Statement

The Mothers and Daughters of Lanka, a well known human rights organisation joined with many others who are demanding the immediate release of Rizana Nafeek, a young Sri Lankan girl who has been held in a prison in Saudi Arabia for over five years, allegedly for the killing of an infant; a charge which she […]

It is a reality today that opinions, expressions, understandings and assessments of regimes, and of those who lead and shape them and their subsequent conduct that has affected and continues to influence millions of life everywhere in the world are no more secrets accessible only to a privileged few. Thanks to the effort of WikiLeaks, […]

About 50,000 members of the fisher folk community in the Negombo lagoon area have been protesting against a move by the government to initiate a tourism project which will require the reclamation of part of the lagoon to build a landing strip. The Negombo lagoon is rich with marine resources and has provided livelihoods for […]

One of the first trips that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made after her release this 13 November 2010 was to a privately-run hospice for persons living with HIV/AIDS in Rangoon, where she offered words of encouragement to residents. Since then, the government has ordered that all of the 82 persons and their carers leave […]

Around a dozen Christian youths were arrested and tortured and their houses searched by their Muslim neighbours in the presence of police officers to arrest a young Christian man, Zohaib alias Noami, (20), the son of Pervez Rahi, who was in love with a Muslim girl, Anum, (18), the daughter of Muhammad Abid. Noami and […]

Recent killings include that of a journalist and 24 others It has been reported during the recent weeks that in the province of Balochistan the mutilated bodies of 25 persons, who had earlier been abducted by persons in plain clothes, have been found. The deceased person’s family members claim that these people were abducted by […]

It does not take much time for any rational person to agree that the families and the victims of the Maguindanao massacre must obtain justice. Anything less is unacceptable. The sheer evil that the perpetrators demonstrated in killing 57 innocent people, 32 of whom were journalists; and to disappear one person, in the manner that […]

Assassination of a torture victim and the death of criminal justice in Sri Lanka On the 22nd November 2004 at 11:30 am, Gerald Perera, a torture victim who was to give evidence in the High Court of Negombo against six police officers from the Wattala Police Station who brutally tortured him, was shot while traveling […]

Many places nationwide have been designated for redevelopment. The redevelopment plan has been made in order for the government to induce investment from companies. Once a place is designated for redevelopment, residents, including tenants, have to leave their place with appropriate compensation on due process. However, in most case, the evictees receive threats and intimidations […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained a copy of an Investigation Report released by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) regional office III, exonerating soldiers who were accused of illegally arresting, detaining and torturing five indigenous people in Barangay (village) Dikapinisan, San Luis, Aurora province in December 2009. The AHRC questions the logic, merit and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the report that Ms Leila De Lima, secretary of the Department of Justice (DoJ), has “pointed on the importance of having a unified penitentiary system.” The current structure of the prison system is under the authority of two government departments, the DoJ and the Department of Interior and Local Government […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of Sri Lanka to immediately enable the family of Rizana Nafeek to travel to Riyadh to participate in the proceedings of Rizana’s case. It is of the highest importance that Rizana’s family are present in Riyadh during this critical time. Their presence will have an essential impact […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission offers its warmest and sincere congratulations to Ms. Asma Jahangir on the announcement that Pakistan’s leading human rights defender has been named as this year’s winner of a United Nations award that recognizes outstanding individual contribution to promoting a culture of human rights around the world. The Director-General of the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the serious degradation of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK)’s internal regulations and systems, which increasingly threaten the institution’s ability to function in favour of human rights after the appointment of the chairperson and new standing commissioner of the NHRCK by ignoring the NHRCK […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission is happy to learn that His Royal Highness King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia has taken the initial steps towards a reprieve for Rizana Nafeek, the Sri Lankan girl who is currently on the death row in Saudi Arabia convicted for strangling a baby in her care. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission shares the excitement felt worldwide at the release of Burma’s unrivalled symbol of democracy and hope for the future, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and at her first public speech in many years, held at the headquarters of the National League for Democracy in Rangoon on 14 November 2010. The […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission once again wishes to draw your attention to the case of Rizana Nafeek, the innocent Sri Lankan girl, who has been sentenced to death by beheading in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia after an infant accidentally died in her care while being bottle fed. Rizana, who worked as a domestic helper in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Korean government’s prohibition of entry against activists of civil society movements from other countries without reason and the refusal to grant a visa to the main organiser for ‘World March for Women’ which is going to be held during the G20 summit in Korea. According to […]

Yesterday, 11 November 2010, the Supreme Court of Burma rejected a special appeal against the continued detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, following the trespassing onto her premises of an American citizen in 2009. The Asian Human Rights Commission, among other groups, previously pointed to the contradictory, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received updated information on the situation of Mr. Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri and the revocation of his citizenship by the refusal to renew his and the passports of the members of his family. We have now learned that the situation is as follows: Mr. Kashmiri himself has been granted […]