Judicial system

What if you woke up one morning and realized you were living under institutions that looked more like mental institutions than institutions of justice? And, rather than trying to bring sanity, the institutions were being run by mad men? Would you run? Or would you stay? What if we somehow took your Stockholm Syndrome away? […]

शैलेन्द्र प्रसाद हरिजन (अम्बेडकर) नेपाल सरकारले हाल तयार पारेको संविधान संसोधन त्रुटीपुर्ण रहेको छ । यो संसोधन प्रस्तावले मधेशी दलित, जनजाती लगायतका अल्पसंख्यक तथा सिमान्तकृत समुदायको केही मागहरु आँशिक रुपमा समेटे पनि अधिकाँश मागहरु संबोधन गर्न सकेको छैन । सरकारले ल्याएको संविधान संसोधनको प्रस्ताव ललिपप मात्र देखिएको छ । यसवाट कुनै पनि माग संबोधन हुन […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where the Supreme Court ordered a week-long stay on the execution of mentally ill Imdad Ali. Despite being diagnosed as “insane”, Ali was to be hanged early on September 20. Due to appeals by rights groups, the Supreme Court will now hear the case on September 27 and […]

By Basil Fernando One more judgement from the Supreme Court, on torture by the Sri Lankan police, was added to a long list of such judgements, when the Supreme Court decided in favour of a petition filed by W.N.L.K. Fernando of Naththandiya Police against officers attached to the Wennapuwa Police Station [S.C.F.R. Application No. 612/09]. The […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned as human rights organizations, including Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) and Advocacy Forum (AF), as well as human rights defenders and lawyers have been barred from monitoring detention centers and from meeting those detained in custody. The Nepal Police have stopped giving permission to lawyers […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Raviraj Kavichandran a resident of Pussellawa had according to the police, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself on the night of his arrest at the Pussellawa police station on 18th Septemeber 2016. Raviraj’s family members claim witness to him being beaten up at […]

An article titled “The OMP – A Flawed Attempt to Deal with Complaints of Disappearances and/or Missing Persons in Sri Lanka” published in the Colombo Telegraph, by M.C.M Iqbal, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by M.C.M. Iqbal You May Read the Sinhala translation HERE To say that the Office of Missing Persons (OMP)) is a […]

Kaviratne Raviraj, 30 years old, arrested and taken to the Pussellawa police station by some plain clothed police officers and was later pronounced dead upon admission to the Pussellawa Hospital. According to the relatives of the deceased, he was assaulted by the officers at the time of the arrest, and one of his brothers states […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the President of Pakistan His Excellency, Mr. Mamnoon Hussain¨ President of Pakistan President’s Secretariat Islamabad  Pakistan Fax: +92 51 9207458 Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk Dear Mr President, The Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned about the case of Imdad Ali, a mentally ill, death row inmate in […]

On 12 September 2016, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) issued the NCPO Order No. 55/2016under Article 44 of the Interim Constitution; it states that all cases involving offences of the Announcement of the NCPO Order No. 37/2557 (2014), No. 38/2557 (2014), and No. 50/2557 (2014), will no longer be tried in Military […]

RULE O’FLAW is proud to announce the release of our second video, ‘Bail Out’, about under-trials and bail in Asia’s penal systems. This is in follow up to last week’s release of the very first video of Asian Human Rights Commission’s brand new satire program, RULE O’FLAW. The video titled ‘Case Cracked’, has been extremely […]

Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Human Rights Defenders Alert – India (HRDA) International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) Odhikar The Observatory Joint Press Release Bangkok-Dhaka-Geneva-Madurai-Paris-Quezon City, September 15, 2016 – Our organisations condemn the arbitrary travel ban imposed on Kashmiri human […]

This week Just Asia begins with Thailand, where the Administrative Court ruled in favor of the National Park officers who forcibly evicted and burned about 100 houses and rice barns of ethnic Karen villagers in Phetchaburi province. According to the September 7 verdict, since the Karen villagers illegally encroached into protected areas, the park officers […]

Gayashan still remains missing following police detention at the Hambanthota Police Station Thanks to media interest, the matter is being discussed all over the country. The Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundera is reported to have spoken with the father of Gayashan, promising that he would do everything in his power to find the young […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw the attention of the interested persons to follow the judicial harassment of three human rights defenders in Thailand. According to the AHRC Urgent Appeals case (AHRC-UAC-065-2016) which was released on 13 June, 2016. The Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) is an organization that monitors and documents cases of torture […]

Mr President, Excellencies, Colleagues and Friends, I am honoured to open this first session of the Council’s second decade. After two years as High Commissioner, I believe it is important for me to share with you in this oral update our concern over an emerging pattern: the growing refusal on the part of an increasing […]

Written Statement on the OMP Act by Amnesty International as well as two important Reflections on Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka: We reproduce below the three important interventions relating to the OMP Act and Transitional Justice in Sri Lanka. Written Statement by Amnesty International, 33rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council ( 13-30 September 2016) […]

We reproduce below the content of the letter written to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Justice by the AHRC. 13th September 2016 Objection to the designation of Mr. Yasantha Kodagoda, Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) as the Chairperson of the Government’s Steering Committee on ‘Torture Prevention and the Law’ of the National Human Rights Action […]

12th September 2016 Mr. Pujith Jayasundara  Inspector General of Police  New Secretariat  Colombo 1, Sri Lanka Dear Mr Jayasundara, The disappearance of Gayashan requires an inquiry by the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) The disappearance of Gayashan, a 20 year old youth from Ambalangoda while in the custody of the Hambanthota Police for the last 06 […]

아시아 인권헌장, 또는 민중헌장은 1998년 5월 17일 광주에서 공포되었다. 헌장은 수백여 단체들과 개인들의 지지를 받으며 아시아인권위원회가 전적으로 추진하였다. 헌장을 지지한 모든 단체이름은 헌장의 뒤 표지에 기재되어 있다. 아시아 인권헌장을 공포하는 일은 중대한 노력이었고 분명한 목적이 있었다. 헌장의 주요 목적은 개발도상국내 인권증진의 장애물을 다루는 과정을 착수하는 것이었다. 아시아 대부분의 국가들이 개도국에 포함되어 있는 상황에서, 개도국들의 특수한 […]