Statement

Bangladesh celebrates its National Martyred Intellectuals Day today, 14 December 2017. The country recalls the martyrdom of some of its citizens who had high professional integrity at the time–1971. The Pakistani occupying forces and their local collaborators were known to be involved in abducting intellectuals. This included physicians, academics, journalists, and writers. The occupying forces […]

Mrs. Amar Kaur lived a long life and died on 12 December 2017 at the age of 102. What is important about Mrs. Kaur is not just the advanced age into which she lived. Kaur is one of the prime witnesses in a case of disappearance and alleged murder that was reported in 1994 from […]

In 2005, the South Korean-based Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of the state of Odisha. The MoU involved the building of a steel plant having 12 million tonne annual capacity, along with a captive port and an iron ore mine, for which POSCO required an estimated 4,000 acres of land, including […]

On the occasion of international human rights day, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) observes the major human rights issues of concern in Indonesia. Impunity and a fragile criminal justice system have let down victims of human rights abuse and those seeking justice. According to research by the Indonesian Legal Roundtable (ILR), Indonesia’s rule of […]

Pakistan is a signatory to several international human rights conventions. The country has in its constitution a good set of fundamental rights. Yet, the human rights situation in Pakistan is deteriorating. All human rights are violated in Pakistan with impunity. Rights of women and children; access to justice; labour rights; rights to: housing, life and fair trial, education, […]

December 10 is Human Rights Day, and this year will celebrate 70 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The theme this year is “let’s stand up for equality, justice and human dignity”, a fitting exhortation for the year ahead in India. For the ordinary person in India, the High courts and the […]

In 2017, Nepal saw local elections taking place in the country after more than two decades. Federal Parliament and Provincial Assembly elections were also conducted this year. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the government of Nepal for successfully completing the elections. Voter turnout was high in response to the lack of effective political […]

The governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar have signed a bilateral arrangement concerning the repatriation of the Rohingya from camps in Bangladesh to Rakhine state in Myanmar. The agreement was signed by both governments on 23 November 2017 at Nay Pyi Taw. The bilateral agreement is only a first step in recognising the crisis. The agreement however does […]

The border regions of India are manned by members of the Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, who are always heavily armed, and wield significant power over the residents of these border villages. Recent events have demonstrated the highhandedness of these personnel in dealing with civilians. The primary occupation of the residents of the village is […]

The nuclear state surrenders before a religious mob- virtually handing over absolute power and blanket immunity to fundamentalism and militancy The year 2017 in Pakistan has been marked by tussles between state institutions and the army. The chain of events that started with a seemingly whimsical news item about the war of words between the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned about the following situation. Mr. Setya Novanto, speaker and Chairman of the House of Representatives, was summoned by the KPK(the Corruption Eradication Commission) to take part in an examination process. He is a bribery suspect in the gigantic corruption case of the Electronic Identity Card (E-KTP). There […]

The Specialist Doctor Wasantha Pushpakumara Herath died as a result of a fatal accident on the 22nd of September 2017. His car was being driven from Kandy to Colombo on the Kandy Road. A lorry which had tried to overtake another vehicle at a very high speed collided with the vehicle driven by Dr. Herath […]

Universal Children’s Day was observed in the country as a formality, while at the same time, millions of children are denied their basic rights. Despite the Constitutional obligation, enunciated under the Policy Principle, the State is ignoring its duty of care for 53 percent of its population below the age of 18. The preliminary results […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned to know that the home ministers of several state governments in India have decided to protract the implementation of the directives on police reforms issued by the Supreme Court of India in Prakash Singh & Others V Union of India and Others by filing a review petition against the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) expresses its deep concern over the inhuman and degrading treatment being meted out to Dalit rights activist Chandrashekhar Ravan by the government of Uttar Pradesh. Last reported, Mr. Ravan, was rushed to the Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College from Saharanpur on Nov 8, 2017 for ‘stomach infection’. Mr. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had previously reported on the illegal confinement and subsequent discharge of Sabi Giri from the Indian Navy. Sabi, who transitioned from male to female after seven years of service, has challenged her discharge before the Delhi High Court. While the High Court accepted the Navy’s argument that Sabi’s status as a woman rendered […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely disturbed by the mysterious death of 16-year-old Priyanka Yadav in police custody on October 29, 2017. The Area Police Office (APO), Mirchaiya arrested Priyanka and 14-year-old Sanjay Sah on October 28 for the murder of Bhavesh Yadav, Priyanka’s 13-year-old cousin brother. The next day, Priyanka was found […]

Over the past decade, Human Rights Watch has recorded the occurrence of over 1,000 killings of civilians at the hands of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, in which a majority of victims were unarmed. Despite these numbers, arrests are rare in such instances of arbitrary use of force – which often result in the death of the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the three years Indonesia has been under President Joko Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s administration, October 2014 – October 2017, there remains two years in the presidential term (2014-2019). Indonesia has ratified several key international human rights instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is alarmed at the Nepali police’s firing in broad daylight, with an intent to kill, at protesters who were protesting at the lack of investigation in the death of an 11-year-old child. Laxman Shiwakoti was found dead in a pool of floodwater on 1 October 2017 after he went […]