Human rights defenders

• Labeling of lawyers by military continues • Practice of labeling root cause of extrajudicial killings • Pattern of ongoing threats against legal profession Philippines, 23 April 2014 – Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) warn in an open letter to President Aquino of the Philippines for the continued labeling of lawyers […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates the Supreme Court of India’s initiative to institute a panel that will suggest measures to prevent road accidents and to ensure road safety in the country. The court has set up the panel after hearing a public interest litigation, filed by Dr. S. Rajaseekaran, (295/2012) which requested judicial […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the arrest of four poor urban leaders. They were negotiating on-site for the postponement of a demolition of informal settlers in Muntinlupa City. The victims were invoking an agreement reached with the local and national government giving them time to relocate. However, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that five farmers, all members of the Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (AMBALA), were arrested by the local police while resting in their farm hut. They were given any reason for their arrest which was ordered by the Department of […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that brick kiln owners, with the patronage of the Punjab provincial government, have been holding children, women, and men in illegal detention. Women who have been demanding compliance of the minimum wage and social security have been beaten, their clothes stripped, and their children […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that a broadcast journalist whom we reported earlier to have been threatened for exposing corrupt practices, illegal logging and trafficking in his community in Bukidnon, Mindanao, has now been provided with security for himself and his family to ensure their safety. UPDATED […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Human Rights Alert, a human rights organization based in Manipur regarding the arbitrary detention of Mr. Khumukcham Chingkhei Luwang, a prominent social worker and Vice President of International Peace and Social Advancement, from Imphal West District, Manipur. His whereabouts have been changed since […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a peasant leader was hurt after protecting his land from perpetrators that set up markers on disputed land. The disputed land is covered by a notice of land reform coverage dated December 17, 2013 issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). […]

On 26 March 2014, human rights defender Mr Nasrullah Baloch was subjected to death threats and intimidation by state security forces, following his appearance at the Supreme Court hearing regarding cases of missing persons. This follows a pattern of intimidation and threats made against the human rights defender and his family. Nasrullah Baloch is the Chairperson of Voice […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding threats to the life of Nasrullah Baloch, the Chairperson of the Voice of Baloch Missing persons (VBMP) and a prominent human rights defender, for pleading the cases of missing persons in the higher courts and before the international community. His two younger brothers […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that a labour leader has been under surveillance. The person concerned is actively involved in the campaign for justice for the illegally dismissed workers of Toyota. The perpetrators introduce themselves as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation. CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation […]

We wish to share with you the following article from Prachatai website, written by Thaweeporn Kunmetha. In October 2003, Jawa Jalo, an ethnic Lahu, was captured by armed state officials during a search of a litchi farm in a northern border province. Although the officials who captured him reported to their commanders that no illicit drugs were […]

Today, as the United Nations commemorates the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims, the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) reiterates its strong condemnation against the arbitrary arrest and detention of Balendran Jeyakumari and her 13-year old daughter and the intensifying intimidation […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the disappearance of a peasant leader in Isabela. The victim was arrested by persons that introduce themselves as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation on February 28, 2014 and his whereabouts remain unknown. CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by Alliance for […]

Acid attack is a heinous form of violence, one that has instantaneous and lifelong consequences for victims and survivors. Acid violence constitutes a perennial rights violation issue for women in several Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Cambodia. Even though acid violence occurs against men and boys, it is categorized as gender-based violence […]

We reproduce below copies of the court orders. The first order states that, as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) is conducting an investigation into the terrorist activities of the LTTE and that if the information gathered during this investigation is given to local or international persons there will be great damage […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Tika Ram Pokharel, a lawyer working with the Forum for the Protection of People’s Rights (PPR Nepal), has been receiving threatening phone calls. The Lawyer has been assisting the Thakur family who has been tortured by the police officers from the Hanumandhoka […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that three persons have been killed while four others were arrested in separate incidents in February. The AHRC is deeply concerned by the ongoing attacks on human rights defenders. CASE DETAILS: (Based on the documentation by the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights […]

It is widely reported that Acts relating to national security created in various names throughout in Asia have been used, not to protect national security per se, but to oppress persons holding different ideas, or opinions, or critical of policies of the government. It is also a recognised trend that human rights defenders have been […]

Today the AHRC releases the 22th Episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. In this week’s programme we report about the teenager in Pakistan who set herself on fire when the men who gang raped her were released after bribing the police. Manipuri hunger striker Irom Sharmila, who has spent 14 years protesting the Armed Forces […]