Statement

For many years land grabbing has claimed many victims among the poor and the weak in Cambodian society.  Land grabbers, mostly the rich and powerful, have scarcely resorted to the due process of law. They simply secure, though illicit means, government eviction orders and law enforcement agents to force those victims out of their homes […]

On February 4, Sri Lanka will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from the British colonial empire. There is hardly any mood to celebrate in the country, however. Beset by enormous economic hardships and price hikes, by ever unprecedented levels of blatant corruption and abuse of power, rejection of adherence to the Constitution itself […]

When a farmer was found dead four days after he was allegedly abducted and disappeared on January 16, the police within a short period concluded their investigation effectively exonerating policemen from any responsibility. The special investigating body, Task Force Usig, concluded that the victim, Tildo Rebamonte of Claveria, Masbate, was a rebel killed in a […]

Today, January 23, 2008, the Board of Directors of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to announce that it has decided to grant its 3rd jointly to Muneer Malik, former President of the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association, together with his successor, Choudhry Aitezaz Ahsan. The award is in recognition of the historic […]

Lawyers Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and the Dutch Lawyers for Lawyers Foundation (L4L) call for: The immediate unconditional release of all jurists arrested under preventative detention measures, including: Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar; Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhry, removed from office by the Musharraf regime; Ali Ahmed Kurd; […]

A Joint Statement by the Human Rights Watch, the Amnesty International, the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, and the International Trade Union Confederation CAMBODIA: Release scapegoats for labor leader’s murder Four Years On, Still No Justice in Killing of […]

As the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan is being treated by the military as a threat to national security 55 judges remain un-constitutionally retired out of which 13 are from the Supreme Court. Eleven out of the 55 are still under house arrest and several senior advocates are also under detention. Their love for […]

In August 1999, five men, known as the “Abadilla Five”, received the death sentence by a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Quezon City, Manila for the murder of an influential police colonel, Rolando Abadilla. The five men were arrested, charged and convicted three years later for the murder of Abadilla in June 1996. After they […]

As there is some discussion at the moment on the mandate of Louis Arbour as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, we are reproducing below her mandate according to the resolution of the General Assembly at its 85th Plenary Meeting adopted on 20th December 1993. “Having considered the recommendation contained in paragraph 18 […]

A recommendation made by the Chairperson of the Presidential Transition Team to bring the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) under the immediate control of the President threatens the independence of this commission. This commission was established in 2001 with the consensus in Korea to prevent the repetition of the human rights violations that […]

The killing of a Catholic priest, Jesus Reynaldo Roda of Tawi Tawi and a judge, Roberto Navidad of Calbayog City illustrates how miserable the lives of citizens have become in a cruel environment on the brink of lawlessness. Father Reynaldo was shot on Tuesday while praying in a chapel by gunmen who were trying to […]

On 13 January 2008 at around 11:30 pm a lawmaker named Chin Kim Sreng, 70, from the ruling party, was brutally beaten on the head in front of his house in Boeung Kang Kang commune, Chamcar Mon district, Phnom Penh. Chin was knocked unconscious in the attack which caused open wounds to his head. He […]

On January 9, the Court of Appeals (CA) reportedly heard the petition for writ of amparo filed by Cleofas Sanchez, mother of disappeared victim Nicolas, who, together with his cousin, Heherson Medina, disappeared on 17 September 2006. The writ is a newly adopted rule by the Supreme Court which provides judicial remedies to persons whose life, liberty […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  AHRC-STM-013-2008 January 14, 2008 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission PAKISTAN: Boycott of courts by lawyers enters 75th day and the government’s attacks on judges intensify The detained Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Iftekhar Choudhry was served a notice from the government on January 12, 2008, to vacate the official […]

Last week when the JVP announced the consensus of the several minority parties to nominate their candidate, to the Constitutional Council, former Auditor General, Mr S.C. Mayadunne, a public officer of unimpeachable integrity, some naively believe that the Constitutional Council debate should be over. However, a new quarrel has been initiated by the JHU which […]

Already within the first month of this year two legislators have been assassinated. One was a minister in the government and the suspected killers are the LTTE, the other was a Tamil Member of Parliament, who was also a member of the opposition United National Party and the party leaders have accused the government of […]

A bomb exploded in Lahore, the capital city of Punjab province, on January 10, killing more than 30 persons and injuring 70, mostly policemen, outside the Lahore High Court building where lawyers had planned a protest rally. On the directives of different Bar Associations lawyers are holding their weekly protests against the sacking of the […]

In a functioning criminal justice system, offenders of a crime are given an appropriate punishment following prompt and effective judicial proceedings. In the Philippines, however, it is commonly expected that perpetrators of the worst forms of human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearance and torture will be exonerated and freed after being charged in court. […]

After the enormous reaction to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and a popular politician, the Musharraf government has registered more than 3,000 cases against more than 500,000 people in one province of Sindh alone. The government has started arresting and threatening them with arrests in cases of fire, murder, looting and […]

At the height of the escalating incidents of the murder of activists, there was strong condemnation, both within and outside the country that forced the government to do something to stop the killing. Now that the number of killings has declined, condemnation has also decreased and discussion into finding reasonable remedies and redress for the […]