Human rights defenders

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 […]

A Press Release from Human Rights Commission of Pakistan forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Islamabad, May 08: A consultation organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) here on Thursday concluded with an 11-point charter of demands calling upon the government to ensure safety and protection for human rights defenders and to […]

The announcement by Greenpeace India of its imminent shutdown is saddening. However, it was only a matter of time. How long could the organization have continued running with its bank accounts frozen and with a ban on foreign funds? That this has happened after the Delhi High Court’s judgments in two cases related to the […]

A Statement from NGO Federation of Nepal, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Nepal is reeling under crisis since 25 April 2015 after it was hit by 7.9-magnitude tremor and several aftershocks.  The earthquake death toll has crossed 5,000 according to the Armed Police Force data provided to the National Emergency Operation Center. The […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the brutal murder of a peace activist and human rights defender by the so called ‘unknown persons’ after arranging an open discussion on the gross violation of human rights in Balochistan. Ms. Sabeen Mahmud, who was receiving life threats from the persons belonging to spy agencies […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that three people were killed on March 8, 16 and 24, 2015 respectively. One of the victims was an indigenous member fighting for their ancestral domain. The second victim was a farmer claiming resettlement, and the third was a union leader believed […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding military intervention in academic discourse on the subject of Balochistan. A talk scheduled at the Lahore University of Management Science on Balochistan has been cancelled on the written orders of Lieutenant-General Rizwan Akhter, Director General of Pakistan’s notorious intelligence agency, the ISI. Two prominent […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the persecution, kidnapping, and premeditated murder of Mr. Indra Pelani (22), an activist of a local peasant group, in Pelayang Tebat Village, Lubuk Mandrasah Sub-District, Tebo Regency, Jambi Province, Indonesia. The AHRC notes that the murder of Indra constitutes premeditated murder, considering the […]

A Statement from the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) joins the Filipino people in the call to save the life of OFW Mary Jane Veloso who has been sentenced to death by the Indonesian Government allegedly […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. J M Piyathilaka, who is a social activist and a member of the Justice of the Peace (JP.), was assaulted in public by three people at a restaurant at Jaffna Junction in Anuradhapura on 21 February 2015. He lodged a complaint at Police […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that members of the Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand (SPFT) continue to face death threats in Surat Thani Province. Despite a legal judgment in favour of the Agricultural Land Reform Office five months ago, one that ordered the Jiew Kang Jue Pattana Co. Ltd., a […]

One of the promises of Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, as common candidate at the last presidential election, was the elimination of corruption, i.e. something the last government was steeped in. Elimination of corruption is therefore a major objective of his newly elected government. His catchwords were Yaha palanaya (good governance), which itself implies radical elimination of corruption. Today, […]

Many, including President Barack Obama, have been paying glowing tributes to Lee Kuan Yew since the announcement of his death this morning, 23rd March 2015. However, recalling what Lee Kuan Yew did to Dr. Chia Thye Poh and many other persons who aspired for multi-party democracy and respect for the freedom of expression in Singapore […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes with deep concern regarding ongoing threats by soldiers to a woman human rights defender. She had been forced to act as their guide in military operations pursuing rebels. If she refuses or tells them there are no rebels in the area, they threaten her. The victim […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information, that a business couple from Meetiyagoda, in the Galle District, had been brutally murdered in broad daylight, in cold blood by a criminal gang. Previously, they repeatedly lodged complaints with the police requesting an investigation and protection from the criminal actions of these gangs. […]

In this week’s special episode, AHRC TV brings you excerpts from a lively panel discussion between four Right Livelihood Award Laureates during a regional conference held in Mumbai last week. The panel of Laureates comprised of Afghan doctor and human rights defender Sima Samar, Indian social activist Medha Patkar, Dalit rights activist Ruth Manorama, and Asian […]