Administration of justice

This week Just Asia begins with India, where the government has cleared an ordinance introducing the death penalty for those committing sexual assault of children younger than 12 years. The ordinance has come under fire as such a serious change in the law has been attempted without proper debate and consultation in parliament. Furthermore, the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), a credible national civil society organization, about a land dispute and police violence in East Nusa Tenggara Province. One villager was killed after police officers arbitrarily opened fire on villagers protesting against the Sutera Marosi Company’s […]

A Statement from ASEAN PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (APHR) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Bahasa Version YOGYAKARTA (Indonesia), 8 May 2018 — At the conclusion of a four-day fact-finding mission, members of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today called on stakeholders in Indonesia to tackle growing intolerance and ensure that freedom of religion or […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the police attack on six public lawyers of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid (LBH Yogyakarta). Moreover, the police also prevented the lawyers from providing legal aid to the students who had been arrested and detained at the police office. In total, 11 students and […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance The proposed draft of Nepal’s National Integrity Policy (NIP)1 has created havoc among the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) and the wider human rights community in the country. It has been reported that the National Integrity Policy drafted […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the trial process of Mr. Anoldy Bahari, a resident of Gadog village, Cibitung sub-district, Pandeglang Regency, Banten Province. The judges of Pandeglang District Court ignored evidence, witnesses and defence petitions submitted by Alnoldy. On the contrary, the judges merely considered the witnesses […]

An article from The Mint forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Kathua and Unnao. The eight-year-old, gang raped and murdered in Kathua, was reported missing in early January—more than three months ago. According to the chargesheet, the victim’s body was discovered on 17 January, five whole days after her father reported her missing. In Unnao, a Bharatiya Janata Party […]

By Leonard Pinto In 1960s, a handful of academics in theology departments in some North American universities made a case for a ‘theology without God’, based on the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). The self-contradictory concept drew attention of Americans that Time magazine addressed the issue with a unique cover page, Is God Dead? in […]

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where April 25 marked the third year since the devastating Gorkha-centered earthquake. The 2015 earthquake killed 8,979 people and destroyed around 900,000 homes. It is a tragedy that many victims continue living in tattered makeshift camps and tents. As yet another monsoon nears, people hope that the new […]

When Thomas Hobbes wrote his book, the Leviathan, he likened the state to a mighty fish, using a biblical symbol. His basic argument was that if human beings are to organize their society for their own benefit, so as to overcome each ones’ greed to grab things for themselves alone, there was the need of […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from LBH Jakarta (Jakarta Legal Aid), SAFEnet, and Sejuk. All of them are civil society organizations that monitored and advocated the following case. It is in regard to a criminal charge against Mr. Alnoldy Bahari, a resident of Gadog village, Cibitung sub-district, Pandeglang Regency, […]

by Basil Fernando One of the things that the Sri Lankan State as well as the Civil Society itself has given up on- is the control of crime. Crime has spread into everything and continues to spread further and further. However, we see that the more crime spreads, the less amenable it is for us […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and FORUM-ASIA to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina To: H.E. Sheikh Hasina Wazed Prime Minister of Bangladesh C/O Md. Nojibur Rahman Principal Secretary to the HPM Prime Minister’s Office Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215 BANGLADESH Dear Prime Minister, FORUM-ASIA, the Asian […]

Sachin Kumar Jain Today’s society does not need isolated sympathy. It needs empathy; to feel the other by planting ourselves in their circumstances. To see what their eyes are seeing, hear what their ears are listening to, feel their fears and joys, successes and failures. Empathy is not a miracle, but a way to feel […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding cases of forced evictions. They were conducted by the Indonesian Navy (Lantamal V TNI AL) against local residents in Jalan Tanjung Karang (East Part), Jalan Tanjung Balai (East Part), Jalan Tanjung Pinang (East Part), Jalan Tanjung Torawitan, Jalan Tanjung Layar, Jalan Tanjung Pura […]

An article from The Sunday Times, written by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardenaforwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Some weeks ago, a ruling party politician in the Gampaha District was captured on national television becoming incandescent with rage on being asked to produce his identity card by a police officer. Working himself up to a veritable frenzy, that worthy representative of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) notes that press freedom and journalist protection in Indonesia is under serious threat. Despite the fact that the government commits to support press freedom, media and journalists have yet to fully enjoy such rights. According to Press Legal Aid (LBH Pers), the number of human rights violations against journalists […]

A Statement from Right to Information Commission of Sri Lanka forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Raisa Wickrematunga v. Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) RTICAppeal (In person)/106/2018 (Appeal heard as a part of a formal meeting of the Commission on 27.02.2018) Order under Section 32 (1) of the Right to Information Act, […]

An article from the Jakarta Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Jony Eko Yulianto The daughter of Indonesia’s first president, Sukmawati Soekarnoputri, issued her tearful apology to Indonesian Muslims over her poem which allegedly insulted Islam. She said “Ibu Indonesia” (Mother Indonesia), which suggested traditional songs and women’s appearances were more beautiful than “your […]

A Press Release from ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)   JAKARTA, 11 April 2018 — The arrival in Malaysia and Indonesia of boats carrying Rohingya refugees from Myanmar is a worrying potential signal of further regional repercussions of ongoing persecution in Rakhine State, ASEAN Parliamentarians for […]