Judicial system

A Statement from by Dr. Umakant of JNU forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission April 02, 2018, JNU, New Delhi We must remove inequality, Ambedkar said, or our political structure will be in peril http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/sc-st-act-we-must-remove-inequality-ambedkar-said-or-our-political-structure-will-be-in-peril-5122076/ This protest was unprecedented because it was largely led by ordinary Dalits and Adivasis, while political parties and their leaders played […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of violence against Mr. Ali Nurdin, the chairperson of Gempur, a non-governmental organization (NGO), in Pariaman Lima Koto Kampung Dalam sub-district, Padang Pariaman regency, West Sumatera province. Nurdin was brutally attacked after filing a police report against the misuse of funds […]

In 2011, two manual scavengers died while cleaning a sewer in Delhi’s Bawana Industrial area. Finally, on 27th February 2018, in the case of Rajesh and Another v. Delhi Jal Board and Ors (W.P.(C) 7030/2012), the High Court of Delhi brought relief to the families of these victims. Though prohibited, the dehumanising and hazardous practice of manual […]

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 […]

On March 13 2018, the Third Judicial Magistrate at the First Class Court in Mangalore acquitted Pramod Muthalik, and 25 other members of the Sri Rama Sene of the 2009 assault of several women in a Amnesia, a Mangalore pub. The Sri Ram Sene is a right-wing Hindutva group that has previously been involved in […]

Karapatan condemns the listing of more than 600 persons, human rights defenders and critics of the Duterte government in the proscription petition filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, at a regional court in Manila on February 21, 2018. The petition not only seeks to declare the Communist […]

The Republic of Indonesia, an independent state since 17 August 1945, is a State based on the rule of law. Its constitution emphasizes (UUD 1945), in particular article 1 paragraph 3: “The State of Indonesia shall be a state based on the rule of law.” A state based on the rule of law means that the law […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Attorney General of Nepal Mr. Agni Prasad Kharel  Attorney General Office of Attorney General  Ramshah Path, Kathmandu NEPAL Tel: +977 1 4240210, +977 1 4262548, +977 1 4262394 Fax: +977 1 4262582 / 4218051 Email: info@attorneygeneral.gov.np Dear Mr. Agni Prasad Kharel: The Asian Human Rights Commission […]

A supplement to the Asian Human Rights Charter launched in Gwangju, South Korea on 17 May, 1998 This declaration is to be launched on the 20th anniversary of launching of the Asian Human Rights Charter (A People’s Charter) The Asian Human Rights Commission (Hong Kong) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation(Gwangju, South Korea) are presenting herewith the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Amnesty International’s annual report, highlighting a worldwide worsening of human rights. Released last Thursday, the report covers 159 countries. It claims that world leaders are increasingly “undermining the rights of millions,” either by turning a blind eye to rights abuses, or by perpetrating them. The ‘epicenter of human tragedy’ […]

Indonesia’s penal code, a legacy of Dutch colonialism, has been discussed for many years in the parliament, resulting in academic papers and draft revisions of the law. Nonetheless, little progress has been achieved, with an official discussion in parliament only beginning in 2015, under President Joko Widodo’s administration. The 100-years-old penal code issued by the […]

By Avinash Pandey In other times Jyoti could have gotten at least a little outrage for her, often all poor and the marginalized get in the country after such tragedies inflicted upon them. Alas, the country is busy over outraging the USD 1.7 billion fraud, and counting, that the Punjab National Bank has complained Nirav […]

A reflection on the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Sri Lanka at the 37th Session of the Human Rights Council, 26 February–23 March 2018 by Basil Fernando The idea of good governance in Sri Lanka seems to be – to make lot of good promises and thereafter to ignore […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where 24-year-old Imran Ali has been given four death sentences for raping and murdering a six-year old girl last month. Zainab Ansari’s body was found in a rubbish dump in the city of Kasur on January 9, five days after she went missing. Ali has been linked by police to […]

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 […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, with the UN’s human rights chief warning that the government’s persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority has the potential to spark regional conflict. “It is sometimes said that today’s human rights violations will become tomorrow’s conflicts,” Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said on Monday. Also this week, the Associated Press […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply appreciates the visit to the Republic of Indonesia of Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It took place between 4 to 7 February 2018. As a regional human rights organization in Asia, we work closely with our partners and various civil society […]

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where seven members of the People Go Network and a sociology professor presented themselves at a police station inPathum Thani Province on Wednesday. The activists were accused of breaching Article 12 of NCPO Order No. 3/2015, which prohibits the gathering of five or more people for political purposes, after they organized and participated in a peaceful […]

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 […]