Democracy

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, […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where two journalists face up to 14-years imprisonment under the country’s colonial era secrets act. The two Reuters reporters, U Wa Lone and U Kyaw Soe Oo, brought to light a massacre of 10 Muslim Rohingya men in Rakhine State’s Inn Din village. They were subsequently arrested in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Government of Bangladesh has engaged its student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), to unleash violence against the demonstrators. Several students have informed the AHRC that the BCL activists were identifying demonstration participants living in the University of Dhaka dormitories from Sunday night onwards. […]

By Urmila Pullat On Mar 20, 2018, in Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. The State of Maharashtra And Anr., the Supreme Court of India held that there is no absolute bar on granting anticipatory bail for complaints under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter the SC/ST Act). Further, […]

A Statement from PBNU, KOMNAS HAM, YLBHI, LBH Semarang, LAKPESDAM NU, FNKSDA, Jaringan Gusdurian, PGI, KWI, Walhi Jateng forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Kyai Nur Aziz, Sutrisno, and Rusmin, three poor farmers of Surokonto Wetan village, district of Kendal, province of Central Java, have been convicted and sentenced to eight years of imprisonment […]

An article from The Hindu, written by Neera Chandhoke. forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Neera Chandhoke The onus of battling discrimination must not fall on the shoulders of Dalits alone  On the morning of April 3, the front pages of newspapers told us of violent protests by Dalits in northern India the day before. […]

An Open Letter from Mr. Nagananda Kodituwakku, Chula Ranjeewa Adikari, and Sugandhika Fernando to Lawyers, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) To all lawyers with good repute, general public and media institutions 07th April 2018 It is now common knowledge that there is no equality before the law and the people have lost their trust and […]

By Arif Maulana Introduction In the last two years, under the government of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and Jusuf Kalla, the execution of death row inmates in Indonesia has occurred frequently. The government has said the executions are conducted due to the state of emergency cause by the narcotics problem. In 2015-2016, 19 prisoners were […]

A Press Release from the International Coalition for Papua forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) On 4 April 2018, members of the local Police, Intelligence (BIN), police special unit ‘BRIMOB’ and the military district comand ‘Kodim 1701 Jayapura’ searched several houses in the residential area ‘Perumnas III Waena’, located in the HeramDistrict of Jayapura. The houses […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where a nationwide strike has resulted in nine deaths so far. The strike was called on Monday, to protest the changes to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes prevention of Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court. The changes will make it difficult to file cases against public servants for caste atrocities. Next, […]

A Statement from by Dr. Umakant of JNU forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission April 02, 2018, JNU, New Delhi We must remove inequality, Ambedkar said, or our political structure will be in peril http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/sc-st-act-we-must-remove-inequality-ambedkar-said-or-our-political-structure-will-be-in-peril-5122076/ This protest was unprecedented because it was largely led by ordinary Dalits and Adivasis, while political parties and their leaders played […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where social activist Poipynhun Majaw’s body was found near a bridge in Meghalaya. According to the police, the preliminary inquiry suggests he was hit on the head with a wrench, leading to his death. While the motive for his murder has not been ascertained yet, Majaw had recently […]

Joint Statement (28 March 2018): Bangladesh’s incumbent Government has escalated cracking down on the country’s opposition prior to the general elections expected to take place by December 2018. The country’s Law-Enforcement Agencies regularly demonstrate violent attitudes towards the dissents while the poor situation of Human Rights is highly alarming. Documentation on gross violations shows a […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the foreseeable displacement of Khokana residents due to the Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track Project, one of Nepal’s ‘national pride’ projects. The 76-km long Fast Track is proposed along the Bagmati River corridor, and is expected to considerably reduce travel time and distance from Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, […]

March 20, 2018 Inspector general of Police, Police Headquarters Colombo Sri Lanka Fax Number: +94 112440440 Re: Complaint against Sound Pollution caused by temple authorities at Sri Devram Maha Viharaya, Pannipitiya Dear Sir, I am writing this on behalf of the Asian Human Rights Commission. Our commission has revived a complaint from about 35 local […]

A Statement from Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Aside from the statements of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and two UN special rapporteurs on the inclusion of the names of UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about a paper‘the UN Global Compact: Mainstreaming human rights to strengthen the accountability of trans-national corporations.” The paper is written by Chris Biantoro, a human rights lawyer and Indonesia desk officer at the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Hong Kong. For further reading of the […]

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 […]