International human rights mechanisms

The suicide of police officer, P G Haridath, on 15 March 2012 brings again to the limelight, issues that adversely affect criminal investigations in India. Haridath was an Additional Superintendent of Police working in the Central Bureau of Investigation. It is reported that the deceased officer was investigating the infamous Sampath murder case in Kerala […]

The national debate regarding India’s position about the proposed resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council concerning Sri Lanka is limited to a Tamil view of the issue. The views exchanged in both houses of the country’s parliament and in the media reflect this. This parochial view about the resolution exposes the widespread lack […]

The judiciary is that branch of the state which adjudicates on conflicts between state institutions, between the state and the individual and between individuals. The judiciary is independent of both legislature and the executive. This is a feature of judicial independence which is of prime importance, both in relation to the government according to law […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following press release from [Name of the Organisation/Media]. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Press Release from Lawyers for Democracy forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) 13th March 2012 ‘Lawyers for Democracy’ (LfD) is gravely concerned with […]

INDIA: GHE fear at New Delhi Reading the proposed draft resolution mooted at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) concerning human rights in Sri Lanka, one cannot help wonder why India did not propose such a resolution before? Today by delaying in arriving at a decision, whether to support the resolution or not, India has once […]

Freedom of expression is one of the essential pre-requirements for the practice, protection and promotion of democracy. If we are to speak of a democratic Pakistan we need to examine, whether the media is free. Each and every day media professionals are facing threats of kidnapping or murder for telling the truth. The truth about […]

If a girl sits badly, it is up to her mother to cover her thighs. – Orma (Kenyan) Proverb Again, it works, doesn’t it? But for how long you are going to trap the public with this same strategy which has different faces? When the person who has abused power and undermined the basic rights of […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission, Advocacy Forum, Concern for Children and Environment (Concern) Nepal, Backward Society Education (BASE) Nepal and Himalayan Human Rights Monitors (Himrights) to the Prime Minister of Nepal   To, Rt. Hon. Dr. Baburam Bhattarai Prime Minister of Nepal Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Nepal Singh […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following editorial published by the Daily Star, an English-speaking national daily newspaper of Bangladesh, on 17 January 2012. The original editorial can be available for the readers at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=218604. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An Editorial from the Daily Star forwarded by the Asian Human […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) today published its 25-page report containing its analyses on what it has observed as the irreparable ‘social and systemic impact’ of the ongoing violations of human rights in the […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 The international community, including leading human rights agencies and organisations, has failed to understand the depth of collapse of rule of law in Sri Lanka and have failed to make any effective intervention in this […]

(Hong Kong, December 9, 2011) Despite signs of political change and the easing of restrictions on freedom of expression in Burma, rights abuses remain “systemic, deeply entrenched and vast in scale”, the Asian Human Rights Commission said today in its annual State of Human Rights in Asia report.   The 17-page Burma report, entitled “From blinkered […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 The state of human rights in a country is directly proportional to the extent of justice achieved in that jurisdiction. Justice is not a physically quantifiable concept. It is “truth in action” as held by […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 The full report is available for download at http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2011/AHRC-SPR-008-2011/view. The state has become dysfunctional in providing basic human rights to the people. Though the parliament exists it either cannot assert its constitutional duties or does not […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC is publishing the annual report on the State of Human Rights in South Korea in 2011. The full report is available […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 International Human Rights Day is going to be ‘observed’ in Bangladesh amidst numerous victims facing gross abuses of human rights without an access to legal remedies from the existing criminal justice system. On the eve […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the 63rd Human Rights Day, the Asian Human Rights Commission is releasing its annual report on the state of human rights protection in Nepal through 2011. The report is available here. Given […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC publishes its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011. The full report will be made available […]

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Committee against Torture at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- 1. The Committee considered the combined third and fourth periodic report of Sri Lanka (CAT/C/LKA/3-4) at its 1030th and 1033rd meetings, […]

The International Commission of Jurists has recently forwarded a submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture. We present here the executive summary. The full report may be found at http://alrc.net/PDF/ICJ_CAT47_SriLanka_Submission_2011.pdf. Executive Summary In this submission the ICJ provides alternative replies to some of the questions raised in the List of Issues to be considered during […]