Press Release

(Hong Kong, October 17, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received video footage from sources in West Papua, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, showing the torture of indigenous Papuans by the Indonesian military (TNI). The full video can be viewed here. The AHRC has chosen to remove some of the scenes showing […]

(Hong Kong, September 28, 2010) Acid attacks occur with frightening regularity in many countries of Asia. Whether they are done out of revenge, religious intolerance or simply pure malice, the horror perpetrated on the victim is inhuman. It is an issue that the AHRC has reported on frequently. The Women’s UN Report Network — WUNRN has […]

(Hong Kong, September 22, 2010) The BBC should not shut down or scale back Burmese-language broadcasts, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urged in a letter sent to the UK government on Wednesday. According to recent media reports, including in items on the BBC Burmese Service itself, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office is considering […]

(Hong Kong, September 8, 2010) YouTube video (in Sinhala): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMnIfBLiSGM   What are the philosophical legal fallacies involved in the 18th Amendment? What will be the negative effects of this constitutional provision? These issues are discussed in this video presentation by Basil Fernando  He states that 18th Amendment completed the course started by 1978 Constitution, which reversed […]

(Hong Kong, August 27, 2010) The Asian Legal Resource Centre on Wednesday submitted a special dossier to a group of United Nations human rights experts on recent cases of extreme, prolonged torture by police officers in Burma.  The 66-page dossier, entitled “Recent complaints of extreme torture and arbitrary detention in Myanmar (Burma)”, details the cases […]

(Hong Kong, July 30, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on Friday launched a new webpage on the state of emergency in Thailand.  The webpage, Thailand State of Emergency 2010, features a map showing provinces where the emergency remains in effect, and carries links to AHRC material as well as outside resources on the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has launched an online petition calling on the Sri Lankan Government to speedily enact a law on contempt of court.  (Hong Kong, July 29, 2010) The absence of a law relating to contempt to court has remained a matter of concern in Sri Lanka. Due to serious anxieties arising from […]

(Hong Kong, July 23, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission announces the presentation of the Asian Human Rights Award for Creative Media to Ms. Josefina Bergsten as the producer and the director of the documentary UNJUST. The Presentation of the award will take place at Foreign Correspondents Club, Hong Kong, on the 27th July, 2010.  […]

(Hong Kong, July 8, 2010) The decision of an independent online news site to shut down its web board is indicative of the shut down of free speech in Thailand under the ongoing state of emergency, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said on Thursday.  In an announcement posted on its website, www.prachatai.com, Prachatai said that […]

2010 United Nations International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture: HKU Panel Discussion. Click here!  (June 24, 2010) The International Day in Support of Torture Victims is on 26th June and this year Hong Kong charity ‘Vision First’ will team up with Asia wide advocacy NGO ‘Asian Human Rights Commission’ to highlight the current situation […]

A Press Release by the Asian Legal Resource Centre regarding the Universial Periodic Review of Myanmar/Burma at the UN Human Rights Council BURMA: Un-rule of law and corruption deny rights, U.N. told  (Hong Kong, June 24, 2010) The un-rule of law and systemic corruption go hand-in-hand to deny human rights in Burma, the Asian Legal […]

(Hong Kong, June 18, 2010) To mark the 14th year of their imprisonment the families of the ‘Abadilla Five’ detainees once again held a demonstration in front of the Supreme Court in Metro Manila to renew their calls for justice. They are asking the court to resolve at once the detainees’ appeal convicting them for […]

(Hong Kong, May 25, 2010) Drawing inspiration from the non-violent protest of Ms. Irom Sharmila of Manipur, a group of activists, artists, journalists, writers, academics, research scholars and students organised a national campaign, the Hind Swaraj Peace March, in India.  The march is organised in support and solidarity of Sharmila’s ten-year long fast, calling upon […]

New Members Should Take Visible Steps to Improve Practices Before Joining in June Please find below a joint press release issued by 10 international NGOs, including the Asian Legal Resource Centre. (New York, May 13, 2010) – The absence of competitive slates in today’s elections for the United Nations Human Rights Council undermined membership standards […]

(Hong Kong, April 29, 2010) In recognition of the work, life and the professionalism of the 32 journalists murdered in the Maguindanao massacre, a group of veteran journalists in Hong Kong had given them posthumous plaque of recognition.  Myrna Reblando, the spokesperson of Justice Now!, the organisation of the families of journalists murdered in the […]

(Hong Kong, March 15, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Human Rights Alert (HRA) organised a protest rally today in Hong Kong calling upon the Government of India to initiate steps to end the culture of impunity in Manipur. Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman, speaking on behalf of the AHRC in the meeting said: “The […]

(Hong Kong, 10 March, 2010) Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that Ms. Irom Chanu Sharmila alias Menghaobi, popularly known as the Iron Lady of Manipur, was released from the security ward of Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, Manipur on the evening of March 8. Right after her release, she joined the relay hunger strike organised […]

Hong Kong, March 5, 2010 The Asian Human Rights Commission today launched an on line petition and web site on the issue of enforced disappearances in Pakistan to urge the President of Pakistan to ensure the immediate recovery of all the disappeared persons from all parts of the country including from Pakistani Kashmir, the Azad […]

(Hong Kong, February 18, 2010) Necta Montes, the niece of Dr. Alex Montes, speaks of her uncle’s compassion of helping poor patients during a demonstration at the Philippine Consulate today. Alex is one of the 43 health workers whom the military and police have illegally arrested, tortured and falsely charged on February 6, 2010.  “My […]

(Hong Kong, February 18, 2010) “Since the Witness and Victim Protection Law was enacted in 2006, little progress has been made regarding witness and victim protection because of a lack of political will”, says an analyst from the Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). The Witness and Victim Protection Agency (Lembaga Perlindungan Saksi […]