Statement

The Asian Human Rights Charter guarantees all persons the right to live in peace, and stresses that this right “can be guaranteed only if states are accountable to the international community”. The war that the United States has launched on Iraq this week has not only breached this right, but also entirely undermined the means […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has carefully studied the complaint of torture made by Anthony Michael Emmanuel Fernando on 16 February 2003 and the previous contempt of court case against him. We reproduce below the full judgement (Ref: S.C.(F/F) No. 55/2003 or 6 February 2003) of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on the […]

We are forwarding a statement from the Free Media Movement in Sri Lanka regarding a very extraordinary incident. A man who has filed a fundamental (human) rights application at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka was directed to file his case in another court. He later filed a further motion at the same court, in […]

The total destruction of the Thai embassy and businesses in Phnom Penh on January 29, widely reported by the international media, does not come as a surprise to anyone who has worked on the Cambodian justice system since the elections of 1993 under the UN Transitional Authority for Cambodia (UNTAC). These events reveal that there […]

TORTURE AND CYANIDE: A RESPONSE TO “IS TORTURE EVER JUSTIFIED” — Basil Fernando, AHRC Note: The following letter, dated 14 January 2003, was written to the Economist magazine in reply to its January 11 cover story, “Is torture ever justified?” The opinion column from that edition is currently available online at http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1524784. ——————– Dear Sir/Madam […]

ASIAN CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM 2002 – The Session on National Human Rights Commissions (December 10, 2002) National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka; A Disappointing Institution The Sri Lankan Commission Has Used Its Powers (Teeth) to Bite the Victims and Not the Perpetrators. The National Human Rights Commissions (NHRC) built on the basis of the […]

AHRC HUMAN RIGHTS DAY STATEMENT Effective Remedies Are Ineffective in Asia Governments Ignore U.N. Human Rights Conventions and Domestic Laws Asian Human Rights Commission December 10, 2002 1. INTRODUCTION 2. COMMUNAL VIOLENCE 3. DISCRIMINATION BASED ON CASTE AND GENDER 4. UNPROTECTED REFUGEES 5. WAR AND RIGHTS 6. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS 7. SECURITY LAWS […]

The Article 11 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh states that; “The Republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of the human person shall be guaranteed [and in which effective participation by the people through their elected representatives in administration […]

AHRC Submits Concerns about Proposed Article 23 Legislation to Legco: Article 23 May Diminish Rule of Law and Increase Corrupt Practices The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has grave concerns about the Hong Kong government’s consultation document “Proposals to Implement Article 23 of the Basic Law” that was released for a three-month consultation period on […]

INDONESIA: Attorney General’s Office Providing a ‘Fountain of Impunity’  Weeks after Indonesia’s ad hoc human rights court handed down a \”not guilty\” verdict to six officials suspected of aiding a slaughter in the Ave Maria Church in Suai, East Timor, the attorney general of Indonesia has finally turned his extreme embarrassment into action. Attorney General […]

Update: The Torture Case of Ms. H.P. Nandini Sriyatha Heart; Complications Develop in the Prosecution of Perpetrators In AHRC’s last communication on this matter, AHRC informed of a letter it had received from the Attorney General’s Department of Sri Lanka, stating that the case had been referred the Prosecution of Perpetrators of Torture Unit, functioning […]

On Aug. 2, 2002, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka declared a judgement in favour of Angeline Roshana, a 25-year-old woman who complained to the court of being tortured, illegally arrested and illegally detained by Inspector Selvin Saleh, officer in charge (OIC) of the Crimes Division of the Narahenpita police. The court held that her […]

Update on Campaign to Prosecute Torture Perpetrators  Today a demonstration by torture victims will be held at the UDHR Monument on Bullers Road in Colombo to create public awareness about the widespread practice of torture and to gain public support to implement Sri Lanka’s law against torture through the prosecution of perpetrators and through compensation […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is happy to learn that The Prosecution of Torture Perpetrators Unit of the Attorney General’s Department has forwarded the information provided by AHRC on the torture of H.P. Nandini S.Herat to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and asked CID to conduct a criminal investigation into the allegation. The letter […]

A major dispute has erupted between the two most senior police officers in Sri Lanka. The row began with a statement made by the senior deputy inspector general (DIG) of police, H. M. B. G. Kotakadeniya, to the effect that discipline in the Sri Lankan police force has collapsed. This caused the country’s highest police […]

SRI LANKA: Supreme Court Grants Leave to Proceed in Jerad Perera’s Torture Case THE SUMMARY On 26th of June, three judges of Supreme Court of Sri Lanka heard the submissions of the petitioner in the fundamental rights violation case in which Jerad Perera complained of brutal torture by the Officer In Charge (OIC) and 7 […]

Victim: Waragodamudalige Gerald Mervin Perera (39)  AHRC is alarmed by the torture of Waragodamudalige Gerald Mervin Perera, 39, father of 2 children, by eight police officers at the Wattala Police Station in Sri Lanka. The victim, Gerald Perera is presently under life support system in a hospital due to the injuries caused by the police.  […]

As the hunger strike of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph now enters its 26th day, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls for vigils to be held before all Jesuit houses all over the world urging the Jesuits to intervene with their superior general in Rome, the Rev. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, and the superiors of their […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission wrote to Mr. John Amaratunga, Minister of Interior Ministry of Interior, Colombo, Sri Lanka today (3rd June 2002) on persons who are alleged criminals who continue to be police officers of various ranks in the police stations in Sri Lanka. A summary of the report is as follows:  Reports of […]

MAJOR COLOMBO EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS FAILURE TO PREVENT TORTURE A major exhibition on ‘elimination of torture’ opened at the Public Library auditorium in Colombo, Sri Lanka on the 16th of April. The exhibits depict individual cases of torture, paintings on the theme of torture, and posters explaining the reasons for torture and laws against torture, highlighting […]