Statement

Yesterday the United Nations Human Rights Council approved the resolution on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. The gist of the resolution is that the Human Rights Council welcomes the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights offering advice and technical assistance to the government of Sri Lanka for promoting […]

Some in India would consider the country’s honour preserved, and finally respected, once the marines from Italy return to stand trial in India. The marines’ return is an issue, in which the Supreme Court of India sailed through unchartered waters, at the risk of a complete breakdown of bilateral relationships between India and Italy. The […]

The Minister of Health, Maithripala Sirisena, was reported as saying that 65 percent of the cases before the courts in Polunowara district concern rape, child abuse and the harassment of women. He also said that this has created great discouragement in his own political life. The minister made this statement at a conference held at […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates the proposed reforms to the criminal law in India – Penal Code, 1860; Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, and the Evidence Act, 1872. Amendments to the three legislations, collectively known as the Criminal Major Acts, partially address some of the pitfalls in India’s criminal law architecture with regard to […]

On March 12, 2013, the ninth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelaphaijit passed. The Asian Human Rights Commission chooses to note this anniversary with continued sorrow for the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelaphaijit and deep concern for the persistent failure to secure justice in this case. This is nine years in which the […]

After refraining from executing individuals for four years, the Indonesian authorities executed a Nigerian national, Adami Wilson, on 14 March 2013. The Tangerang District Court named Adami guilty of drug dealing and sentenced him to death in 2004. The Attorney General Office (AGO) mentioned to the press that Adami’s sentence is the first of other […]

In two separate incidents, two Sri Lankan monks have been attacked in India. These two attacks are a continuum to previous assaults upon Sri Lankan nationals visiting India. These incidents are criminally shameless and display a despicable disregard to foreigners traveling to India. They are an affirmation of the inability of a few individuals to […]

The annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council has been issued on February 11, 2013. Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on advice and technical assistance for […]

Based largely on a series of drawings by Nepali artist Sushil Thapa, Modus Operandi TORTURE exposes the true horror of what takes place in police stations around Asia. Thapa, in collaboration with the CVICT in Nepal, interviewed a number of police torture survivors and based these illustrations on their gruesome accounts of what they experienced at the […]

Ms. Perveen Rehman (56), worked for the betterment of the poor and neglected When a small lady weighing hardly 60 kilograms working for the betterment of poor slum-dwellers, and amongst the under-privileged in poorer residential areas, is viewed as a dire threat to the Taliban and the local administration, the sanity of these institutions, and […]

When the case regarding the torture of Chamila Bandara Jayaratne came before the Supreme Court yesterday (March 11) the lawyer appearing for the respondent police officers, Mr. Manohara de Silva, mislead the court by stating that leave to proceed had not been granted by the Supreme Court in this case. In fact, leave to proceed […]

Sections 295 and 295A of the Pakistan Penal Code do not differentiate between Islam and Christianity These are just two of the photos, among many, taken during the attack on Joseph Colony, a Christian residential area in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. The pictures tell the real story of the attack by Muslims extremists […]

(Photo courtesy of the Daily Express) The small incident of a quarrel between three Christian and Muslim friends during a drinking session (of alcohol) turned into the ransacking, looting and burning of 180 Christian houses in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. The fighting between the friends happened on Tuesday, March 5 but after three […]

The US sponsored resolution against neighbouring Sri Lanka has become a discussion point in India. Debates in the parliament and in the media are about whether India should support or oppose the resolution. Government of India has not decided yet, though some politicians, including the main opposition party, the BJP, have been demanding that India […]

A Golden Opportunity to abolish self-contradictory Franchise System and Restore true Justice and Democracy in Pakistan The world has strongly and repeatedly drawn the attention of Pakistan to its self-contradictory franchise system which denies the Ahmadi Muslims the fundamental right to vote.( Click here to read our previous statement on the issue) The Supreme Court of […]

Every year, this day represents a suitable occasion to remember the battles fought and the recognition gained, but above all it is a moment of reflection concerning all those achievements not yet acquired. This year in particular, the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women has been scheduled between March 4th and 15th at […]

The tribunal on war crimes established in March 2010 has pushed Bangladesh to extreme violence. Since 28 February, the events have taken a violent turn in which almost 100 persons including women, children and police officers have lost life. Several hundreds more are injured, and properties destroyed of which no body in the country has […]

A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women Statistics apart, India is not a safe place for women to live. The recent unfortunate incidents of rape reported from the national capital and from other parts of the country have only brought the gruesome reality to the fore. Gender rights groups, the […]

A court in Manipur yesterday has ordered the detention of Ms. Irom Sharmila Chanu, better known as the iron lady of Manipur. Detention is nothing new to this woman, most humble yet so bold, that she has so far successfully challenged the iron fist of the senselessness Indian state and its Manipuri counterpart, the Government […]

A video depicting ill-treatment and excessive use of force by police officers has recently been released to the public. In the video, several men who were suspected of being terrorists were lying down on the grass with their hands bound while the police officers asked them questions. One of the suspects was shot in his leg while […]