Statement

Three days ago, two human rights activists campaigning for one of the candidates contesting the national election received a message sent by an opposing candidate. The message arrived in the form of the heads of two freshly slaughtered dogs. This message is symbolic in more ways than one. It represents what has gone radically wrong […]

Two heads of dogs, freshly severed, have been strewn in front of the houses of two well-known human rights defenders as the race in the presidential election is intensifying in Sri Lanka. Mr. Brito Fernando and Prasanga Fernando are two well-known human rights activists who have a long history of fighting for the protection of […]

Everyone knows that Pakistan’s government and military have failed to deal with the widespread terrorism in the country. All Pakistanis would agree that this problem needs to be addressed and that it should be addressed urgently and thoroughly. However, the government’s suggestion of enabling the military to try terror suspects in military courts is no […]

Lifting of moratorium from Capital punishment: punishing death with death The immediate reaction of the government to the killing of the children in Peshawar on December 16 has been to lift the moratorium on death sentences of prisoners on death row. It is most likely that the popular anger that has developed as a result […]

On Monday, 29 December 2014, at 9 am in the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok, Patiwat Saraiyaem and Pornthip Munkhong will appear before the court for the first time since being formally charged on 25 October 2014. They have been charged with violating Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code in relation to […]

Almost a week has passedsince the brutal terrorist attack on the army administered public school, in Peshawar, which killed 132 students and nine staff members including the principal – all of whom were shot dead, one after the other, by Taliban gunmen.  The government of Pakistan instead of holding an investigation into the massive lapseof […]

The Pakistan Government should take the military to establishment to task, for failing to protect the 141 innocent children and staff killed by the Taliban The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) unequivocally condemns the attack by the Taliban on 16th December in a school in Peshawar, killing 132 children and nine staff members. The world […]

Whatever be the outcome of the presidential election to be held on the 8th of January 2015, Sri Lanka has already entered into the deepest political crisis it has ever faced since the adoption of the Executive Presidential system through the 1978 Constitution. Within the period of a few weeks, all the manifestations of strength […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 Speaking about the rule of law in Pakistan is fatuous. This is a state where “might is right” and anarchy, in its worst connotations, rule supreme. Corruption, nepotism, red tape, and a dishonest bureaucracy pollute the “land of the pure”. In terms […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 The more things change, the more they remain the same goes an adage. It holds true for hunger in Asia. Most Asian countries appear to have made momentous gains in addressing absolute hunger, as evidenced by the Global Hunger Report 2014 of […]

17-year-old Malala Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner for her work promoting young people’s rights. Here she is, accepting that honour. In the name of God, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful. Honourable UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon, Respected President General Assembly Vuk Jeremic Honourable UN envoy for Global education Mr Gordon […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 The second Constituent Assembly election, which was held on 19 November 2013, changed the political situation of Nepal. The Maoists, which got the highest number of votes in the first Constituent Assembly elections, clocked in third this time. The Nepali Congress (NC) […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 On Human Rights Day 2014, the Asian Human Rights Commission notes the persistent pattern of state perpetrated attacks, notably against human rights and political activists, which has continued for over a decade in the Philippines. It was in early 2000s that the […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 Fundamental human rights are not guaranteed in Bangladesh in the daily life of its people. The rights of freedom of expression and opinion are infringed. The freedom of press is severely curtailed. People are being imprisoned for expressing their opinion about powerful […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 In the absence of thorough justice institution reforms, human rights guarantees in India will remain a mirage. The transcendent principles of dignity, freedom, and equality to all enshrined in the Constitution and the interpretations that the courts and the Parliament have provided […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) joins millions of Asians and others across the globe to mourn the sad demise of Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer. Aged 100, Justice Krishna Iyer passed away today at a hospital in Kerala, India. He was a member of AHRC’s advisory group and was an active participant in AHRC’s […]

Disappearances and extra judicial killings in the Sindh Province continues unabated; in many cases disappearances have occurred following arrest by the police and at times by plain clothed persons, presumably from intelligence agencies; thereafter being taken into custody, most often tortured and ultimately their bodies are found dumped on the streets. In the Sindh Province, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned that large numbers of Madhesi activists have been arrested from different parts of Kathmandu in the lead up to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. Those arrested were preparing to attend a programme in Kathmandu’s Sundhara area on 26th November, organized by Madhesi […]

The non-implementation of the laws created for the protection of women keep them forever in virtual slavery. The dismal situation, despite several laws namely the Women’s Protection Act, the Acid Control and Crime Act, the Protection Against Harassment at Workplace Act, theLaw of Inheritance and the ratified Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of […]

On 19 and 20 November, student and other activists carried out a series of peaceful, symbolic protests against the dictatorship in Thailand.  In response, the military and police acted to swiftly end the protests and arrest eight of the activists under the terms of martial law. The position of the National Council for Peace and […]