Enforced disappearances and abductions

A Statement from The Express Tribune forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2015. ISLAMABAD: Law experts and human rights activists from South Asian countries have called upon governments in the region, to ratify the United Nations convention on enforced disappearances. Enforced disappearance is an international crime. In spite of that several […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day 2014 Fundamental human rights are not guaranteed in Bangladesh in the daily life of its people. The rights of freedom of expression and opinion are infringed. The freedom of press is severely curtailed. People are being imprisoned for expressing their opinion about powerful […]

Disappearances and extra judicial killings in the Sindh Province continues unabated; in many cases disappearances have occurred following arrest by the police and at times by plain clothed persons, presumably from intelligence agencies; thereafter being taken into custody, most often tortured and ultimately their bodies are found dumped on the streets. In the Sindh Province, […]

The following interview was originally published in the latest issue ( Volume 3 Number 4 & 5)  of Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives ON 25th September 2014, Basil Fernando and the Asian Human Rights Commission was bestowed with the coveted Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternate Nobel Prize,” for “his tireless and outstanding […]

This week’s episode of Weekly Roundup covers recent cases from several countries. This week’s episode of the AHRC TV Weekly Roundup (please insert hyperlink here) covers recent cases from several countries. The episode begins with Sisto Dos Santos speaking about disappearances in East Timor. Next, AHRC TV brings you the latest regarding the wife of a victim […]

Image courtesy: aithiya.lk (Hong Kong, November 03, 2014)  Mayuri Inoka, the wife of a disappeared husband, Madushka Haris De Silva, was herself abducted on 1 November 2014. According to Mayuri, her abductors threatened her not to engage in any activities calling for the recovery of her husband. Mayuri’s husband disappeared in September 2013, and remains missing. […]

This week’s episode of Weekly Roundup covers the issue of disappearance. The episode begins with a recent development in Sri Lanka where posters are appearing that criticize the annual commemoration of victims of disappearance and the event’s organizers Photo: Roshan Chathuranga Next, Samia Islam of Odhikar describes how disappearances in Bangladesh differ from those many […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing (aka Par Gyi) was killed while in custody of the Burmese military and that the body has been hastily buried before the story broke. The military claims he was arrested, but facts available make it clear that procedures […]

by Basil Fernando As the possibility of an election has become a “hot topic” of the day, with it has emerged the problem of the 1978 Constitution and the system of the Executive Presidency, as a sharp point of contest and debate in Sri Lanka. In the midst of this unfolding scenario, President Rajapaksa, in […]

by Laksiri Fernando “Autobiography is about change; it narrates a series of transformations. This is an expectation we bring to any autobiographical text.”  –  Carolyn Barros When I picked Basil Fernando’s Nitignayekuge Papochcharanaya hewath Mage Kathawa(A Confession of a Lawyer or My Story), admirably written in excellent Sinhala, I got what I reasonably expected. It […]

To date, no credible investigation into the disappearance of Prageeth Eknaligoda has taken place. Prageeth Eknaligoda disappeared on 24th January 2010 and to this day there has been no credible investigation into his disappearance, despite many interventions by the United Nations Human Rights agencies, other international organizations, and by local Sri Lankan organizations. The wife […]

Vilbur Larch of Global Health and Human Rights Show (USA) talks with Basil Fernando, On the 29th of September Vilbur Larch of the Global Health and Human Rights Show talked with Basil Fernando about the Right Livelihood Award this year. This discussion is now available online. In this discussion, the nature of the Right Livelihood […]

by Basil Fernando – Right Livelihood Award Laureate 2014 (This is an article issued on the occasion of receiving the Right Livelihood Award-2014) In 1989 when I learned that some people, due to malice or some other reason unknown to me, had entered my name into a list of persons to be disappeared, a stream […]

An article from the ‘The Himalayan Times’ forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Govinda Sharma ” Bandi” We just marked one more International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance, but without any significant progress in terms of addressing the past disappearances in Nepal. Enforced disappearances were among the most serious human rights […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that security agencies have started targeting the family members of Baloch refugees who have fled to western countries. Reports state that family members including children of these refugees have been arrested by plain clothed persons and have been abducted in unmarked vehicles. Their whereabouts […]

The 42nd episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup is a special programme observing the International Day of the Disappeared. Enforced disappearance is a human rights atrocity widely prevalent in many parts of Asia. In this programme, AHRC TV reports on the disastrous realities of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The […]

The government must ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance The government as well as the judiciary has today fully realized the prevalence of enforced disappearances – being perpetrated by the military and the intelligence services; that these agencies of the government are abducting hundreds, if not thousands of […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the disappearance of a man and his son in Maguindanao. They were last seen by a witness at a military checkpoint. The military claim they had released the two after talking to them. However, they have not been located as yet.  CASE […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information to the effect that three young persons have been arrested and taken to an undisclosed locations where they are allegedly being held. These persons were arrested while they were returning home from a picnic and have been with their families including, women and children […]

Reviewed by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena A Book Review: A Sociological Exploration Of Disappearances In Sri Lanka Author: Jane Thomson-Senanayake Print Length: 275 pages Publisher: Asian Human Rights Commission  Date: May 1, 2014  ISBN: 978-955-4597-04-4 Reading through this study by an Australian doctoral researcher Jane Thomson-Senanayake published by the Asian Human Rights Commission, May 2014, I am […]