Statement

The Sri Lankan government’s propaganda war regarding Amnesty International’s campaign based on an innocent slogan in which they call on all Sri Lankans to ‘play by the rules’ is reminiscent of Don Quixote tilting at the windmills. At the first sight it may appear ridiculous for anyone to oppose a call . This is, after […]

Criminalisation of politics in India is a growing problem, despite legal attempts to address it. In 2003 a law was introduced to prohibit the election of criminals or alleged criminals to state or central legislature. However, persons with criminal or alleged criminal backgrounds continue to hold seats in parliaments all over the country. In fact, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the bombings at Konduwattuvan, Ampara on April 2 and Mailambaveli, Eravur on April 1 which have killed and injured many innocent civilians. The government has blamed the killings on the LTTE who, according to a BBC report have denied responsibility. Such accusations and denials also unfortunately are part of […]

(This is the third in a series of statements on the challenges facing democracy, rule of law and human rights in Nepal at present. The first and second statements appeared on March 31 and April 2, 2007) One of the direct results of the April 2006 democratic uprising was to bring the Maoists into the mainstream politics of […]

It was on January 26, 2007 that 24-year-old Mr. Hazoor Buksh Malik was arrested by the Market Police near the shopping market named Resham Gali in Larkana city, Larkana district, Sindh Province for not possessing a National Identity Card. However, the arrest lead to the shocking incident in which the Station Head Officer of the […]

(This is the second in a series of statements on the challenges facing democracy, rule of law and human rights in Nepal at present. The first statement, NEPAL: The need for a comprehensive appeared on March 31, 2007) Hope for democracy, which arose with the uprising of the people that brought down the king and paved the […]

On Monday March 26, 2007 in the early hours of the morning two small aircraft entered the airspace over the Sri Lankan Air Force base at Katunayake, dropped three bombs and returned, unchecked to safety. The whole episode exposed the critical flaws in the political system and the dysfunctional law enforcement and security systems in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Cambodian government has threatened to expel the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), a New York-based human rights NGO, after it had publicised allegations of corruption (KRT) and requested a thorough investigation. The OSJI has worked in Cambodia since 2003 to assist in the establishment, […]

The Minister of Law and Human Rights, Mr. H.E. Hamid Awaluddin, in his statement at the 4th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 12th Mach 2007 indicated that Indonesia is ready to sign the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. In fact, it is the people of Indonesia, […]

(This is the first in a series of statements on the challenges facing democracy, rule of law and human rights in Nepal at present.) The pulse of an uprising that brought down the centuries-old monarchy and brought back the parliament as the supreme authority in Nepal still reverberates in the streets of Katmandu. There is […]

We, as members of national, sub-regional and regional NGOs from the Asia region have followed with serious concerns the 4th session of the UN Human Rights Council (Geneva, 12-30 March 2007) on the situation of human rights in Darfur. We noted with much interest, the active participation of the member-states of the United Nations from […]

The following is a joint statement by the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), Asian Legal Resource Centre, and International NGO Forum on Indonesia Development (INFID) at the 4th Session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, March 27, 2007: Interactive Dialogue- Summary or Extra-judicial Executions in Asia We would like to first […]

The following is an oral submission made by Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) at the 4th Session of the Human Rights Council on March 26, 2007: Interactive dialogue – Special Rapporteur on Torture Thank you Mr. President, The ALRC would like to begin by voicing its strong support for the work and mandate of the Special […]

On March 26, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) spokesman Ed Diansuy was reported to have cautioned civil society groups inside and outside of the country from taking the matter of extrajudicial executions before the international community arguing that “other [foreign] governments might think the [Philippine] government cannot solve [this issue].” Diansuy said “Let the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today issued an appeal on a case that has been heard in the Bangkok South Criminal Court since 1993. The four defendants are accused of having plotted to kill the then-Supreme Court president. The defence maintains that they were set up by the police; no material evidence has been […]

On March 20, Commissioner Eligio Mallari of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) announced it had submitted the results of its investigation that recommend the dismissal of complaints against Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, former commander of the 7th Infantry Division (ID) of the Philippine army, and several of his men from allegations of committing human […]

In January 2007, while international judges and their Cambodian counterparts on the Khmer Rouge tribunal were working on the internal rules for the hearings, the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC), which is widely known to be under government control, decided to impose a lump sum registration fee of US $ 3000 on […]

The legal community of Pakistan has rejected a government offer for talks, while demanding the withdrawal of the reference against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and the formation of a national government to hold general elections within three months time. The convention of lawyers, which was meeting in Peshawer, the capital city of North Western […]

On 19 March 2007, Bangladesh’s national television channel BTV announced in a news bulletin that the present government has “in principle decided to establish a National Human Rights Commission in the country”.  This was announced during a regular weekly meeting of the Advisory Council which is chaired by Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed. All of […]

Not only is democracy being subverted in the Philippines, but its meaning is also misunderstood. While the country may have made economic gains in recent times, to declare them as proof of a “strong democracy” belies democracy’s true meaning, for the strength of democracy is measured, not by economic gains, but by the strength of […]