Human rights defenders

This week’s Roundup begins in Cambodia, where forty international NGOs are urging for the withdrawal of the draft bill called LANGO, which, if implemented, would severely curtail human rights. The proposed law aims to give government ministries sweeping, arbitrary powers without the possibility of judicial review. Freedoms of peaceful assembly, association, expression and opinion are […]

Mr. Setya Novanto Chairperson of the House of Representative  Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) Gedung Nusantara III DPR RI, Lt I Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto, Jakarta, INDONESIA Tel    : +62 21 571 5311 / + 62 21 5715868  Fax    : +62 21 573 1967 / +62 21 5715368 Email    : set_tu_ketua@dpr.go.id Dear Mr. Novanto,  INDONESIA: Time […]

A Statement from the Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines ( HKCAHRPP ) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP) is alarmed to just learn that two more human rights defenders […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the brutal murder of Mr. Jopi Teguh Lasmana Peranginangin (39), an environmental activist who used to work with the Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN). He was kicked, beaten, and stabbed to death by Indonesian navy personnel on 23 May 2015 at […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the threats to and surveillance of various activists and their organizations. Although identities of the perpetrators are unknown, their surveillance style and manner of threat were all common.  CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by Alliance for the Advancement of Peoples Rights (KARAPATAN)) CASE 1: “Call […]

Throughout the world, June 26 is marked as international day in support of torture victims. In Pakistan, the Asian Human Right Commission has played an active role in mobilizing civil society with support from many partner organisations. Several activities have been planned to commemorate the day and raise awareness amongst the masses about the implications […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with great concern about the fabricated charges laid on Jomorito Goaynon and his seven siblings. The charges are based on a complaint filed by the wife of Dorlito dela Mance, who was killed by members of a rebel group in March 2015. This is the second […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the harassment and threats received by the frontline human right Defender Ms Noor e Maryam Kanwer. Ms Kanwer is the Chairperson/Director of Pakistan Youth Alliance, an NGO working in fields of counter-extremism, peace-building, conflict resolution and social welfare. Since the past one year she has been […]

A Statement from International Peoples Tribunal (IPT 2015) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We are human rights defenders, peace and justice advocates, lawyers, jurists, academics, church people, and political activists who have come together to convene the International Peoples Tribunal on Crimes against the Filipino People by Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III and […]

A Press Release from May 18 Academy forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) The May 18 Academy 2015 Period of Application Submission: 1 – 30, June, 2015 The May 18 Academy is an education/training program for domestic/international civil society activists working for human rights, democracy and peace. The May 18 Academy provides special […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you of yet another killing of a land rights activist who was helping farmers claim their land. His murder happened some two months after his son noticed they were being monitored by men “riding on motorcycle”. The victim’s son saw his father’s car overturn […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the lack of protection provided to an indigenous man struggling for his land rights, who survived two attempts on his life. The victim has been targeted by the security guards of a landlord because of his refusal to vacate from his ancestral land. The […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is greatly concerned about the disappearance of an indigenous leader in Sultan Kudarat. The victim and his group were opposed to the operation of logging and mining by big corporations in their communities. He was last seen alive with security guards of the mining firm he was opposing.  CASE […]

A Statement by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the Human Rights Council 29th Session forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Mr. President, Excellencies, Colleagues, Seventy years after the founding of the United Nations, what can we conclude about our achievements in the protection and promotion of human […]

In this week’s special Roundup, AHRC TV joins a panel discussion from last week’s Folk School Meeting held in Hong Kong. Human rights defenders from several Asian countries joined a weeklong conference to discuss solutions to human rights impediments in the region. Participants of this panel discussion were Adilur Rahman Khan from ODHIKAR in Bangladesh, Bushra […]

An Article by the Asian Human Rights Commission HONG KONG/PHILIPPINES: Remember who we were to knowwho we are by Danilo Reyes (Note: this article was first published in the June 7, 2015 issue of the Sunday Examiner) Wala namang espesyal dito (there is nothing special here),”a female staff from a hostel where I was staying in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro, told me. I was […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you of yet another killing of a woman in Manipur by the 20th Battalion of Assam Rifles posted in Pallel. The woman received a bullet injury as officers fired indiscriminately without warning towards a group of villagers, who were approaching to identify a masked man […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that the husband and daughter of a murdered land rights activist, Elisa Tulid, are suffering trauma as a result of her death. Elisa’s husband Danny Boy, and daughter, have been observed “staring into space”, “quiet and uncommunicative,” after witnessing the murder of the […]

An Article by Basil Fernando  This is a speech delivered by Basil Fernando at  The Fifth  Human Rights Cities Forum-  As the Keynote address for the Special  Session on Asian Human Rights – Human Rights in Asia and Vision of Human Rights City- 16th May 2015. It is useful, I think, to recall the aims […]

Wolfgang Kaleck interviewed by John Clancey Wolfgang Kaleck is a German civil rights attorney and the General Secretary for the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights. Against huge odds he has sought prosecution charges against a number of US officials and personnel in connected with the alleged human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib and […]