Environmental protection

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) remembers with deep sorrow the April 25, 2015  two devastating earthquakes that stuck Nepal two years ago today. More than 9000 people were killed, and over half a million houses were destroyed in the aftermath and Nepal experienced frequent aftershocks during last two years affecting a total of 542,593 […]

by Basil Fernando Dealing with the Meethotamulla waste dump has now become a major national problem for Sri Lanka. At least 30 persons have lost their lives due to the collapse of the waste dump. Many others might have died or suffered serious diseases due to the existence of this waste dump polluting the entire […]

UPDATE from POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti (PPSS) as on 5.04. 2017  Dear Friends, As you may know from the media about recent the statement by Odisha’s Industry Minister, Devi Prasad Mishra that “POSCO confirmed the withdrawal of its project by requesting the Odisha government to take back the land transferred in its name”. We strongly […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes Pope Francis’ unequivocal support for the indigenous peoples’ rights of land and livelihood. It notes that this can go a long way for tenure rights of global indigenous populations while ensuring their food security. It can also surface possible solutions to conflicts arising out of increasing encroachments and forced acquisitions of land for […]

How does one deal with a 42% spike in suicides by farmers/cultivators in a country where “development” has been the buzzword for the last couple of years? If the question isn’t creepy enough to send a shiver down one’s spine, consider that “Bankruptcy or Indebtedness” and “Farming Related Issues”, i.e. non-personal reasons, account for 58.2% […]

By Avinash Pandey Even if one puts the cacophonous debate on the merits and demerits of demonetisation of Rupees 500 and 1000 currency notes aside, one thing is clear: it has hit hard the farmers all set to sow Rabi crops. Almost entirely dependent upon cash transactions for everything, starting from buying seeds and fertilisers, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM about yet another starvation death in Dumchipara Tea Garden owned by Duncans group. The tea plantation has been shut down for a while now and this has exposed workers to hunger and starvation. The AHRC demands immediate intervention and urges the authorities […]

Avinash Pandey Gujarat is simmering again. Dalits are agitating over criminals indulging in criminality. These criminals, who are fondly referred to as “cow vigilantes” by the mainstream media, have recently stripped and flogged four Dailit youth in Una. The resultant protests have claimed two lives: a policeman has reportedly been killed in stone pelting in […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Bangladesh Police have opened fire and thrown sound grenades and tear gas at protestors of Gondamara Village, in Banshkhali Upazilla of Chittagong, on 16 May 2016. During the operation, the police arrested Mr. Dudu Mian (70), father to Mr. Liakat Ali, Convenor […]

The pattern on display in the Bombay High Court yesterday, 9 May 2016, was not that of the cycle of drought affecting millions. It was that of callous – bordering on malicious – governance. According to media reports, like this one, the Maharashtra state government informed the Court that it would declare drought in over 29,000 […]

For millions of Indians hit by the devastating drought, death comes in myriad forms. Farmers’ suicides – oft reported by the media and denied by the State – are one of them. A recent and surprising pattern of drought death is heart attacks to those waiting in water collection queues. This is what killed 12-year-old Yogita […]

On 9 April 2016, a massive explosion at the Putingal Temple near Paravur in Kollam, Kerala, resulted in the death of more than a hundred people and injured more than 350 others. A fireworks display had been in operation for the Temple festival, and initial reports suggest that a firecracker fell into a stockpile, causing […]

The rural distress plaguing large tracts of the Indian countryside is no secret. This distress has heightened in the wake of the devastating drought that is affecting more than half of India’s 676 districts. Forget the reports coming in from grass root organizations that showcase the severity of the crisis, data from the government’s own […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Indonesia Environment Forum (WALHI)’s branch office of West Nusa Tenggara province regarding the brutal attack and intimidation of protesters against sand mining. The protesters were conducting a peaceful protest in front of the local parliament of East Lombok regency, calling for the […]

An Open Letter from Rights Coalition forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) To, Karmenu Vella EU Commissioner for fisheries, maritime affairs and environment European Commission  1049 Brussels Belgium Respected Commissioner Vella, As the European Commission assesses whether Thailand has taken sufficient measures in the international fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUU), […]

A Press Releasefrom the Right Livelihood Award Foundation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) In a game-changing announcement to a packed house on Day 2 of the ‘MAKE NEPAL GREEN’ seminar, Chinese Billionaire entrepreneur and Laureate of the prestigious Right Livelihood Award, Huang Ming, disclosed special solar projects planned for Nepal. Responding to […]

A Press Releasefrom the SAPPROS-Nepal forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) काठमाडौं, फागुन ७ । वैकल्पिक नोवल पुरस्कारको रुपमा प्रतिष्ठित “राइट लाइभलीहुड अवार्ड”द्वारा सम्मानित चीन, जापान र भारतका विज्ञहरु “हरियो नेपाल, बलियो नेपाल”अभियानका लागि सहयोग तथा आफ्ना अनुभवहरु आदान–प्रदान गर्नका लागि यही फागुन १० र ११ गते काठमाडौंमा जम्मा हुँदैछन् । यस अवसरमा उनीहरुले सप्रोस नेपालका […]

A Press Release from Asia Press Office, The Right Livelihood Award Foundation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award (also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’) from China, Japan, and India are traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal, next week to share their expertise and support Laureate ShrikrishnaUpadhyay, SAPPROS-Nepal, and […]

සුනිල් රණසිංහ රට පුරා ඇතිව තිබූ සිවිල් යුද තත්වය නිසා එ සමයේ ජාතික ආක්ෂාවට වැදගත් වූ විශේෂිත විවිධ ස්ථාන අසල ප‍්‍රවේශ මාර්ග පොදු ප‍්‍රවාහන කටයුතු සඳහා විවෘත නො වන සේ  මාර්ග බාධක ස්ථාපිත කළේ ය. පසු යුද සමයේ කොළඹ නගරයේ පමණක් නොව, උතුරු ප‍්‍රදේශයේ ද, දිවයිනේ බොහෝ ස්ථානවලින් ද, එම මාර්ග බාධක ඉවත් කිරීමට රජය පියවර ගත්තේ පොදු […]

More than 100 farmers have reportedly committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh, one of the most impoverished states in India, because of a hailstorm that destroyed their crops. The situation will only worsen with 50 of 75 districts being hit by a severe drought. Despite having evidence of the drought, the provincial government took two and […]