Democracy

  This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where police issued summons to at least another 47 individuals on May 29, for exercising their freedom of peaceful assembly to call for elections and democracy. Fifteen others were charged by the police earlier, also for participating at an assembly held at Thammasat University and the UN […]

A Statement from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission GENEVA (6 June 2018) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday condemned the alleged extra-judicial killings of suspected drug offenders in Bangladesh and urged the authorities to ensure […]

Mr. Basil Fernando’s keynote address delivered on 16 May 2018 at the Gwangju Human Rights Forum The 2018 Gwangju Human Rights Forum was jointly organized by the May 18 Foundation and AHRC It is a great honor to be speaking to you all today when we have gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the […]

The 2018 Gwangju Human Rights Forum was jointly organized by the May 18 Foundation and AHRC RIGHT TO JUSTICE Systemic Ways to Ensure Human Rights Are Protected A. Human Rights and the Violation of those Rights Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A, B, […]

A Statement from Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We, at Coalition Against Summary Execution (CASE)*, condemn in the strongest terms the Supreme Court’s decision granting the Solicitor General’s petition for Quo Warranto against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. It is abhorring to see the Supreme Court majority surrender […]

This week Just Asia begins with terror attacks in Indonesia. The country’s second largest city of Surabaya saw yet another suicide bombing on Monday morning, at the police station. On Sunday, three churches were attacked, killing at least 11 persons, and injuring 41 persons during Sunday mass. This was one of the worst attacks on […]

Despite all the tall claims of development by authorities in India, the data from Government bodies shows that there are little, if any, improvements in tackling alarmingly high levels of malnutrition. Add to this the worrisome fact of a sharp increase in the indebtedness of households and the situation becomes even bleaker. The data from […]

For this year’s Gwangju Asia Forum, the May 18 Memorial Foundation is once again providing a unique platform for exchanging and networking with democracy and human rights activists in Asia. The ‘Gwangju Asia Forum’ takes place every year to bring together activists from Asia to discuss pertinent issues of human rights and democracy. The Gwangju […]

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 […]

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) writes to inform you about the disappearance of National Democratic Front (NDF) consultant and her husband. The couple last contacted their relatives and colleagues on 23 February 2018; since then their whereabouts remain unknown. CASE NARRATIVE: [Based on the documentation by the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s […]

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 […]

This week Just Asia focuses on World Press Freedom Day, marked annually on May 3. The day celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, and pays tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. Most recently, nine journalists were killed in Afghanistan, after rushing to report on a suicide […]

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 […]

A Statement from H.E. Associate prof. Dinna Wisnu and H.E. Mr. Edmund Bon Tai Soon, representatives to the ASEAN INTER-GOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (AICHR) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Human rights experts* from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) call on urgent action by ASEAN to develop a ‘whole-of-ASEAN approach’ […]

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 […]