Statement

On 24 July 2015, the Supreme Court of India, while deciding Criminal Miscellaneous Petition 1606/1997 along with Writ Petition (Criminal 539/1986), in short D.K. Basu (2), has directed the state governments to form State Human Rights Commissions in the states of Delhi, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland. In the same Order, it has […]

There is a general sense of impunity for the law enforcement agencies, particularly the intelligence and military, the most powerful institution on Pakistan. The victims of the illegal, violent, and cruel actions of law enforcement personnel, and their families, complain that even when clearly identified by witnesses, no investigation is conducted against the perpetrators, let […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Nepal police has fired 4 rounds of bullets and several rounds of tear gas canons, in addition to a baton charge, on people watching documentaries of Dr. Raut in Baluwa Bazaar of Mahottari District on Tuesday evening at around 8 p.m. Around 25 people […]

Yesterday, the CID filed a report at the Magistrates Court of Colombo, seeking to re-open criminal proceedings regarding the alleged murder of the rugby player Wasim Thajudeen. Wasim, who was a well known rugby player and voted as the most popular ruggerite for the year 2009 by Caltex Observer Touchdown Rugby quiz, was found dead […]

Freedom of the press is the cornerstone of every democracy. However, in states where democracy is little more than fascism in the façade of democracy, press freedom is the first casualty. This is the case in Pakistan, where journalists are suffering from an epidemic of violence. The latest attack has been on Geo News Bureau […]

The Prime Minister’s announcement for the need of a new constitution, one that will be in keeping with those found in developed countries, is quite welcome. The 1978 Sri Lankan Constitution is primitive. It is a shame on the nation. And, a change is certainly needed. However, a reminder is in order. The making of […]

On Thursday, July 23, police in Indagaw Township in Bago (Pegu) Region of Myanmar arrested human rights defender Ma Su Su Nwe and took her to the local court, where she was remanded in custody charged with trespassing under section 447 of the Penal Code: a section of law now being used with monotonous regularity […]

The scope for the right to privacy and freedom of expression is being narrowed further in Pakistan, according to a report published by Privacy International. The report claims that Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies are closer than ever to removing internet privacy and increasing surveillance of the private data of average citizens, an exercise which […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the use of excessive force by the police in different districts of the Terai during public’s feedback collection on the first draft of the constitution. The Madhes based parties, Mohan Baidhya and Netra Bikram Chand led Maoist parties, and some other outfits, had decided to […]

Post the December 16 Peshawar carnage, wherein more than 150 school children and staff were massacred by the Taliban, the government of Pakistan went into a damage control mode and drafted a 20 point “National Action Plan (NAP) to counter terrorism and insurgency in Pakistan. Six months since its promulgation the NAP has had been […]

A total of 180,657 rural households continue to engage in manual scavenging in India, despite the inhuman practice being repeatedly outlawed by the Parliament and Judiciary. This is the state a year after the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), a flagship scheme of the incumbent government, covering 4,041 statutory towns, aiming to […]

Gender jurisprudence is unheard of in the realm of Pakistan’s criminal justice system. In fact, it is continuously at discord with social norms that are enforced by the biases of the criminal justice system. While there is a preconceived notion that the criminal justice system primarily revolves around men, as men are predisposed to violence, […]

On 12 June 2015, international NGO Save the Children, with over three decades of presence in Pakistan, was given a 15-days ultimatum to wind up its operations in the country. Following immense international pressure, the Pakistani government subsequently backtracked from the order. The ban came in the wake of accusations linking the aid agency to […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the actions of the police of the Republic of Indonesia, which has been actively working towards fabricating charges in numerous recent cases. Last month, the AHRC issued an urgent appeal AHRC-UAC-070-2015 in such a case, wherein a senior Corruption Eradication Commission investigator has been arrested and charged. Since President Joko […]

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) mengecam tindakan dari Kepolisian Republik Indonesia, yang telah secara aktif melakukan rekayasa kasus dalam beragam kasus baru-baru ini. Bulan lalu, AHRC juga mengeluarkan surat desakan dengan nomor AHRC-UAC-070-2015 tentang rekayasa kasus, dimana seorang investigator senior dari Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) ditangkap dan dipidanakan. Sejak Presiden Joko Widodo akhirnya membatalkan pencalonan Komisaris Jenderal Pol […]

The criminal justice system in Pakistan is known to be faulty, exploitive, and inequitable. Compound this with a low conviction rate, between three and seven percent, at best, and what one has is a recipe for chaos, as is being witnessed in the country today. The investigators are poorly trained and lack access to basic […]

Global civil society alliance, CIVICUS, and the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) express grave concern over the unabated incursions on fundamental human rights and democratic freedoms in Bangladesh amid the on-going political violence in the country. A Joint Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and the Global Civil Society Alliance (CIVICUS) Global civil society […]

The anecdote of the boiling frog springs to mind. The story goes that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out. However, if it is placed in water that is heated slowly, it will not perceive danger until it is boiled alive. Citizens of Pakistan suffer from this predicament today. Rather […]

A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre Further to our comments on the Government’s periodic report to the UN Committee against Torture, herein we will look into the case of RahmanTotoh.  In its communications (UN Doc. CAT/C/PHL/Q/3, para. 5), the Committee requested the Government to comment on “no investigations” into Totoh’s claim of torture, […]

H. E. Hun Sen Prime Minister Royal Government of Cambodia Phnom Penh, Cambodia 6 July 2015 Re: Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations Dear Prime Minister Hun Sen, We, the undersigned international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and membership organizations call on the government of Cambodia to immediately withdraw the draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations […]