Administration of justice

BURMA/MYANMAR: Myanmar Situation Update

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement Here The protests continued for the 12th week across the country despite the brutal crackdown. After a weeks- long absence, protesters returned to the streets in downtown Yangon ahead of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. The media also reported that more than […]

WORLD: A democracy: A Report by Dr. Vandana Shiva

An article from Dr. Vandana Shiva forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We are happy Forwarding Connecting the Rights of Mother Earth to Human Rights and the Well Being of All Kindly see the link.

SRI LANKA: The Promise of Justice for Easter Sunday Massacre Is A Big Lie

By Basil Fernando  Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith presided over the 21st of April commemoration with the participation of other religious leaders. Talking about the issue, he has said that the problem is not just about Catholics, but that it is about the whole country. According to him, he sees the problem of terrorism and extremism as […]

INDIA: Anatomy of a Pandemic!

Article | India | 21-04-2021

By Avinash Pandey With over 2 lakh (two hundred thousand) new daily cases for almost a week, India is reeling under a second and far more lethal wave of COVID19 pandemic. India reported a record 2.94 lakh cases, second largest daily jump anywhere in the world on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 with a record 2,000 […]

INDONESIA: Long Journey of the Work of AHRC Empowering and Inspiring

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and its sister organization, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), have long history of journey working with local human rights networks and organizations in Indonesia. In addition, the AHRC also has long experiences working with association of victims and family of victims of past human rights abuses such as […]

SRI LANKA: 1972 CJC: The beginning of the collapse of the criminal justice system

By Basil Fernando The Criminal Justice Commissions (CJC) Act, No. 14 of 1972, marked the beginning of the collapse of Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system. The process that started then, gradually expanded further and further, and today, the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka is virtually dysfunctional. What the CJC Act in fact did was […]

SRI LANKA: Rule By Gazettes Leads to Impoverishment and Insecurity

By Basil Fernando It is not for fun that the Government established processes for taking decisions and implementing them. It is the age old wisdom gained through various experiences throughout history that led to the establishment of these processes before making decisions and also for implementing and following up on them. The most underlying principle […]

INDONESIA: A Journalist brutally attacked while carrying out media coverage

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-005-2021 April 16, 2021 ——————————————————————— INDONESIA: Journalist Brutally Attacked While Carrying Out Media Coverage ISSUES: Freedom of expression, freedom of the press, access to justice, fair trial, impunity —————————————- Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding violence against a […]

SRI LANKA: Institutional theories about the use of torture

By Basil Fernando There are a number of entrenched beliefs which have become institutional doctrines within the policing system which contribute to the continuing practice of torture. No suspect will ever tell the truth. Therefore, it is better not to waste time asking questions before torturing the person. This is a practice almost invariably followed […]

SRI LANKA: Why do Sri Lankan Police officers torture suspects? Part II

By Basil Fernando “Police officer” refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon to do Police-related duties such as conduct interrogations, similar to the military and other agencies. Another aspect, relevant to this discourse, generally […]

NEPAL: NHRC must respond to the letter sent by the GANHRI

We, the four organizations—Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Advocacy Forum, Lawyer’s Association for the Human Rights of Nepal’s Indigenous Peoples (LAHURNIP) and Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA)—would like to urge the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to timely respond to a letter sent by the Global Alliance for Global Alliance of National Human Rights […]

SRI LANKA: Why do Sri Lankan police officers torture suspects?

By Basil Fernando “Police officer” refers mostly to persons working for the Sri Lanka Police Service. But in the context of custodial torture, it also includes others who at times are called upon to do police-related duties such as conduct interrogations, similar to the military and other agencies. Another aspect, relevant to this discourse, generally speaking, […]

SRI LANKA: A Lunatic Police Attack

By Basil Fernando A brutal attack by Police Officers caught on a video tape has gone viral on social media. It has caused expressions of public dismay about the levels of violence that Sri Lankan Police practice. The video shows how a Police Officer jumps on the body of a fallen young driver and attacks […]

SRI LANKA: UNHRC Resolution: A Ray of Hope for Sri Lanka

By Basil Fernando The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” was adopted with 22 members of the council voting in favour of the resolution, 11 members voting against it and 14 members abstaining. The passing of the resolution marks the strongest action ever taken by the […]

WORLD: An Interview with Basil Fernando on his book Body, Mind, Soul, and Society

You may watch the interview at the following link.  Some comments of the book as follows. This is a unique and important book… One learns invaluable lessons from this insightful book and, for that, one is grateful to the author for contributing to our understanding of what it means to be working for the promotion and […]

SRI LANKA: Black Sunday- Mourning the Death of Criminal Investigating Capacity

By Basil Fernando In answering the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka, the faithful living in various parts of the country wore black and attended the churches as a protest against the failure to provide justice for all those who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019. They also participated […]

INDONESIA: Elegy For “Mbokde” (Aunty) Suu Kyi

Gugus Elmo Rai’is, Indonesian Journalist Tracing back the life history of Aung San Suu Kyi is like enjoying an elegy in the form of a song containing lamentation and sorrow. Not only for Suu Kyi, but also all citizens of Myanmar. An elegy, which may engender a new perception, if the power is like an […]

INDONESIA: Analisa Saya Terkait Pemekaran Provinsi di Papua Barat

Written by Mr. Theo Hesegem (Executive Director of the Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation) Menurut Direktur Yayasan Keadilan dan Keutuhan Manuaia (the Papua Justice and Human Integrity Foundation), Theo Hesegem, Pejabat di Jakarta sangat pintar hebat dan luar biasa, tetapi menurut saya tidak pernah berpikir dan menganalisa resiko dan masalah yang akan berdampak konflik […]

SRI LANKA: Rupavahini Incident: Unanswered Questions

by Basil Fernando In a separate article, I reported a recently delivered judgment by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka regarding an arbitrary termination of broadcast by the Rupavahini Corporation in 2008. The purpose of this article is not to recapture the findings of that judgment but to go into some of the factual information […]

INDONESIA: Pretrial detention under the Criminal Law Procedure needs serious reform, having caused torture and ill-treatment

A Written Statement to the 46th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the problem in the existing Criminal Law Procedure which at present still regulates pretrial detention in […]