Administration of justice

On March 13 2018, the Third Judicial Magistrate at the First Class Court in Mangalore acquitted Pramod Muthalik, and 25 other members of the Sri Rama Sene of the 2009 assault of several women in a Amnesia, a Mangalore pub. The Sri Ram Sene is a right-wing Hindutva group that has previously been involved in […]

Karapatan condemns the listing of more than 600 persons, human rights defenders and critics of the Duterte government in the proscription petition filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, at a regional court in Manila on February 21, 2018. The petition not only seeks to declare the Communist […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from KARAPATAN Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights For more information, please contact: Cristina Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831 Thank you.  Urgent Appeals Desk  Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)  ———————————————————————– Urgent Appeal for Solidarity and Action for Activists, Human Rights Defenders and […]

This week Just Asia focuses on International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8. The day is an opportunity to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women in the development of their communities. In Indonesia, women rights activists from various civil society organizations […]

The Republic of Indonesia, an independent state since 17 August 1945, is a State based on the rule of law. Its constitution emphasizes (UUD 1945), in particular article 1 paragraph 3: “The State of Indonesia shall be a state based on the rule of law.” A state based on the rule of law means that the law […]

Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan (Guria), an organization based in Varanasi, has been working against human trafficking and forced prostitution for more than two decades. Guria is AHRC’s partner organisation and in 2016, Guria filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the High Court at Allahabad, seeking guidelines to be issued to the police for the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional, non-governmental, human rights organization in Asia, has learned of the current situation on the war against terrorism in Indonesia. We deplore the action of the Police of the Republic of Indonesia, in particular Special Detachment Anti-Terror Unit (Densus 88). They have not seriously learned from their previous […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Attorney General of Nepal Mr. Agni Prasad Kharel  Attorney General Office of Attorney General  Ramshah Path, Kathmandu NEPAL Tel: +977 1 4240210, +977 1 4262548, +977 1 4262394 Fax: +977 1 4262582 / 4218051 Email: info@attorneygeneral.gov.np Dear Mr. Agni Prasad Kharel: The Asian Human Rights Commission […]

A supplement to the Asian Human Rights Charter launched in Gwangju, South Korea on 17 May, 1998 This declaration is to be launched on the 20th anniversary of launching of the Asian Human Rights Charter (A People’s Charter) The Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation(Gwangju, South Korea) are presenting herewith the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned about the harassment faced by residents and trade unionists of banana plantations affiliated to the May First Labor Movement (Kilusang Mayo Uno) in Mindanao. They were tagged by the military as New People’s Army (NPA) rebel group supporters, and are being summoned to military […]

This week Just Asia begins with Amnesty International’s annual report, highlighting a worldwide worsening of human rights. Released last Thursday, the report covers 159 countries. It claims that world leaders are increasingly “undermining the rights of millions,” either by turning a blind eye to rights abuses, or by perpetrating them. The ‘epicenter of human tragedy’ […]

Indonesia’s penal code, a legacy of Dutch colonialism, has been discussed for many years in the parliament, resulting in academic papers and draft revisions of the law. Nonetheless, little progress has been achieved, with an official discussion in parliament only beginning in 2015, under President Joko Widodo’s administration. The 100-years-old penal code issued by the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Human Rights Initiative, the Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Alert, and Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur regarding the harassment and surveillance on Nobo Urikhimbam, human rights defender and activist. CASE NARRATIVE: The AHRC has received information regarding the military surveillance […]

By Avinash Pandey In other times Jyoti could have gotten at least a little outrage for her, often all poor and the marginalized get in the country after such tragedies inflicted upon them. Alas, the country is busy over outraging the USD 1.7 billion fraud, and counting, that the Punjab National Bank has complained Nirav […]

The full documentary can be viewed HERE. Josefina Bergsten is a producer of several social documentaries. Some of these documentaries are, “Unjust – a story of three surviving widows of three human rights activists who were assassinated in their countries”. They were, Munir Said Thalib from Indonesia, who was assassinated by poisoning while travelling in an […]

A reflection on the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council, 26 February–23 March 2018 by Basil Fernando The idea of good governance in Sri Lanka seems to be – to make lot of good promises and thereafter to ignore […]

Opening Statement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 37th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission 37th session of the Human Rights Council Opening statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein 26 February 2018 Distinguished President of the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where a sword-wielding man attacked a church during Sunday services at St Lidwina Church, Yogyakarata province. The man burst into the church on Java Island, ran toward the choir and attacked German pastor Karl Edmund Prier, who was leading the choir. He then slashed the statues of Jesus […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the following information. It comes from the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), East Java Province branch office, a national human rights organization. The information is related to a land dispute case with local residents of Sumberanyar village, Nguling sub-district, Pasuruan Regency, […]

On 8 February 2018, Fatou Bensoula, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague announced her decision “to open a preliminary examination” into the Philippine government’s war on drugs, which ‘potentially falls within the Court’s jurisdiction’ (read full text of her speech here). The Republic of the Philippines is State party to the Rome […]