Institutional reform

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day In Sri Lanka, what remains widespread in political, social, and cultural life is widespread shameless impunity relating to every form of abuse of human dignity and human rights. This widespread shameless impunity is also widespread in the entirety of the […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day Commemorating Human Rights Day every December 10 reminds us of the importance of human rights protection, which is still lacking in Indonesia. In the last two years, under President Joko Widodo’s administration, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has observed […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day The incumbent government has pushed the people to one of the worst living conditions they have faced in recent collective and individual memory. Millions of Indians are repeatedly queuing up before banks and currency dispensing machines, struggling to withdraw legitimately […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines (DJP), a social movement working to promote the human rights of the urban poor in Manila, about surveillance and harassment of Ms. Glacy Macabale. Ms. Macabale is human rights defender and community organizer, who has been resisting the forcible displacement […]

A Statement from Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission. Karapatan today joined RISE UP!, a campaign initiated by faith-based groups, institutions and people’s organizations against the drug menace and for the protection of human and people’s rights against drug-related extrajudicial killings, in a protest action in […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Krushak Shakti Sangthan (KSS) about paddy crop failure having hit farmers hard in Nuapada district of Odisha. KSS has also informed the AHRC that most of the farmers had incurred loans for growing crops and the crop failure has thus exposed them to […]

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 […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18. The rights watchdog is calling for an urgent UN investigation into the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received a detailed complaint from Mrs. Herath Mudiyanselage Podi Kumarihami of Poojanagaraya, Mahiyangana, in the Badulla District. Her complaint reveals that the Magistrate of the Mahinganaya Magistrate’s Court, Ms. Thisani Thenabadu has taken several actions against. The Petitioner alleges that the said Magistrate has been harassing her and violating […]

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 […]

The Police, Prosecution, Judiciary, and Jails are designed to protect perpetrators of crime that are associated with the powerful elites in the country. This is how the system was devised over 200 years ago, and all who are associated with the institutions have only further twisted this system against the common people since. The lifespan […]

By Avinash Pandey Even if one puts the cacophonous debate on the merits and demerits of demonetisation of Rupees 500 and 1000 currency notes aside, one thing is clear: it has hit hard the farmers all set to sow Rabi crops. Almost entirely dependent upon cash transactions for everything, starting from buying seeds and fertilisers, […]

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 […]

The Pakistan desk of Asian Human Rights Commission has this time comes out with animated video on custodial torture which is discussing the menace of torture in the country. This video covers the practice of torture and ill-treatment in three parts. Human rights can be rooted in a society only when the ethical and moral […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where more than 2000 lawyers marched silently in black on Tuesday, protesting against Beijing’s interpretation of the Basic Law, to prevent two elected activists from taking up their seats in parliament. Prominent advertisements in Tuesday morning papers read ‘Beijing destroys rule of law—Hong Kong world city no […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that in retaliation to locals refusing to supply arms to the international terrorist organisations Taliban and Al-Qaida, Army officers have blown up a two-storey business centre, which had more than 150 shops and four commercial halls. This incident has occurred in Wana City, the headquarters of […]

(Released on 5 November 2016) parents of Mr. Anan Kerdkaew, a suspect who died in police custody while being interrogated, shall file a charge against the Royal Thai Police with the South Bangkok Civil Court about the injuries and death of Mr. Anan Kerdkaew. Mr. Anan was arrested on 9 November 2015 being suspected of […]