Statement

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who was the leader of one of the best known political parties in Pakistan that was contesting the election to be held on the 8th January 2008, reflects the nature of the repression and the absence of the rule of law and human rights in the country. To those who […]

As the Muslim world celebrated Eid and as the outside world celebrates Christmas, the forcibly ousted chief justice, Iftehkar Choudhry is being treated as a prisoner, held under house arrest and not even allowed to visit the mosque for performing his religious duties. His main lawyer, Choudhry Aitezaz Ahsan, a well known senior lawyer was […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-288-2007 December 24, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission WORLD/SRI LANKA: Update on Online Petition – send your Christmas greetings by signing the online petition for UN human rights monitoring in Sri Lanka On the 10th December 2007 Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in an […]

(Washington, DC, December 18, 2007) — Five leading international human rights organizations today called upon the Cambodian government to respect its international human rights commitments as well as United Nations officials mandated to monitor them. The five organizations — Human Rights Watch, the Asian Human Rights Commission, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), the […]

Iftehkar Mhd. Choudhry, the chief justice of Pakistan who was dismissed from office by President Pervez Musharraf after the imposition of the emergency rule, has been recognised as the lawyer of the year 2007 by the National Law Journal, published in the United States. This recognition is most appropriate. In Pakistan now the very existence […]

Iftehkar Mhd. Choudhry, the chief justice of Pakistan who was dismissed from office by President Pervez Musharraf after the imposition of the emergency rule, has been recognised as the lawyer of the year 2007 by the National Law Journal, published in the United States. This recognition is most appropriate. In Pakistan now the very existence […]

In a statement read at the UN Human Rights Council on 11 December 2007, the ambassador of Myanmar (Burma), U Wunna Maung Lwin, said that, “On 31 October 2007, the Government of Myanmar has established the Investigation Body [sic] chaired by the Minister for Home Affairs with a view to investigating offences against fundamental human […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly supports the call for a human rights monitoring mission by the United Nations as a measure to resuscitate the severely damaged criminal investigation capacity of the Sri Lankan policing system. The state, as the sovereign, owes an obligation to investigate into all crimes irrespective as to whether these are […]

The appeal case of Rizana Nafeek is continuing to be heard in the Appellate Court in Saudi Arabia. Rizana Nafeek, who was 17 years old at the time when she was accused of murdering a baby of four months, was sentenced to death by the Dawadami Court, despite her claim of innocence. Rizana claimed that […]

The year 2007 was marked by constitutional and judicial crises; the President as the military leader used the state power against the judiciary, the Constitution of the country, the legal fraternity and the media. Civil society was the most affected section in the country. Every effort was made to undermine the rule of law. To […]

Any improvement in the condition of human rights in a country should be measured on the extent of protection that victims and families have obtained, and how the investigations are made by the police to ensure the possibility of the successful conviction of cases. Without this, any decline in the number of killings would be […]

The year 2007 will be remembered as a year in which brought out increasingly belligerent responses from ruling elites across Asia. It is certain that throughout the region more and more people are resolved to assert their rights. It is also clear that its autocrats will respond more and more aggressively in order to keep […]

A phantom limb is the sensation that an amputated or missing limb is still attached to the body and is moving appropriately with other body parts. The pronouncement of the Sri Lankan government that it has adequate local mechanisms to deal with investigations into human rights violations reflects a similar mentality. The recent statement of […]

On November 19, 2007 an elderly man named Hach Tuos, 57, from Reaksmei Sang-ha village, Khnach Romeas commune, Bovel district in the northwestern province of Battambang, went with another man who he later told the police was a motorcycle taxi driver, to a karaoke parlour in Battambang city which is the capital of that province. […]

The attack on the printing press of the Sunday Leader as well as the very manner in which the attack was carried out, comes as no surprise to anyone who has observed the ease with which any form of violence can be perpetrated in present day Sri Lanka. The strategy of this violence is now […]

Every move that General Musharraf has taken for the singular purpose of his own survival has plunged Pakistan into a greater state of lawlessness. Strangely, General Musharraf seems to believe that the independence of the judiciary is an obstacle to stability. One of the major reasons for imposing the emergency, which is another name for […]

In recent weeks, authorities in Thailand have acted to curtail the rights of persons who are among the most vulnerable in society. Visiting Samut Sakhorn, adjacent to Bangkok, coup leader turned deputy prime minister General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said on 14 November 2007 that he would deal with the “problem” of migrant workers having children in […]

On 13 November 2007, three villagers named Seng Kosal, 38, Kim Sovann, 55, and Chhim Sophoan, 42, all small traders living at Choam Sragnam pass of the Dangrek mountain range bordering Thailand in Trapeang Prey commune, Anlong Veng District in the northwestern province of Oudor Meanchey, were arrested and taken to the provincial court of […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AS-274-2007 November 22, 2007 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: One law for the judge and another for the witness – third anniversary of Gerald Perera’s assasination In the third week of November, 2004 two assassinations took place. One was that of Justice Sarath Ambepitya, a High Court […]

The situation in Parachinar, an Afghan city bordering the Khurram Agency of the North Western Frontier Province, and its outskirts came to a head when Pakistan Army Gunship helicopters started shelling residential areas. Parachinar city is a predominantly Shia sect area, a minority sect of Islam. It is reported that clashes started when videos of […]