Freedom of expression

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Government of Bangladesh has engaged its student wing, the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), to unleash violence against the demonstrators. Several students have informed the AHRC that the BCL activists were identifying demonstration participants living in the University of Dhaka dormitories from Sunday night onwards. […]

By Urmila Pullat On Mar 20, 2018, in Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan vs. The State of Maharashtra And Anr., the Supreme Court of India held that there is no absolute bar on granting anticipatory bail for complaints under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (hereinafter the SC/ST Act). Further, […]

An article from The Hindu, written by Neera Chandhoke. forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Neera Chandhoke The onus of battling discrimination must not fall on the shoulders of Dalits alone  On the morning of April 3, the front pages of newspapers told us of violent protests by Dalits in northern India the day before. […]

An Open Letter from Mr. Nagananda Kodituwakku, Chula Ranjeewa Adikari, and Sugandhika Fernando to Lawyers, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) To all lawyers with good repute, general public and media institutions 07th April 2018 It is now common knowledge that there is no equality before the law and the people have lost their trust and […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where a nationwide strike has resulted in nine deaths so far. The strike was called on Monday, to protest the changes to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes prevention of Atrocities Act by the Supreme Court. The changes will make it difficult to file cases against public servants for caste atrocities. Next, […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where social activist Poipynhun Majaw’s body was found near a bridge in Meghalaya. According to the police, the preliminary inquiry suggests he was hit on the head with a wrench, leading to his death. While the motive for his murder has not been ascertained yet, Majaw had recently […]

This week Just Asia begins with Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, where young girls are being trafficked into prostitution. A BBC News investigation team went to Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, for an undercover investigation, and found that foreigners seeking sex can easily gain access to children who have fled conflict in Burma. The Rohingya refugee crisis […]

March 20, 2018 Inspector general of Police, Police Headquarters Colombo Sri Lanka Fax Number: +94 112440440 Re: Complaint against Sound Pollution caused by temple authorities at Sri Devram Maha Viharaya, Pannipitiya Dear Sir, I am writing this on behalf of the Asian Human Rights Commission. Our commission has revived a complaint from about 35 local […]

On March 13 2018, the Third Judicial Magistrate at the First Class Court in Mangalore acquitted Pramod Muthalik, and 25 other members of the Sri Rama Sene of the 2009 assault of several women in a Amnesia, a Mangalore pub. The Sri Ram Sene is a right-wing Hindutva group that has previously been involved in […]

Karapatan condemns the listing of more than 600 persons, human rights defenders and critics of the Duterte government in the proscription petition filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, at a regional court in Manila on February 21, 2018. The petition not only seeks to declare the Communist […]

A supplement to the Asian Human Rights Charter launched in Gwangju, South Korea on 17 May, 1998 This declaration is to be launched on the 20th anniversary of launching of the Asian Human Rights Charter (A People’s Charter) The Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation(Gwangju, South Korea) are presenting herewith the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Amnesty International’s annual report, highlighting a worldwide worsening of human rights. Released last Thursday, the report covers 159 countries. It claims that world leaders are increasingly “undermining the rights of millions,” either by turning a blind eye to rights abuses, or by perpetrating them. The ‘epicenter of human tragedy’ […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Human Rights Initiative, the Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Alert, and Centre for Research and Advocacy, Manipur regarding the harassment and surveillance on Nobo Urikhimbam, human rights defender and activist. CASE NARRATIVE: The AHRC has received information regarding the military surveillance […]

The full documentary can be viewed HERE. Josefina Bergsten is a producer of several social documentaries. Some of these documentaries are, “Unjust – a story of three surviving widows of three human rights activists who were assassinated in their countries”. They were, Munir Said Thalib from Indonesia, who was assassinated by poisoning while travelling in an […]

On February 25, 2018, the King, 11,572 commune councilors and 123 National Assembly members are set to elect the 62 members of the Cambodian senate. With the dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) on 16th November 2017, the seats of CNRP commune councilors have been reallocated for members of the ruling Cambodian People’s […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where 24-year-old Imran Ali has been given four death sentences for raping and murdering a six-year old girl last month. Zainab Ansari’s body was found in a rubbish dump in the city of Kasur on January 9, five days after she went missing. Ali has been linked by police to […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where a sword-wielding man attacked a church during Sunday services at St Lidwina Church, Yogyakarata province. The man burst into the church on Java Island, ran toward the choir and attacked German pastor Karl Edmund Prier, who was leading the choir. He then slashed the statues of Jesus […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, with the UN’s human rights chief warning that the government’s persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority has the potential to spark regional conflict. “It is sometimes said that today’s human rights violations will become tomorrow’s conflicts,” Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said on Monday. Also this week, the Associated Press […]

A Press Release from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Bahasa I would like to begin by thanking President Joko Widodo and the Government of Indonesia for inviting us to visit this remarkable, diverse country. Inviting us is, in itself, a testament to how seriously a […]

As widely reported, the Philippines House of Representatives (Congress), the country’s legislative body, is lobbying to change the political system by amending the 1987 Constitution. President Rodrigo Duterte’s political allies in Congress are proposing to change from a presidential form of government, to a federal one. The main reasons given for this are twofold: first, to devolve power to local government; second, a federal […]