Statement

In recent months more than hundred people lost their lives for professing different religious beliefs.  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the attacks on two Churches and mourns the murder in cold blood of innocent Christians. The incidents took place on March 15, at Yuhana Abad, Lahore Punjab province outside two churches, St. […]

A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PHILIPPINES: Case of Jedil Esmael Mestiri-ALRC responds to Government’s report to UN Committee against Torture  On July 2012, the UN Committee against Torture, the Treaty Body that monitors the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT), had requested the government […]

Over the last week Burma, or Myanmar, has witnessed the re-emergence of some of the most sinister methods of handling public demonstrations in its modern history. The police and civilian attack mobs have violently broken up demonstrations of workers and students in the former capital, Rangoon (Yangon), and the town of Letpadan to its north. […]

On December 10, 2014, we wrote about Renante Gamara, a labour activist, who was tortured and detained on fabricated charges. He was expecting a decision from the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Taguig City on his pending appeal to have charges against him dismissed. Gamara was arrested on April 3, 2012 in Las Pinas City, […]

8th March is celebrated across the world as the international women’s day, yet many women in Pakistan remain oblivious to the significance of this day. In 2014, the World Economic Forum ranked Pakistan as the second worst country in the world in gender equality. The report measured the size of gender inequality in 142 countries in […]

Mama Qadeer ( File Photo) The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly condemns the illegal and unconstitutional action of the government of Pakistan to stop the office bearers of Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) including its vice chairperson, Mr. Abdul Qadeer, known as Mama Qadeer, General Secretary, Ms Farzana Majeed and one activist, Ms Faiqa […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Udon Thani Environmental Conservation Group about the intensification of ongoing threats and surveillance of human rights defenders who are members of the group. They have been engaged in a long-standing struggle for community participation in decisions about potash mining in Udon Thani province. Similar […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the arrest of reputed human rights defenders and advocates Thushar Nirmal Sarathy and Jaison C. Cooper under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in Kerala. They, like many others in the state, have been labeled “Maoist sympathizer” and are in jail since 30 January 2015. Jaison, […]

On Monday, 23 February 2015, at 1 pm in the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok, the court will read the verdict and sentence Patiwat Saraiyaem and Pornthip Munkhong. They were formally charged on 25 October 2014 with one count of violating Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code in relation to the performance […]

The academic activities of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST), where 13,000 students are enrolled, are severely affected by the defunct vice chancellor and suspended registrar who have filed cases against 14 teaching staff. Besides cases, the suspended registrar has issued, on three different occasions, the show cause notices to chairman […]

Women and minorities are the most marginalized faction of the Pakistani society; the Muslim majority is increasingly being intolerant towards people professing religion other than Islam. In a recent case of increasing rape incident of Christian girls, as reported by British Pakistani Christian Association, two minor Christian girls from Jaranwala, Punjab, Farzana aged 14   and […]

Since the Peshawar carnage, touted to be Pakistan’s 9/11, the Chief of Army Staff General (COAS) Raheel Shareef has been on a spree of visits to garner international support for the war on terror. The army’s confused stance on issues of terrorism and militancy has received a skeptic response from the international community who believe […]

“The idea that after the fall of the USSR we would have this liberal democracy spreading around the world was of course naive but, in many cases, these are issues of power. We have a Western elite that isn’t really interested in democracy unless its friends win. Otherwise, they are happier with a dictator whom […]

Today, (6th February 2015) the Rupavahini, TV channel in Sri Lanka, telecast a one hour interview with Basil Fernando of the Asian Human Rights Commission in its early morning programme ‘Ayubowan Suba Dawasak”- the morning talk show. The Rupavahini morning show host, Gimananda Rajapaksa interviewed Basil Fernando on many of the current issues such as the proposed constitutional reforms and […]

මාධ්‍ය වාර්තා සඳහන්කර තිබුණේ නව අධිකරණ ඇමති විජේදාස රාජපක්‍ෂ මහතා විසින් සිදුකර තිබු ප‍්‍රකාශයක් වන අපරාධ මැඩලීම සඳහා කළ හැකි සියළුම  ක‍්‍රියාමාර්ග ගන්නා බවත් එහිදී අවශ්‍ය නම් මරණ දඬුමව නැවත ක‍්‍රියාත්මක කරණ බවත්ය. අමාත්‍යවරයාගේ ප‍්‍රකාශනය ආසියානු මානව හිමිකම් කොමිෂම විසින් පිළිගන්නා අතරේ, මරණ දඬුවම ක‍්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම අපරාධ මැඩලීම සඳහා වන අරමුණ ඉෂ්ඨ කරගැනීම සඳහා වන විකල්පය […]

The media has reported a speech made by the new Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapaksa wherein the Minister has stated that everything will be done to curb the increase in crime including, if necessary, the re-imposition of the death sentence. While welcoming the Minister’s announcement that all measures will be taken to curb crime, the […]

The 67th anniversary of the declaration of independence will take place as a hopeful event. The defeat of the repressive and corrupt Mahinda Rajapaksa regime and the resolution of the crisis of judicial independence that was caused by the illegal removal of Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake from the post of Chief Justice have created this environment. That […]

On 23 January 2013 the Criminal Court in Bangkok convicted Somyot Prueksakasemsuk of two violations of Article 112 of the Criminal Code. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk is a long-time labour rights activist and human rights defender. The Court found Somyot guilty on both charges, and he was sentenced to ten years in prison in this case, as […]

Dr. Shirani Bandaranayke returned to the Supreme Court, and was warmly welcomed by all the judges of the Supreme Court and other courts, today January 28, 2015 The Asian Human Rights Commission is pleased to know that the stumbling block impeding the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka has been removed. The illegally appointed […]

Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions are on the rise amidst the political crisis in Bangladesh. At least nine people including two women have been disappeared, and seven men extrajudicially murdered between 5 January and 27 January 2015. Personnel from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and the Joint Forces (which […]