Statement

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the new state government of Jammu and Kashmir setup under the leadership of the Chief Minister Mr. Omar Abdullah. By their overwhelming participation, the people of the state have reiterated not only their belief in the pluralistic principle of democracy, but have also shown their lack of sentiments […]

The massive attack on the Sirasa TV station brings gloomy predictions of things to come in the very near future to a country which is already bedeviled by lawlessness, violence and corruption. The leader of the opposition characterised the action as an act of state terrorism. Some of the leaders of the trade union movement […]

The internal security of a country is not an abstract concept. It involves wide-ranging issues, including but not limited to, domestic security and civil defense, societal security and safety, and emergencies arising out of manmade and natural calamities. Recently however, internal security is conceived in narrower terms, often limited to terrorist activities and the prevention […]

Early this morning (January 6, 2009), a group of armed men forcibly entered, attacked and caused serious damage to the MBC-MTV Transmission Station at Pannipitiya. This TV station is popularly known as Sirasa TV and transmits its programmes across the country. In the attack, which took place at around 2a.m., the intruders set the main […]

The defeat of terrorism calls for the shift of attention in resolving lawlessness, corruption and the loss of authority of the public institutions of democracy.  The government’s declaration that the terrorism represented by the LTTE has been substantially defeated, despite of a small area which remains under LTTE control, should provide a much needed opportunity […]

The Government of India has released 67 prisoners of Pakistan nationality from different jails in the country. These prisoners were reportedly detained in Indian prisons for charges ranging from tampering of visa documents to illegal stay in India. Most of the persons released, including minors and women, had spent long periods in custody in four […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-328-2008  December 30, 2008  A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission BANGLADESH: New government must fulfill people’s expectations After the two-year-long military controlled government, Bangladesh yesterday had the opportunity to elect its representatives to the country’s ninth parliament. According to the latest unofficial result, it is expected that the alliance led […]

On December 23, the President of Pakistan appointed Mr. Sana Ullah Abbasi, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) Hyderabad range as the inquiry officer in the case of Ms. Taslim Solangi, a 17 year-old girl who was allegedly mauled by the dogs and then shot dead by her in-laws on the pretext of an honour […]

The Sri Lankan government’s Ministry of Defence website published the following caption with a photograph of a President’s Counsel, Romesh de Silva PC. President’s Counsel Romesh de Silva, Mr. M A Sumanthiran, Mr. Viran Korea, Ms. Lilanthi De Silva and Chamaine Gunarathne are the team of lawyers who regularly appear for the detainees charged with […]

The constitutional petition no. D-2417/2008, regarding illegal taking of hostages – eight women and four children – by the police of four districts of Sindh province, was heard by the single bench of Sindh high court today. The chief justice of the Sindh high court was sick and unable to attend therefore the case was […]

A former minister of the government and a well-known lawyer, Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, is quoted in Lankadissent (December 22), in an interview given earlier to Lakbima as saying: “I relinquished my ministerial position because I was not allowed to exercise my powers. I was the only minister without a secretary. Then, how could the work be […]

According to the Cambodian Constitution the country is supposed to be a liberal democracy, governed by the rule of law and respecting the international human rights norms and standards. This democracy is a parliamentary democracy with a representative parliament composed of a directly elected National Assembly and an indirectly elected Senate. It is equipped with […]

The India Supreme Court should take to task the Bombay Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court’s Bar Association and another legal association, the Legal Aid Panel, which have formally resolved not to appear to defend Ajmal Amir Kasab, who is the one survivor out of the ten terrorists who engaged in the rampage in Mumbai on November 26. […]

Is it an attribute of sovereignty that the state is allowed to be corrupt? Is it a challenge to sovereignty to question corruption and also to make corrupt leaders, civil servants and even powerful sectors of private business responsible before law and even to punish them? Can a state apparatus that does not have a […]

The military-controlled interim government of Bangladesh has revoked the State of Emergency from early morning of 17 December 2008. The President of the country Prof. Iazuddin Ahmed promulgated the ordinance on 15 December to withdraw the State of Emergency.  “Whereas the president is satisfied that it is expedient and necessary to revoke the State of […]

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, in a judgement that is considered controversial this week (December 17) ordered that petrol prices should be reduced to Rs 100/= per litre to be effective from midnight the same day. The prevalent price for petrol with a octane count of 90, was Rs 122/= and petrol with an […]

On 27 March 1992 the body of a Catholic nun, Rev. Abhaya, was recovered from a well in the compound of the Pius Tenth convent where she lived. The convent is in Kottayam district in Kerala state of India. The local police concluded that the death was by suicide. The father of the deceased nun […]

The AHRC is publishing its 2008 annual human rights report on the Philippines. A pre-publication version of the report can be downloaded at http://material.ahrchk.net/hrreport/2008/AHRC-SPR-015-2008-Philippines_AHRR2008.pdf To illustrate how far the protection of human rights has been achieved, if at all, the 60th anniversary of the Universial Declaration for Human Rights on the International Human Rights Day is […]

The Sindh police have at last early this morning released the eight women and four children whom they took hostage in order to secure the surrender of a suspected bandit. The illegal arrest and detention of the women and children were apparently ordered by top ranking officials of the Sindh police. The victims were held […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-315-2008  December 11, 2008 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: The government must take cognisance of human right violations in the country and make the ICESCR, ICCPR and CAT part of the country’s laws The AHRC is publishing its 2008 annual human rights report on Pakistan. A pre-publication version […]