Institutional reform

Bangladesh Government must stop the new phase of attack in the saga of ongoing reprisal against human rights organization Odhikar through the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The ACC has initiated an alleged “money laundering” complaint against this human rights organization. Such investigation is being conducted in an intimidating atmosphere in the office of ACC, an agency lacking […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to mark 18 May 2016 as an important date in Thailand’s fight against torture. On this date, Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court delivered its official verdict ordering the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) under the Office of Prime Minister to pay 102, 200 baht to Plaintiff no. 1 and […]

Preliminary observations and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, Mr. Juan E. Mendez following his visit to Sri Lanka from 29th April – 7th May 2016 forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Colombo, 7 May 2016 *This statement should be read in conjunction with […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (‘the THRD Alliance’) published today a report on the anti-Constitution protests from August 16, 2015 to February 5, 2016 in which over 40 people died. The report focuses on the use of force by the Government of Nepal against protestors and bystanders. Based […]

An article from Countercurrents.org forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Polling has concluded in Kerala but political parties and commentators alike have missed out on a crucial need in the state. In spite of the rape and murder of the poor Dalit law student that shook the nation and deeply disturbed a state that […]

A Press Release from Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (Songkla) May 18, 2016 marks an important date in the fight against torture in Thailand. The Supreme Administrative Court of Songkla read the official verdict ordering The Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) to pay 101,200 baht to Plaintiff no. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) congratulates all the candidates who have secured a victory in the elections to the State Legislative Assemblies that have concluded in the four states and a union territory of India, i.e. in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry. Elections were largely held in a peaceful manner, and […]

The Supreme Court’s rap to the Union and to various state governments for their apathy to drought victims is welcome. But, it is akin to a few drops sprinkled onto a parched desert under the oversight of unconscious executive governance. The verdict in the writ petition, filed by Swaraj Abhiyan on 11 May 2016 (Swaraj Abhiyan v. Union […]

Discrimination and abuse from police and government officials continues to be faced by transgender rights defenders. Furthermore, many activists have been abducted, beaten, and raped for raising their voice against the atrocities meted out to them. Pakistani society by and large ostracises persons of transgender. Being social outcastes and shunned by their families, many transgender […]

An article by Bijo Francis and Urmila Pullat The press has reported on three rapes in Kerala in the last month. The one that everyone is talking about is the brutal rape and murder on April 28 of the Dalit law student, whose dismembered body was found by her mother in their home. The ones not discussed […]

The Chief Justice of India, Mr.T.S. Thakur, has once again appealed to the Government of India regarding the immediate need to appoint judges in the country. Citing reports of the National Law Commission from 1987, Justice Thakur said that the Commission had assessed that to tackle court delays the country required at least 40,000 judges […]

Militants in Karachi assassinated a prominent human rights defender, Khurram Zaki, on May 7. He was on the hit lists of ISIS, Taliban, and their affiliated outfits. He had informed the police, and the governments of Sindh Province and Pakistan, about the death threats he had been receiving. But as per usual, in the policy […]

In a harrowing incident of honor killing a 16-year girl, Miss Amber, from Makol village near the town of Dunga Gali, distrct Abbottabad Khyber Pakhtun Khuwa (KPK) province was burned alive on 29th April 2016 for helping her friend elope. Because of her help her friend was married The incident caught media attention after a […]

This week’s episode covers World Press Freedom Day, marked annually on May 3. Journalists are at risk in many Asian countries, facing either threats to their lives or legal repression. According to Reporters without Borders’ 2016 World Press Freedom Index, the media freedom situation has worsened significantly or stagnated in the region. The majority of […]

Bangladesh is today going through a deep political crisis that the global civil society is yet to fathom. For all practical purposes, the country is under a dictatorial regime that has usurped power through unfair means. Independent institutions like the Judiciary, Election Commission, and the National Human Rights Commission are completely under the control of […]

Now, there is a new Attorney General and a new Inspector General of Police. Whatever be the disputes about the manner in which their appointments were made, they are now the operators of two of the most vital systems of the state apparatus in Sri Lanka, the Attorney General’s Department and the police service. That […]

A senior political activist, Mr. Aftab Ahmed, working for the fourth biggest parliamentary party, MQM, has been allegedly extrajudicially executed in Rangers’ custody. He ostensibly died due to a heart attack, but his body bears evidence of torture, including burns. As their first response, the Pakistan Rangers denied Aftab was tortured and claimed he suffered […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) first learned from national and local sources that on May 2, police officers arrested at least 1,724 indigenous Papuans who took part in a peaceful protest in Jayapura and other cities in Papua. Subsequently, the AHRC received updated information that the number of indigenous Papuans arrested (primarily students) was […]

Keynote address at the Conference on Human Rights Solidarity Bangladesh, May 2016, Bangkok, Thailand Discussing Bangladesh’s situation from the human rights perspective is no doubt a difficult issue, given the chaotic situation that has developed in both the country’s political and criminal justice systems, during recent times. It may not be of much comfort to […]

This week, Just Asia continues its report on the prosecution of Indonesian activists for crimes against public authorities. Hundreds of labor activists have been demonstrating peacefully outside the court, calling for an end to their unfair trial and criminalization. For more details, Just Asia presents the speech of Michael, one labor activist, and a short […]