Human rights defenders

PAKISTAN: Human rights situation in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA)

FATA is a human rights free zone where free human beings have been enslaved since 1901. Pakistan claims that FATA is its constitutional part and has placed it in the Pakistan Constitution of 1973. People in this unfortunate place have experienced inhumane treatment ever since Pakistan came into being in 1947. The miseries and troubles […]

INDIA: Maoist insurgency and State response, a zero-sum game

Statement | India | 05-12-2016

The Maoist movement in India, which allegedly claims it will uproot the Indian State by an armed insurrection, has brought organised and armed violence to the remotest countryside in higher number and intensity. The ongoing conflict has brought the State and Maoist firepower into the daily lives of some of the most marginalised of the […]

NEPAL: All Wrong

An oped from the myRepublica forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Earlier this month Nepal marked 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the decade-long armed conflict in 2006. Since then a new constitution has been promulgated and former combatants have been reintegrated into the society while some also joined security […]

PHILIPPINES: Urgent call for support: free all political prisoners!

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) For more information, please contact: Cristina “Tinay” Ellazar Palabay, Karapatan Secretary General and Tanggol Bayi (Defend Women) – Philippines Convenor. mobile number +63917-3162831. Thank you. Urgent Appeals Desk  Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)  […]

AHRC TV: Rohingya abuse may be ‘crimes against humanity’, says UN and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 150

This week, in its 150th episode, Just Asia begins with Burma, where the crackdown on the Rohingya may amount to ‘crimes against humanity’, says UN’s human rights agency. Since October, the Burmese military have been burning Rohingya homes, shooting people and raping women. According to John McKissick of the UN refugee agency, the government’s “ultimate […]

SRI LANKA: A few practical suggestions for police reforms

by Basil Fernando “A History of Ceylon Police” by late A.C. Depp, former Inspector General of Police, is a book consisting of three volumes that gives a good insight into the manner in which the police system came about in Sri Lanka. Reading these pages removes any surprise about the rather pathetic condition into which this […]

PAKISTAN: Child slavery in modern world “can no longer be tolerated”-UN experts

A statement of UN experts on the occasion of International Day for the Abolition of Slavery Friday 2 December 2016 GENEVA (30 November 2016) – The abuse and exploitation of children as modern-day slaves cannot continue to be tolerated, two United Nations human rights experts have warned in a statement ahead of the International Day […]

NEPAL: Dr. C.K. Raut and supporters arrested and tortured at peaceful gatherings

Statement | Nepal | 30-11-2016

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Nepal Police who arrested Dr. C. K. Raut and more than two hundred supporters of his campaign. They came from different districts of Nepal’s Terai. Excessive force was used. Illegal arrests were made. By contrast, Dr. Raut and his supporters were commemorating 25 November (Mangsir 10, […]

WORLD: Illegal detention of Khuram Parvez continues, despite High Court order for his release

Bangkok-Dhaka-Geneva-Paris-Quezon City, 29 November 2016 – Kashmiri human rights defender Mr. Khurram Parvez remains in arbitrary detention, despite a High Court order declaring his detention illegal and ordering his release. Our organisations are appalled at this abuse of power and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Khurram Parvez. Last Friday 25 November 2016, the High Court […]

INDIA: Mr. Khurrum Parvez’s arrest exposes a system that lacks justice at its core

Statement | India | 28-11-2016

Mr. Khurrum Parvez is a human rights defender, the chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, working in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. On 14 September 2016, the immigration officers stationed at the international airport in New Delhi, prevented Parvez from leaving the country. Khurrum had arrived at the airport to travel to Geneva […]

PAKISTAN: Caught between the military and the terrorists

The people of tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are caught between the Pakistan army on one hand, and the Taliban and ISIS on the other. The terrorists attack and kill tribal leaders for not allowing them to set up their training centers and move freely in the mountains, while the Pakistan army arrests, tortures, and extrajudicially […]

नेपाल: बाधक नियत कि घुम्टो ?

Article | Nepal | 24-11-2016

शैलेन्द्र प्रसाद हरिजन (अम्बेडकर) वि.सं. २०७३ मंसिर १ गते “तराई जस्टिस सेन्टर” का तर्फबाट अधिवक्ता दिपेन्द्र झाले आगामी दिनमा न्यायाधीश नियुक्ति गर्दा समानुपातिक समावेशी सिद्धान्तका आधारमा नियुक्ति गर्नका लागि न्याय परिषद्मा ध्यानाकर्षण पत्र बुझाएका थिए । ध्यानाकर्षणमा संशोधित न्याय परिषद् ऐनको दफा ५ तथा न्याय सेवा आयोग ऐनको दफा १०(२) र नेपालको संविधान २०७२ को […]

SRI LANKA: De Facto State of Emergency?

By Basil Fernando When the high level delegation of Sri Lanka met the UN Committee against Torture (CAT Committee) last week on the 5th Periodic Review, one of the Committee members raised an important issue. The Member asked whether the dysfunctionality of the justice system in Sri Lanka has virtually created a situation of a de facto […]

BANGLADESH: Mahmudur Rahman finally freed after more than three years in arbitrary detention

Paris-Geneva-Hong-Kong, November 24, 2016 – After 1,322 days in arbitrary detention, journalist Mr. Mahmudur Rahman has been finally released on bail this afternoon. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (FIDH-OMCT) and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcome his long-overdue release, and urge authorities to drop all pending charges against him. Acting […]

WORLD/PHILIPPINES: Stop the killings! End impunity! Human rights for all!

A Statement from Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission There has been an epidemic of summary killings and extrajudicial executions across the Philippines for decades now. From 1998 to December 2015, a total of 1,424 were documented to have been killed by the so-called Davao Death Squad […]

WORLD: A Joint Statement – Calling for the Release of Maria Chin Abdullah, Chairperson of BERSIH2.0

A Joint Statement Calling for the Release of Maria Chin Abdullah, Chairperson of BERSIH2.0 We, the May18 Memorial Foundation and the Laureates of the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights, are deeply alarmed by the detention of Maria Chin Abdullah, the Chairperson of BERSIH2.0 by the Malaysian Police. BESIH2.0 is the 2016’s Laureates of the Gwangju […]

PHILIPPINES: Network Against Drug War Killings Urges Probe, Fears Gov’t Cover-Up

A Press Release from Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). NAKPhilippines Says Duterte Has Brought Human Rights Crisis to New, More Dangerous Level (MANILA, Nov. 22, 2016) – The Philippine government should hold accountable members of law enforcement agencies implicated in the extrajudicial killings of civilians […]

PAKISTAN: Stop madness at LoC that crippling life on both sides

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding regular shelling between India and Pakistan at the Line of Control (LoC) near villages in border areas of Jammu and Kashmir. In recent days, dozens of unarmed civilians have lost lives and many more have been injured, with some disabled for life. […]

AHRC TV: Terrorist attacks continue in Pakistan and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 148

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where terrorist attacks continue despite the Pakistan army’s various anti-terror operations. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded courtyard of Sufi Saint Shah Noorani’s shrine on November 12, killing some 60 persons and injuring 156. The Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan’s Hub […]

PHILIPPINES: Criminalization of Human Rights Defenders in the Philippines continues!

A Statement from the International Peace Observers Network (IPON) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The International Peace Observers Network (IPON) expresses its deep concern about the precarious security situation and the continuing criminalization of human rights defenders (HRD) in the Philippines. Against this background, IPON welcomes the decision of the German Member of […]