Statement

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls upon the Chinese government to inquire into reports that have received worldwide attention of attacks against Tibetan protesters in Lhasa and Sangchu County and other places by the Chinese security forces and to take steps to stop the use of force against the protesters. The exercise of restraint […]

A media report implies serious questions about the credibility of Bangladesh’s criminal justice system, including the investigation, prosecution and the judiciary, as well as the qualifications of the concerned professionals in those institutions. A Dhaka based national daily newspaper, The Prothom Alo, reported on 13 March 2008 that a court convicted three persons to rigorous imprisonment […]

In the investigations into cases of killings and suspicious deaths, skills and training are extremely essential in dealing with the investigation. Forensic examinations are carried out not only to establish the cause of the victim’s death but also, in the case of a murder, to collect sufficient evidence for effective prosecution in court. It is […]

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food in his report to the Seventh UN Human Rights Council has expressed serious concerns regarding the right to food in India. The report dated February 29, 2008 has sited at least a dozen cases concerning the right to food in which the Rapporteur has requested the immediate attention […]

If you are planning for one year, plant rice If you are planning for twenty years, plant trees If you are planning for one hundred years, plant people.” – Chinese proverb It has been reported that the Tanjung Priok district administration is planning to evict 1,200 families from Kampung Bayam where the people had occupied […]

As the Human Rights Council meeting was in session the spokesmen for the Sri Lankan government have been quite busy, judging by the number of statements circulated through the internet that are trying to paint a picture of Sri Lanka as a great democracy and that all the critics of the government are agents of […]

On April 2006, labour activist Gerardo Cristobal first survived an attempt on his life by armed men who were later identified to be a policeman and members of security forces in Imus, Cavite. Not entirely unexpectedly the policemen investigating the case (who were attached to the same police station where Gerardo’s attackers were assigned) concluded […]

The decision by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League- N (PML-N) to restore all the deposed judges of the superior courts including the chief justice, Mr. Iftekhar M. Choudhry is of monumental importance not only to Pakistan but also to all those who are concerned with post conflict justice after periods […]

On 22 February 2008 the deputy prosecutor attached to Phnom Penh Court named Hing Bunchea led a police force to execute the Supreme Court’s order to evict 23 families in Banla Saet village, Khmuonh commune, Russey Keo district, Phnom Penh. Hing used a police force of 500 men armed with assault and other rifles, batons, […]

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan it is estimated that a woman is raped every two hours and a gang rape occurs every eight hours and about 1,000 women die annually in honor killings. The Women Rights bill passed in Pakistan by the National Assembly in 2006, has not changed the state or […]

The announcement by the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) that they are quitting the Presidential Commission of Inquiry comes as no surprise at all. The surprise is as to why the IIGEP agreed to be part of this process in the first place. The Presidential Commission was so obviously an eye-wash and the […]

The present military backed caretaker government of Bangladesh has banned all political activities since the state of emergency was proclaimed on 11 January 2007, which supplemented the Emergency Powers Ordinance-2007 and the Emergency Powers Rules-2007. This ban was partially lifted by the government in a gazetted notification, which came out as an amendment of the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the Corruption Eradication Commission of Indonesia (KPK) for their success in the struggle against corruption in the Indonesian prosecution system. Kito Irkhami, a state prosecutor has recently been detained on corruption charges that also involve his superior, Attorney General M.A. Rachman. This development is a major move forward […]

Basharat Mughal, the president of a group of minority Muslims — the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Halqa Manzoor Colony – in Karachi, was murdered on the 24 February 2008. The forty five year old was shot on his way to Fajr, the first of the Muslim morning prayers, becoming, says the group, the 88th person from the […]

Most of the national daily newspapers of Bangladesh, including the Daily Star and the Prothom Alo, published reports on 28 February 2008 stating that three personnel of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) were ‘closed’ from their current postings in the RAB-3 on February 27 following an incident of beating of a staff of the Dhaka […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-053-2008 March 3, 2008 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: Lawyer’s movement is the ‘vanguard of democracy’ The lawyer’s movement in Pakistan will complete its first year on March 9, the day on which, in 2007 the Chief Justice of the country was illegally and unconstitutionally deposed by the […]

The political parties who won in the February 18th elections have informed the Chief Executive, Presidnet Musharraf that have the two thirds majority to form the new government. This is now quite well known to the people of Pakistan. They have jointly announced that they will work to strengthen the parliament, restore the deposed judiciary […]

The only long lasting achievement that can come out of the recent electoral victories of the people against the military lead regime of President Musharraf would be the restoration of the chief justice and the other 55 judges who were ousted from the judiciary due to the president’s political moves. If this does not happen […]

In January 2008, the Cambodian government set up a “quick response team” to counter opposition news media and foreign radio stations that publish information attacking it. The announcement of this new team has created fears that it will consolidate the government’s restriction on freedom of expression. It is highly likely the new team will further […]

Four human rights defenders associated with a human rights organisation, Right to Life, based in Sri Lanka, have been deprived of their right to engage in peaceful activities by a permanent injunction issued by the District Court of Negombo which has held that there is no legal right to engage in such peaceful activities. They […]