Freedom of association

The inaction of the Laotian Government with regard to the enforced disappearance of Mr. Sombath Somphone on December 15th is worrying. The Asian Human Rights Commission joins the request made by civil society groups and the diplomatic groups inside Laos, and echoed by numerous international groups and institutions, including the European Union and the United […]

The Asian Human Right Commission has learned that there was an attempt at the life of Gunaratne Wanninayaka, the President of Colombo Magistrate’s Court Lawyer’s Association and the Convener of People’s March. He has played a very prominent role in fighting for the independence of the Bar for several years. He has actively participated against […]

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka passed a historical resolution today opposing the impeachment motion and avowing that, if the incumbent CJ is removed, the Bar Association will not welcome anyone who is appointed in her place. The following is a summary of the resolution given by the Lawyer’s Collective. “The President of BASL formulated […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission expressed grave concern over the present situation in the University of Jaffna. Most students are unable to attend lectures as the whole university is in a state of stalemate. The government has added a “national security” mood to the crisis, rather than taking it as a part of the problem […]

We call upon the people, in particular the judges and lawyers, to grasp the historic significance of this moment It is news now that the Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake and her legal team, led by Romesh De Silva PC, walked away from the Parliamentary Select Committee proceedings, expressing no confidence in the manner in which […]

The Speaker’s ruling relating to the Supreme Court’s notice to the Speaker and the members of the Parliamentary Select Committee does not in any way prohibits the constitutional right of the Court to entertain and to determine the Reference made by the Court of Appeal for a specific question relating to the scope of Article […]

The Surendranagar firing that killed three Dalit youth on 21 September this year has once again brought to light the concern, that in India, the police do not have adequate training nor the government has necessary resolve to overhaul the police service into one that fits a modern democracy. An affidavit filed by the Gujarat […]

Even the worst of criminals have a right to a fair trial before an independent judiciary. A judge in an impeachment proceeding in Sri Lanka does not have that right. Article 107 of the Constitution and the standing orders as they stand now preclude that right. Is the quality of citizenship of a judge of […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article written by Tisaranee Gunasekara who is a Sri Lankan columnist based in Colombo Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article written by Tisaranee Gunasekara, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Make the Impeachment Boomerang on the Rajapaksas Tisaranee Gunasekara […]

Mr. Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education, has declared November 10, a global day of action in support of Malala and girls’ right to education. Malala Yousafzai, an ardent campaigner for the right of education for girls, was shot by Taliban while on her way home from school in Swat valley, in northern […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article written by Tisaranee Gunasekara who is a Sri Lankan columnist based in Colombo Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article written by Tisaranee Gunasekara, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Hell Hath No Fury…. Tisaranee Gunasekara “Tyrant, why swell’st thou thus, of […]

Under the present circumstances and under the 1978 constitution, when the president does not want the Chief Justice, the president just tells them to get out and go home. The way he does it is called impeachment proceedings. Once the president decides to file such proceedings – he has a two thirds majority in parliament […]

The Rajapaksha Regime, through its parliamentarians, handed over an impeachment motion to the Speaker, the elder brother of the President Rajapaksha against the first woman Chief Justice of the country. It appears that the Government of Sri Lanka is in a mighty hurry to “get rid of the Chief Justice” so that a major obstacle […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from the Sunday Times, Colombo, Sri Lanka, written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from the Sunday Times, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: The final nail in the coffin of the judiciary For those of us […]

The Mahinda Rajapaksa regime has resorted to the ugliest attack in Sri Lankan judicial history on the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice this week by using the state media as a slander machine and through employing the state media to introduce deliberately manufactured slanderous letters to the parliament solely with the purpose of abusing […]

The Ahmadis, a sect that believes in Islam and claims to be an ardent follower of it, has been declared as non-Muslim under the Pakistani legislation. Evidently, the Government of Pakistan has not only confiscated their freedom to faith, belief and practice, but also proactively victimises them socially, economically and educationally. The declaration goes against […]

The Prime Minister, who yesterday said that “[m]indless atmosphere of negativity and pessimism that is sought to be created over the issue of corruption can do us no good”, has attacked and insulted the collective aspiration of the nation that longs for the government to setup an effective machinery to end all forms of corruption in India. […]

The villagers’ protest against the absence of reasonable settlement for the land and livelihood lost to the Omkareshwar and the Indira Sagar Dams in the Narmada Valley project has thus far fallen upon a blind and deaf government. The agitation, though has received wholehearted support from a section of the Indian civil society, has failed […]

The ongoing protest by village communities acting against the increase of water level in the Omkareshwar Dam is unique in several aspects. The protest, which has completed 11 days today, is directed against the Madhya Pradesh state government that has failed to adequately rehabilitate those who have lost their land and livelihood to this ‘development’ […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates India and the people of this great country on the eve of the 65th anniversary of independence. Occasions like this are opportunity for the country and its people to reflect and introspect on the promises they made, both 65 years ago, when celebrating newfound freedom, and subsequently. The […]