International human rights mechanisms

For several decades now, the widespread practice of enforced disappearances has been experienced in Sri Lanka in a very large scale Despite many attempts by the UN human rights agencies including the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, there are hardly any cases where credible investigations or prosecutions have taken place concerning the cases which sometimes […]

An Oral Statement to the 47th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President: As there are profound concerns over the latest military coup in Myanmar and subsequent violence offends the conscience of humanity, the urgent questions before the international community should be what to do […]

By Basil Fernando The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” was adopted with 22 members of the council voting in favour of the resolution, 11 members voting against it and 14 members abstaining. The passing of the resolution marks the strongest action ever taken by the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about a lecture on International Law and judiciary reform in Indonesia legal system. The lecture conducted by Mr. Basil Fernando with Indonesian law students of International Law Class of the University of Bung Karno, Jakarta. In total, 37 students took part in the lecture and […]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is about to appoint six new judges as the 9-years tenure of six of the 18 judges ends in 2021. In the lead up to the appointments of the new judges the Assembly of the State Parties (ASP) has already confirmed the nominations of 22 candidates by 15 May 2020. The appointment of the nominated candidates will be […]

One month since Professor Muhammad Ismail was arbitrarily detained, he is still languishing in prison on trumped-up charges of ‘hate speech’, ‘spreading false information’ and ‘cyberterrorism’. CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance and the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls on the Pakistan authorities to halt his persecution and release him immediately and unconditionally. In […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Lawyers for Lawyers, and 30 other civil society organisations of the world 4 October 2019 – We, the undersigned organizations, are deeply shocked by the brutal killing of our Dutch colleague Derk Wiersum. We extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Wiersum’s family, friends, colleagues and all […]

Affirming something through a declaration and denying the same in actual practice happens everywhere, but the real test of affirmation is the degree to which something is practiced. When what is affirmed and what is actually practiced is virtually divorced then the very act of affirmation becomes a mockery. That, unfortunately, is the situation regarding […]

This week Just Asia begins with a new UN report stating that 821 million people, or one out of nine persons globally, is facing hunger. Titled ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019’, the report was launched by five UN agencies at a special event Monday, in New York. Of the world’s […]

A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission   Analysis of the Head of the NCPO Order no. 9/2562 that repealed some Announcements/Orders that are no longer necessary Click here to read the Original Statement On 9 July 2019, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha in his capacity as the Head of […]

This week Just Asia begins with Malaysia, which has become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after signing the tribunal’s founding treaty Monday. Malaysia becomes the 124th member of the court since its establishment in 2002, a boost to the court, which has suffered several setbacks recently. The ICC is the world’s only […]

This week Just Asia begins with Bangladesh, where a fast-moving fire in the historic district of Chawkbazar in the country’s capital city of Dhaka has killed 78 persons and injured 55. The death toll and the number of victims is expected to increase as more bodies are found from the wreckage. The 400-year-old Chawkbazar district […]

On December 11 to 14, 2018, human rights defenders from South East-Asia and the laureates of Gwangju Prize for Human Rights participated in an international workshop on the ‘Asian Human Rights Charter” organized by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation, (Gwangju, South Korea) in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the workshop, human rights […]

This week Just Asia begins with Bangladesh, where police arrested a prominent government critic on Monday. Police said Moinul Hosein, a top lawyer and publisher of an English daily, was detained after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina slammed him for his comments against a pro-government female journalist. His arrest comes in the wake of a recent government […]

A Statement from Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Aside from the statements of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein and two UN special rapporteurs on the inclusion of the names of UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about a paper‘the UN Global Compact: Mainstreaming human rights to strengthen the accountability of trans-national corporations.” The paper is written by Chris Biantoro, a human rights lawyer and Indonesia desk officer at the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Hong Kong. For further reading of the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where a sword-wielding man attacked a church during Sunday services at St Lidwina Church, Yogyakarata province. The man burst into the church on Java Island, ran toward the choir and attacked German pastor Karl Edmund Prier, who was leading the choir. He then slashed the statues of Jesus […]

On 8 February 2018, Fatou Bensoula, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague announced her decision “to open a preliminary examination” into the Philippine government’s war on drugs, which ‘potentially falls within the Court’s jurisdiction’ (read full text of her speech here). The Republic of the Philippines is State party to the Rome […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)  Palais Wilson  52 Rue Des Pâquis  CH-1201 Geneva SWITZERLAND Fax : +41 22 917 9012/0213 […]

The press conference held by Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph on 12 January 2018 is a watershed event in Indian judicial history. Four of the five most senior judges of the Supreme Court of India, appealed to the conscience of the nation, to intervene, failing which the judges cautioned that […]