appeal to the International Bar Association, International Council of Jurists […]

(Hong Kong, December 22, 2011) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) sadly learned of the death of Mr. Jijo Paul of Kerala, India who has been a close associate and an active promoter of human rights. He was the Chairperson of Nervazhi, our partner organization in Kerala. In this capacity Mr. Paul worked diligently towards […]

(Hong Kong, December 9, 2011) Despite signs of political change and the easing of restrictions on freedom of expression in Burma, rights abuses remain “systemic, deeply entrenched and vast in scale”, the Asian Human Rights Commission said today in its annual State of Human Rights in Asia report.   The 17-page Burma report, entitled “From blinkered […]

(Hong Kong, December 9, 2011) A “deep-seated, ingrained culture of impunity that spans the state security forces, judiciary and civil service” is continuing to block the emergence of a human rights-respecting culture in Thailand, the Asian Human Rights Commission said today in its annual State of Human Rights in Asia report.   The 16-page Thailand report, […]

(Hong Kong, December 07, 2011) On the occasion of the upcoming International Human Rights Day on December 10, 2011, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is launching its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011. The full report is available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-006-2011/view. In the report, the AHRC witnessed a […]

(Hong Kong, December 1, 2011) Janasansadaya, a well-known human rights organization in Sri Lanka has produced a short interview with Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission. In the interview, the difference between what is now popularly called “law and order” and the concept of the rule of law is explained. In Sri Lanka, […]

(Hong Kong, November 24, 2011) The Asian Human Rights Commission today welcomed a finding from a United Nations body that the imprisonment of two men in Burma is arbitrary, and iterated calls for their immediate release.   In a five-page opinion adopted on August 30, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the imprisonment […]

(Hong Kong, October 25, 2011) The United Nations Committee against Torture is due to examine the Sri Lankan government’s performance under the CAT Convention on November 8 and 9, 2011.  The government has submitted its report and the CAT Committee has in turn submitted a long list of questions to the government. These questions are […]

(Hong Kong, October 21, 2011) The national monument for the disappeared at Raddoluwa, Seeduwa is nationally and internationally known and respected place where the families of the disappeared persons gather to pay respects for their loved ones who are counted among the disappeared in Sri Lanka. The monument was eructed in 2000 at a place […]

Pakistan rights-based organizations, groups and human rights defenders to synergize efforts to combat torture. (Hong Kong, Lahore October 21, 2011) Forty human rights defenders held a joint consultation on the issue of torture and ill-treatment at Lahore, capital of Punjab province and decided to become part of a regional alliance against custodial torture and ill-treatment. […]