Statement

NEPAL: The slow erosion of democratic institutions hampers accountability

Statement | Nepal | 10-12-2012

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is releasing its annual report on the state of human rights protection in Nepal through 2012 on the occasion of the 64th Human Rights Day. This year the world human rights community […]

INDIA: What is the value of rights without justice?

Concepts of equality, dignity and justice are fundamental to realising human rights irrespective of jurisdictions. Universally recognised as yardsticks to measure the probity in realising human rights in a country, and guaranteed to every Indian by the Constitution of India, these normative and essential prescriptions of a justice design is experienced far below the expected […]

BANGLADESH: Government exposes its ‘zero commitment’ for people’s rights

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2012/ahrc-spr-003-2012.pdf/view The World Human Rights Day is being marked in Bangladesh, as it is being observed across the world, with tremendous frustration and hopelessness concerning the possibility to achieve justice from the criminal justice system of the country. Human Rights Day, on December 10, formally reminds the citizens […]

PAKISTAN: Failure of the institutions related to the rule of law provides impunity to the perpetrators of violations of human rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day 2012 The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2012/ahrc-spr-008-2012.pdf/view  The PPP-led government under President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Ministers Yousaf Raza Gillani and Raja Pervez Ashraf has made some effort to improve the protection of human rights […]

PAKISTAN: Journalists are threatened for reporting the rape case of a six years old Hindu girl

In the case of the rape of the six-year-old Hindu girl, Vijanti Meghwar, a student of class one, the perpetrators have threatened the journalists with death for reporting the follow up of the case. The inhuman and tragic incident took place on December 4, 2012 in Ghulam Nabi Shah village of Umer Kot district, Sindh […]

SRI LANKA: PSC continues with the fake inquiry

Yesterday (6th December) Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team walked away from the PSC inquiry after clearly stating that she had no faith in it. Subsequently, she has written to the Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa through her lawyers and clearly set out that the PSC does not qualify in terms of the constitutional requirements […]

SRI LANKA: We salute the Chief Justice and her legal team for the historical decision to walk out of the PSC proceedings.

We call upon the people, in particular the judges and lawyers, to grasp the historic significance of this moment It is news now that the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team, led by Romesh De Silva PC, walked away from the Parliamentary Select Committee proceedings, expressing no confidence in the manner in which […]

BURMA: Court issues landmark ruling on death in police custody; two accused police themselves die under dubious circumstances

In a landmark ruling, a court in Burma has rejected the police version of events that led to the death of a man in their custody, and has opened the door to a charge of murder to be brought against the officers involved. In its findings of 9 November 2012, a copy of which the […]

SRI LANKA: Why not telecast the impeachment proceedings?

According to reports, the Chief Justice (CJ) through her lawyers have informed the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that she wishes to waive the right to have the impeachment proceedings in-camera and instead wishes the inquiry to be open to the public. The Rajapaksa government has used every opportunity to make their allegations against the CJ […]

SRI LANKA: From a farce to witch hunt

The impeachment of the Chief Justice which was staged as a farce has now turned into a blatant witch hunt where the government is shamelessly mobilising taxi drivers and other mobs to call for the resignation of the Chief Justice. Today was declared by the lawyers a day of protest against the impeachment process which […]

SRI LANKA: Speaker’s ruling has no bearing upon the substantive issues in the impeachment

The Speaker’s ruling relating to the Supreme Court’s notice to the Speaker and the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee does not in any way prohibits the constitutional right of the Court to entertain and to determine the Reference made by the Court of Appeal for a specific question relating to the scope of Article […]

INDIA: Is it not time to question the role of police in crowd control?

Statement | India | 30-11-2012

The Surendranagar firing that killed three Dalit youth on 21 September this year has once again brought to light the concern, that in India, the police do not have adequate training nor the government has necessary resolve to overhaul the police service into one that fits a modern democracy. An affidavit filed by the Gujarat […]

PAKISTAN: AHRC welcomes the inter-ministerial initiative for criminalizing torture

Today, the federal Ministry for Human Rights arranged an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the proposed law against torture and custodial death. The proposed draft of the law was submitted by the Asian Human Rights Commission and Anti Torture Alliance Pakistan, with the consent of the Karachi Bar Association, Karachi Union of Journalists, Karachi Press Club, […]

PAKISTAN: Intimidation of journalists continues with the attempted assassination of Hamid Mir

An explosive device was planted in the car of a renowned journalist. It is not known as to whether this was an attempt to assassinate him or merely intimidate him. A right wing journalist by his writings Mr. Hamid Mir, the anchorperson of Geo news channel, has accused some ‘state actors’ and some ‘non state […]

BURMA: Absurd and offensive pretext to remove demonstrators opposed to mining project

In the latest turn of events in the struggle against the Letpadaung copper mining project in upper Burma, about which the Asian Human Rights Commission has been campaigning since mid-2012, the government has issued an announcement ordering that demonstrators abandon their protest sites or face criminal action. In an attempt to make its order look […]

SRI LANKA: The Standing Orders relating to the impeachment are flawed in law – says an international expert

1. I am Sergei GOLUBOK. I hold postgraduate degrees of LL.M. in International Human Rights Law awarded by the University of Essex in the United Kingdom and Candidate of Juridical Sciences in Public International Law and European Law awarded by the St. Petersburg State University in the Russian Federation. In 2008-2011 I had an honour […]

SRI LANKA: Why only judges should judge?

The Parliamentary Select Committee’s inquiry has raised the issue of the politicians being judges. Some have even said that the politicians have a better right to judge because they are elected representatives of the people whereas the judges are not. The people elect their representatives for particular purposes. By the very nature of judging guilt […]

SRI LANKA: Similarities and dissimilarities between the PSC trial and the Moscow Show Trials

In the mid-1930s, Stalin staged several trials that are now known as Moscow Show Trials. The similarities and dissimilarities between them and the “trial by PSC” are as follows. 1.    Stalin’s trials had a façade of justice, in that they were conducted in a court by a judge and prosecutor, and it was an open […]

SRI LANKA: The Supreme Court requests the PSC to withhold the impeachment inquiry

The Supreme Court yesterday (November 22) decided to inform the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed to inquire into the allegations made in the impeachment motion filed by a number of Members of Parliament against the Chief Justice. The court is inquiring into a reference made by the Court of Appeal acting in terms of Article […]

SRI LANKA: PSC rejects the request of the Supreme Court and continues with the impeach proceedings

Yesterday the Supreme Court in a carefully worded order made a request of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) inquiring into the impeachment not to proceed with their inquiry until the Supreme Court made a determination on the reference made to it by the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court referred to the good relations that […]