Enforced disappearances and abductions

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you on the occasion of the 2006 International Day for the Disappeared to encourage the Government of Japan to show leadership in addressing the incidence of forced disappearances in Asia.  As you are aware, many countries in Asia have suffered from very severe levels of disappearances […]

[NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new automatic letter-sending system using the “button” below. However, we also encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to the Sri Lankan aurhorities. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Sri Lankan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.] SRI LANKA: Disappearance; government’s inaction to locate […]

Asia is littered with countries where policies of abducting and “disappearing” people have had terrible consequences. Among them are Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. In none of these countries have the families of victims obtained redress; nor has the truth of their disappearances been told. The effects on the political […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to write to you today on the historic occasion of the first police officer in Argentina being sentenced to jail last Friday, August 4 for having committed forced disappearances. As you will be aware, the news of Julio Simon’s imprisonment nearly 27 years after he committed the […]

On August 4 a court in Argentina sentenced Julio Simon to 25 years in prison. Simon, who is now 65, was a police officer who in late 1978 was among those responsible for the abduction and killing of Jos?Poblete and Getrudis Hlaczik. The couple was held incommunicado for at least a month before being killed. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the alleged surveillance and intimidation of a pastor, Rev. Fr. Eleuterio “Terry” J. Revollido, Chairperson of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – BAYAN (New Patriotic  Alliance) in Pangasinan province, the Philippines. His organisation has been working for marginalised sectors of society in the area and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to you in advance of your State on Monday, July 24. While we look forward to what you will be reporting regarding the present situation of your country and future plans, we would like to draw your attention to the state of human rights in the Philippines, which […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the disappearance of two student activists and a peasant on June 26, 2006. The victims Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño were staying at a house in Purok 6, Barangay (village) San Miguel, Hagonoy when armed men believed to be military forcibly took […]

In a very strange move that will surprise anyone concerned with the global effort to eradicate disappearances and gross human rights violations, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which claims to be the country’s prime agency for the protection and promotion of human rights, officially decided to stop further inquiries into disappearance cases […]

On July 17 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an appeal on the alleged torture, armed robbery, illegal detention, and attempted rape and extortion of two persons in Saraburi, just northeast of Bangkok in Thailand. According to Uthai Boonnom, he and his partner were taken–at gunpoint and blindfolded–to a house in the forest where […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned about another three disappearance cases in Pakistan. They are Mr. Asif Baladi, a publisher of Peace Publishing House and the chairperson of Sindh Nationalist Forum, Mr. Mehar Uddin Marri, a journalist in Badin district, Sindh province and Mr. Mitha Khan Marri, a transporter in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you further to open letters to the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Lawyers Council of Thailand regarding the apparent lack of a response from the government of Thailand to the alleged attempt to abduct a member of the NHRC, Vasant Panich, who […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you further to our open letter to the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand of July 4 because we are deeply concerned over the apparent lack of a firm public and civil society response to the alleged attempted abduction on 28 June […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that one more journalist, Sampath Lakmal Silva was found shot and killed on the morning of 2July 2006.  Mr. Silva is believed to have been abducted, brought to the scene of his execution and shot, according to the media quoting police sources. Mr. Silva […]

Dear friends, It is with much regret that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the continued torture and assault of journalists and media personnel in Pakistan, with a report of three further cases. The persistent practice of such acts undermines the deepest values of commitment to respect human rights and […]

[RE: UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred; UP-24-2005: THAILAND: Thai minister refuses to act on missing human rights lawyer case; UP-37-2005: Thai PM orders action on missing human rights lawyer, while court hears of torture; UP-45-2005: Wife of missing human rights lawyer intimidated; […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the alleged forced disappearance of a man in Narathiwat Province, southern Thailand. On May 29, Wae-halem Guwaegama allegedly disappeared nearby his house, in the vicinity of an army checkpoint. His relatives have lodged a complaint with the army but received no reply. The […]

On Monday, June 5, Angkhana Neelaphaijit together with a number of Thailand-based groups submitted in person an open letter to the recently-formed Independent Commission on Justice and Civil Liberties for the Southern Border Provinces. The commission is expected to take a lead role in addressing the continued bloodshed in the south, following in the footsteps […]

The numerous appointments to key national commissions by the executive president, contravening constitutional requirements, are a very clear indication of Sri Lanka’s drift from a law-based society to one in which the law plays a significantly reduced role.  While criticism against presidential actions has pointed to matters including the fact that no person is above […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is alarmed by the continuing reports of forced disappearances of persons in Pakistan with the latest incident involving 12 people having been disappeared in recent weeks. The persistent practice of such acts undermines the deepest values of commitment to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Intervention must […]