Corruption

An Article by Basil Fernando  This is a speech delivered by Basil Fernando at  The Fifth  Human Rights Cities Forum-  As the Keynote address for the Special  Session on Asian Human Rights – Human Rights in Asia and Vision of Human Rights City- 16th May 2015. It is useful, I think, to recall the aims […]

In this week’s Roundup, AHRC TV brings to you critical stories from the region. The programme begins with an update on Nepal, where a second major earthquake has rocked the nation. Renewed rescue efforts, along with relief work, have recommenced, but are inadequate for the needs of the people of the Himalayan nation.  Staying in Nepal, […]

Kerala Inspector General of Police, Mr. T.J. Jose was expelled from a public examination centre on 4 May 2015 for cheating. Jose, who arrived at the centre in his official vehicle, in civilian dress, was caught red-handed by the invigilator copying from photocopies of booklets he had hidden inside a hand towel. The officer was […]

Photograph by CJ Chanco © Note: this article was first published in latest issue of the Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives (Torture Magazine) by Danilo Reyes In August 2014, police arrested a Chinese national caught transporting ten kilos of high grade shabu (poor man’s cocaine) in his car in Quezon City. The suspect was visibly having difficulty understanding […]

A revolt has been organized by few irresponsible politicians through a campaign to stop investigations into allegations of bribery and corruption. The latest name to be added to the list of those who are being investigated on such allegations is the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa himself. There cannot be a greater attempt to drag a […]

The 2006 amendment to the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, clearly states that truth is a valid defence against contempt of court proceedings in India. This Act, number 6 of 2006 of the Indian Parliament, amends Section 13 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, incorporating Sub-section (b) to Section 13. Sub-section 13 (b) reads: […]

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan launched its annual report “State of Human Rights in 2014″ Parliament made 10 laws, less than half the previous year’s 22. Nine presidential ordinances were promulgated. Some important laws passed by the parliament were designed to address security concerns, working of the judicial system, and issues related to terrorism, including the controversial […]

Discrimination based on caste practices, including untouchability, is a deep and unhealed wound in India’s collective conscience. Caste-based prejudices adversely affect an estimated 160 million Indians. Despite a constitutional injunction and legislations that seeks to prohibit caste-based discrimination, the practice continues in India. Most tribal communities in the country also face discrimination that has its […]

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched with much fanfare and was touted at the vehicle to drive India’s poor out of financial untouchability; it remains one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A country dealing with the double whammy of a nightmarish accident toll and a virtually non-existent public […]

By Avinash Pandey  The Supreme Court’s scrapping of Section 66 A of the Information Technology Act for being “unconstitutional in entirety” is indeed a great moment in the life of the democracy. The Act did, in fact, invade citizenry’s right of free speech “arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately”. However, is this really a moment to celebrate […]

One of the promises of Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, as common candidate at the last presidential election, was the elimination of corruption, i.e. something the last government was steeped in. Elimination of corruption is therefore a major objective of his newly elected government. His catchwords were Yaha palanaya (good governance), which itself implies radical elimination of corruption. Today, […]

by Avinash Pandey While the whole country was celebrating Holi, a joyous festival of colours, three farmers that were contemplating suicide in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh went ahead and took their own lives. One of them, wearing the same colour soaked dress he had celebrated the festival in, hung himself to a tree. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Manipur concerning death threats faced by a senior journalist after the journalist spoke against corruption in a televised discussion organised by a local news channel. Mr. Khoirom Loyalakpa is the Editor of a vernacular daily named Naharolgi Thoudang. It is reported that Loyalakpa has been […]

This week’s episode of Weekly Roundup includes: From Hong Kong, the sentencing of Law Wan-tung, the woman convicted of abusing Erwiana, has become a rallying point of its own as the Judiciary enters the debate on domestic helper regulations. Two cases from Sri Lanka, one showing that the policing system is still in dire need of reforms […]

Mama Qadeer ( File Photo) The Asian Human Rights Commission strongly condemns the illegal and unconstitutional action of the government of Pakistan to stop the office bearers of Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) including its vice chairperson, Mr. Abdul Qadeer, known as Mama Qadeer, General Secretary, Ms Farzana Majeed and one activist, Ms Faiqa […]

This week’s episode of Weekly Roundup brings you coverage of recent human rights success stories in Asia. The episode begins in Hong Kong. The former employer of Indonesian domestic worker Erwiana was found guilty on 18 of 20 charges relating to her treatment of Erwiana. AHRC TV has footage from the press conference where Erwiana and her […]

An article from Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The government has finally formed a Commission on Enforced Disappearances (CED) and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), as committed to in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2006. On February 9, a Recommendation Committee recommended names for the respective commissions with political consensus, […]

A Statement from Cambodian Civil Society Organisations forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) underwriting this statement, condemn the repeated and ongoing violation of communities’ rights in Botumsakor and Kirisakor District, Koh Kong Province, by the Union Development Group. In 2014-2015, Civil Society documented a series of evictions conducted by […]

“The idea that after the fall of the USSR we would have this liberal democracy spreading around the world was of course naive but, in many cases, these are issues of power. We have a Western elite that isn’t really interested in democracy unless its friends win. Otherwise, they are happier with a dictator whom […]

This week’s special episode on Sri Lanka brings you an exclusive interview with Basil Fernando, Director for Policy and Programme Development at the Asian Human Rights Commission. Mr Fernando has just returned from a visit to Sri Lanka, a country in the midst of dramatic changes after the surprise electoral victory of opposition leader Maithripala […]