Judicial system

On September 27 the Bangkok Post newspaper published an article pointing to the likely shape of Thailand’s new draft interim constitution in the wake of the September 19 military coup. The interim constitution is expected to grant amnesty to the coup leaders. It will set up a 250-member legislature with limited powers, and a 2000-member […]

Earlier the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) circulated the complete text of this judgement (please see AS-217-2006).  Among the many completely baseless legal positions on which this judgement is premised there are some outstanding issues.  The AHRC intends to explore a comprehensive critique on this judgement soon.  In the meantime we would like to mention some […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the military coup in Thailand and calls for immediate restoration of civilian government. At approximately 10pm on September 19 a group of officers headed by army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin took power while Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was attending the UN General Assembly in New York. The group, […]

We reproduced below a judgement made by a bench of five judges, presided over by the Chief Justice, Sarath N. Silva, of Sri Lanka, which leaves no doubt that the court wishes to nullify the impact of Sri Lanka being a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as well as […]

A judgment made by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka on Friday, September 15 has all but removed the country from the international human rights community. The court declared that neither United Nations conventions signed by Sri Lanka nor the directives of monitoring bodies are binding on the country. The decision has tremendous ramifications both […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that army Lieutenant General Rukmangat Katuwal was appointed as army Chief of Staff of Nepal on September 10, 2006, by Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala. Mr. Katuwal, who was set to retire before this appointment took effect, stands accused of being responsible for a plethora of […]

Maina Sunawar was 15 years old when members of the Nepalese armed forces arbitrarily arrested her. Since this date – February 17, 2004 – she has disappeared. All the evidence indicates that she was tortured to death by members of the military, who have since sought to deny her arrest and cover up her death. […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned but not surprised to hear that a senior police officer was threatened with death on 9 August 2006 when an anonymous caller to the police headquarters in Colombo said that a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) from the Tamil community would be killed soon.  The AHRC is concerned […]

The statement: 31 Jul 06 Dr Chee Soon Juan and Ms Chee Siok Chin have applied for the courts not to allow Messrs Lee Kuan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong to proceed with their summary judgement as this would deprive the Defendants of a trial. Lawyer Mr M Ravi argued in his submissions that under […]

[RE: FA-06-2005: PHILIPPINES: three people killed and three others wounded by military forces in Matanao, Davao del Sur, Mindanao; UP-46-2005: PHILIPPINES: A call for speedy resolution of a case filed against the military in the killing of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in Kiblawan, Davao del Sur; UA-72-2005: PHILIPPINES: Prosecutor’s inaction to file murder charges against military […]

This is the first of five open letters that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) feels compelled to write to the UN Human Rights Council concerning the horrible human rights situation in Bangladesh, and its causes. We are doing this as we are deeply concerned for the integrity and credibility of the Council if Bangladesh […]

By Basil Fernando This paper has been prepared to encourage discussion on the limits of the developments on the impact of adult franchise as a factor contributing to the present crisis in Sri Lanka Born in 1906 J.R. Jayawardene was already 41 years-of-age at the time of independence.  His formative years and the family background […]

The higher courts of Pakistan have failed to respond to the growing number of abductions and forced disappearances at the hands of the country’s security forces. Instead they are in effect acting as accomplices to the perpetrators.  In what manner have the courts failed? Either they fail to take notice of a case, or they […]

According to a report in the press (Daily News July 26, 2006) the Chief Justice is quoted as having said:  ‘”go slow” activity as a pernicious act committed against the whole country. He noted that the whole country had to suffer because of the strike country also lost billions of rupees.’ [sic] The argument by […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to you in advance of your State on Monday, July 24. While we look forward to what you will be reporting regarding the present situation of your country and future plans, we would like to draw your attention to the state of human rights in the Philippines, which […]

The Philippine National Police have a unique definition of the word “solved”. According to them, once a charge is filed against a suspect with the Office of the Prosecutor it is solved. Suspects not arrested? No matter, it is solved. Investigation flawed? No matter, it is solved. Requests of victim’s family for more inquiries unanswered? […]

In a very strange move that will surprise anyone concerned with the global effort to eradicate disappearances and gross human rights violations, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which claims to be the country’s prime agency for the protection and promotion of human rights, officially decided to stop further inquiries into disappearance cases […]

On July 17 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an appeal on the alleged torture, armed robbery, illegal detention, and attempted rape and extortion of two persons in Saraburi, just northeast of Bangkok in Thailand. According to Uthai Boonnom, he and his partner were taken–at gunpoint and blindfolded–to a house in the forest where […]

[RE: UP-20-2005: THAILAND: Human rights lawyer still missing after nearly one year; Action needed today to have case transferred… UP-77-2005: THAILAND: Department of Special Investigation fails to bring justice to Charoen Wat-aksorn case… UA-112-2005: THAILAND: Murder of Thai monk following an environmental and land dispute with local influential business figures; UP-028-2006: THAILAND: Protection withdrawn from […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2006 AHRC-OL-028-2006 An open letter to the Inter Ministerial Committee on Human Rights The Inter Ministerial Committee on Human Rights Thro- Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights Parliamentary Complex Colombo 1 SRI LANKA July 6, 2006 Dear Sirs, SRI LANKA: The case of Chamila Bandara, HC […]