Statement

A relative of a young man accused of bombing the traditional New Year festival in Rangoon during 2010 has again petitioned the Supreme Court for the trial to be transferred to another judge and for the case to be heard in accordance with law. The petition comes after the police officer in charge of the […]

These days there is considerable discussion about investigations into some NGOs in Sri Lanka. The president himself is talking in public about this issue and already implying that there is some kind of wrong doing on the part of some NGOs. This has also been followed by several media channels. Therefore some simple reflections on […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and the Jagaran Media Center “Overcoming racism compels us to address public policies and private attitudes that perpetuate it.” Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the occasion of the 2011 International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Every year since 1966, 21 March […]

Bombing of NGO office following religious standoff while US Congress urges President to revoke decrees Following a series of violent incidents against religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyah community, two regional administrations in Indonesia had issued local decrees banning the Ahmadiyah followers. On February 6, in Cikeusik Banten for example three Ahmadiyah followers were killed and […]

According to a report received by the Asian Human Rights Commission, the two complaints made by a final year Law College student D M T Jayaratne to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRC) have been rejected by the Commission in writing on the grounds that they do not come within its ambit. One of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the President of India, Honourable Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, for her visit to the northeastern states of Nagaland and Manipur. The President visited Nagaland yesterday and will spend today and tomorrow in Manipur. During a speech at Dimapur in Nagaland the President urged the northeastern states “to put […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates the President of India, Honourable Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, for her visit to the northeastern states of Nagaland and Manipur. The President visited Nagaland yesterday and will spend today and tomorrow in Manipur. During a speech at Dimapur in Nagaland the President urged the northeastern states “to put […]

  Despite the slow crackdown on corruption in India, the two recent incidents of assault upon human rights and right to information activists in the country reiterates the fear that fighting corruption is suicidal in India. Of the two incidents, one is reported from Jharkhand and the other from Rajasthan. In Jharkhand, criminals abducted Mr. […]

As the International Day for Women is celebrated today it is only fitting to give some thought the major areas of concern regarding women’s rights in Sri Lanka. One of the most disheartening aspects of the treatment of women in Sri Lanka is the utter neglect about the cases of rape and harassment. The Asian […]

The International Women’s Day is the opportunity to celebrate women’s rights and empowerment. However, it is also the time to reflect on how the rights on paper and the statistics comply with the everyday life of the women. In Sri Lanka the day is officially celebrated at a ceremony convened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa under […]

A Statement from the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the International Women’s Day For 100 years now, a strong struggle for equal rights between genders has been taking place in the world. International women’s day is the opportunity to celebrate women’s economic, political and social achievements. It is the day to acknowledge […]

Pakistan, the Asian Human Rights Commission and the world at large has lost a great advocate in the cause of human rights in general and religious minorities in particular by the brutal assassination of Mr. Shahbaz Bhatti, the Federal Minister for Religious Minorities. Mr. Bhatti, the only Christian minister, was shot to death while traveling […]

A prominent human rights defender from Balochistan province, working on the cases of disappeared persons was shot dead by unknown persons riding on a motorbike. Mr. Naeem Sabir Baloch, the district coordinator of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), an NGO, was gunned down on March 1, 2011 in Khuzdar market, Khuzdar district, Balochistan. […]

A Joint Statement by numerous NGOs from around the world, including the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) LIBYA: NGOs call for Libya’s suspension from the Human Rights Council As nongovernmental organizations from all regions of the world working in the field of human rights, we call upon the United Nations General Assembly to immediately suspend […]

One of the fishermen who returned after to Sri Lanka after being captured by Somali pirates described to the BBC Sinhala Service how the Sri Lankan government had done nothing to assist or save those who were captured. The man reported that he had learned that the Foreign Affairs Ministry officers had said, “Nothing can […]

In an astounding ruling that underscores the extent to which the judiciary in Burma has abdicated its authority in favour of the security services, a Supreme Court justice has ruled that permission or refusal of observers to attend trial hearings held inside prison facilities is not a matter for the presiding judges to decide. The […]

Myrna Reblando’s reaction demonstrates the absence of remedy within the system of justice not a mere ‘hysteria’.   Facts of the case & details of the video   As described and shown in the video of Philstar.com: Victim’s kin goes hysterical at Maguindanao massacre trial   February 03, 2011   MANILA, Philippines — Today’s hearing of […]

Devarathnam Yogendra ( 28 ) is the complainant in a bribery case against IP Wijesuriya of the Hatton Police Station, who has been indicted on a charge of obtaining bribes. This charge has been filed on the basis of a complaint made by Yogendra on November 6, 2007 and it is alleged that a decoy […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has consistently reported in the recent weeks on the issue of the government’s refusal to take action on the incitement to murder and civil disobedience by religious extremists. Several high profile cases have been reported on both matters by the AHRC and other international NGOs, however, the government has […]

Last week, the Attorney General (AG) agreed to withdraw charges of murder and the causing of grievous hurt against four people who had been accused and charged before the Colombo High Court. The accused agreed to plead guilty for the charge of unlawful assembly, their third and final charge. The accused allegedly caused the murder […]