Inhuman & degrading treatment

By Basil Fernando It has been 33 years since Black July, 1983. These 33 years have been part of our lifetime. We have witnessed not only the horrendously criminal acts of July 1983, but also what happened by way of justice after those serious crimes. I would like to illustrate my point in terms of […]

Naseer Memon The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have released a report “Multidimensional Poverty in Pakistan” which depicts a grim picture of social well-being in the country. The concept of poverty has evolved over time. As knowledge about the complexity of human societies is growing, poverty has […]

This week’s episode begins with the murder in Nepal of 18-year-old Ajit Mijar. Ajit married his non Dalit girlfriend Kalpana Parajuli on July 9, and the couple were forcibly separated by police and Kalpana’s family on July 11. On July 14, Ajit was found hanging near Phurke Khola, Dhading district. To learn more, Just Asia […]

The extent to which Pakistan has complied with human rights standards set out in the International Convention of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), will be assessed by a United Nation’s expert committee in Geneva on August 16-17, this year. The committee will look at a report to be presented by the government of Pakistan, […]

Avinash Pandey Gujarat is simmering again. Dalits are agitating over criminals indulging in criminality. These criminals, who are fondly referred to as “cow vigilantes” by the mainstream media, have recently stripped and flogged four Dailit youth in Una. The resultant protests have claimed two lives: a policeman has reportedly been killed in stone pelting in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns racism, insults and assaults against indigenous Papuan students in the Papuan students dormitory at the Kamasan I Jalan Kusumanegara, Yogyakarta province, Indonesia. Since Friday morning, July 15, police officers have surrounded and forcibly closed the Papuan students’ dormitory. Inside there were approximately 100 Papuan students. The police did […]

On 8 July 2016, the Supreme Court, in the case of Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association (EEVFAM) & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr., ruled that victims of extrajudicial executions have the right to know the truth. The AHRC’s partner organization in Manipur, Human Rights Alert, was the second petitioner in this important […]

In a rule of law jurisdiction, the story of a victim of gang rape being raped by the same accused against whom court proceedings continue, might be outlandish. But, in India today, these are the common stories that confront anyone willing to see reality: A Dalit gang rape survivor has allegedly been gang raped again […]

This week’s episode begins with the death of Abdul Sattar Edhi, a philanthropist known as Pakistan’s “Father Teresa”. Edhi died after a prolonged illness on July 8. Edhi spent his life building up an organization that has fed, clothed, offered medical services, and provided shelter to many Pakistanis. From a single ambulance, the Edhi Foundation’s […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condoles the sad demise of Abdul Sattar Edhi and pays tribute to the country’s most loved social worker for his dedication and selfless service to humanity. It is not every day that one comes across a man like Edhi. A legend in his own right, he was a philanthropist who […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the negligence of the Government of Nepal. The State has shown utter indifference towards Ganga Maya Adhikari, surviving wife of late Nanda Prasad Adhikari and mother to late Krishna Prasad Adhikari. Maoists at Bakulahar Chowk of Ratnanagar, Chitwan allegedly murdered her son, Krishna Prasad, in June […]

By Basil Fernando The media reported a speech made by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Pujith Jayasundara., wherein he stated quite openly and categorically that the police should make use of the present opportunity and take steps to change. This is a welcome statement in a climate where any kind of positive development in […]

A Press Release from International Human Rights Committee (IHRC) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) On the 20 June 2016, Chaudhry Khaliq Ahmad, son of Chaudhry Bashir Ahmad, was shot and killed in a religiously motivated attack in Karachi, carried out by unknown assailants. According to the information we have so far, the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the terrorist attack in Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka. The country experienced bloodshed on July 1 and 2. A group of militants attacked a Spanish restaurant in the diplomatic zone at Gulshan in Dhaka, at around 9 p.m. on Friday. Around 8 gunmen captured the Holey Artisan Bakery at gunpoint […]

Beginning with Thailand this week, Just Asia covers three human rights defenders who have been accused of criminal defamation and violation of the Computer Crime Act for publishing a report detailing 54 cases of torture by the Thai Army in the country’s southern provinces. The three defenders, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, Director of the Cross Cultural Foundation […]

After monitoring 20 months of the human rights situation in Papua and West Papua provinces under President Joko Widodo’s administration, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is dismayed at the utter lack of progress in the protection and realization of people’s rights. Since President Widodo’s inauguration on 20 October 2014, there were considerable expectations for […]

This week Just Asia begins with the attack on a peaceful public protest in North Sulawesi, Indonesia on June 1, calling for professionalism by parliamentarians, and the prosecution of those involved in illegal drugs. While waiting to have a dialogue with some parliamentarians at the Manodo parliament office, the student protesters were suddenly attacked by […]

A State that prides itself on being a nuclear State, a symbol of strength and technological advancement, needs a double take. There is something very wrong in a nation and a society where the most fundamental human relationships are mired in violent brutality. Ms. Zeenat 17, was caught off guard when her own mother doused […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the detainees and prisoners in Indonesia face serious problems, in particular those related to overcrowding. In the past year, according to the Minister of Law and Human Rights and the Directorate General of Corrections, there are five Indonesian prisons that suffer the most from the problem […]

See the YouTube Video relating to this article. Journalist, Poddala Jayantha in a moving article, written in Sinhala, recalls his ordeal which took place exactly 7 years ago in the evening of June 1st that shocked the entire nation. A threat which has been made to him by the brother of the then President Mahinda […]