Extrajudicial killings

Qatar, in its desperate rush to host 2022 FIFA World Cup, has emerged as a new killing field for migrant workers mainly from South Asia. With the death toll having gone beyond 1200 already and estimated to reach a staggering high of 4000 before the first ball is kicked in the event opener, it could […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two nationalists from Sindh province, Mr. Maqsood Quereshi and Mr. Salman Wadho, were shot and injured from close range and then burnt alive. Their charred bodies were found in the car when they were going to organize a freedom march rally in Karachi […]

To, Representatives of all political parties of India The World’s largest democracy has plunged into the election season as the 16thLokh Sabha elections are approaching. The environment is tense. While you all are busy organizing rallies, giving speeches, proving yourself better and different from others, the media and the public are busy in speculations and […]

Acid attack is a heinous form of violence, one that has instantaneous and lifelong consequences for victims and survivors. Acid violence constitutes a perennial rights violation issue for women in several Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Cambodia. Even though acid violence occurs against men and boys, it is categorized as gender-based violence […]

According to a research, modern day trafficking, aka slavery is a $32 billion annual industry and according to the U.N. about 2.5 million people around the world are ensnared in the web of human trafficking at any given time.  The usual victims of atrocious crimes of sexual and gender based violence, including rape against women […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that three persons have been killed while four others were arrested in separate incidents in February. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks on human rights defenders. CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights […]

Although the ethnic war between the Tamil LTTE and the Sinhalese forces of the Sri Lankan government ended in May 2009, the ethics of the conflict is still current. It is being discussed in institutions in Geneva, USA, Canada, UK, EU and many other countries. It is the ethics of the war that the international […]

The draft resolution which is soon to be debated can be looked at within a wider perspective from the point of view of the chaos that resulted from insurgencies and counter-insurgencies in all parts of the country since 1971, and by looking more closely into the reestablishment of order within a framework of the rule […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that a local peasant in Pampanga was shot dead in a violent confrontation on a piece of disputed land in Central Luzon. He and his colleagues were on their way to harvest their crops but were denied entry by the security guards of […]

Dear Madame Pillay, Nanda Prasad Adhikari and Gangamaya Adhikari of Phujel Village of Gorkha District have been on hunger strike together for the last 146 days demanding action against those responsible for the murder of their son, Krishna Prasad Adhikari. Their health condition is fast deteriorating, and it is time for the newly-elected Government of […]

Nepal has been in transition since 2006. Following the failure of the first Constituent Assembly to promulgate a new constitution, the country has been in a state of limbo and to make matters worse, there is no clear indication of when this transition will come to an end. The indefinite hunger strike of Dr. Govinda […]

The following article appeared as the editorial of the latest issue of ‘Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives’, a bi-monthly magazine published by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), based in Hong Kong and the Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY) based in Denmark. by Nilantha Ilangamuwa The long march has clocked a hundred days. The brave […]

Two prominent Sri Lankan Human Rights Defenders who were detained and questioned at Kilinochchi by officials of the Police Terrorism Investigation Division(TID)on Sunday March 16th night were reportedly brought down to Vavuniya in the early hours of Monday March 17th night.They are to be transferred to Colombo for further interrogation by TID officials. The two […]

We the Catholics of the entire Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, comprising of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna Districts are sad and perturbed to know from the media that Reverend Father Proveen Mahesan, resident at Amathipuram, an Oblate settlement and Rukki Fernando a Human Rights activist of the South have been arrested in the Kilinochchi area […]

Dear friends, These are dark days. On Thursday the prominent campaigner for the disappeared Jeyakumari Balendran was arrested along with her 13 year old daughter. While the daughter was released, Jeyakumari continues to be held in Boosa detention centre. She is being held under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism act, under which a person can […]

National Election Watch Association of Democratic Reforms March 13, 2014 Preliminary Analysis of Candidates Announced by INC and BJP for Lok Sabha 2014 The major parties, Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced their candidates for Lok Sabha, 2014 recently. A total of 203 candidates were announced by INC and BJP for […]

A girl commits suicide by self-immolation after her rapists bribed the police to release them. The state institutions remained as silent spectators The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that an 18 year old student died in hospital after setting herself on fire in the front of a hospital, in Muzzafargarh, Punjab province where […]

Today the AHRC releases the 21th Episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. In this week’s programme we continue our International Women’s Day coverage of stories from around Asia on women’s human rights. We start in Sri Lanka with stories of brutal and widespread domestic violence, entirely neglected by police, courts, and politicians. In Pakistan, peace […]

National Human Rights Commission PRESS RELEASE New Delhi: 12th March, 2014 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Government of Assam pay Rs.5 lakh each to the next of kin of Munindra Kalita (26 years) and Pingal Deka (27 years), who were killed in an encounter by the Assam Police and the […]

Press Note March 12, 2014 Stop the Bloodshed. Declare Immediate Ceasefire.  Sit for Talks to end violence. The PUBL condemns the killing of 16 security personnel, including 11 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, 4 policemen and a civilian. The incident occurred in a land mine blast followed by indiscriminate firing by Maoists at Tongpal […]