Judicial system

The Prime Minster of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, invited the top judges of the country and the Chief Ministers of the states to his official residence for a dinner. The judges accepted the invitation and dined with the Prime Minister. This is the first time in Indian history that a Prime Minister has resorted to […]

One of the promises of Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, as common candidate at the last presidential election, was the elimination of corruption, i.e. something the last government was steeped in. Elimination of corruption is therefore a major objective of his newly elected government. His catchwords were Yaha palanaya (good governance), which itself implies radical elimination of corruption. Today, […]

In this week’s Roundup, AHRC TV covers stories from Burma, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Police and mob violence against peaceful demonstrators in Burma has sown doubt about the democratisation process in the country. AHRC TV talks to several people on the ground about recent crackdowns in Rangoon and Letpadan and whether police are continuing to […]

Students and their supporters detained in Tharawaddy Prison continue to be denied access to lawyers. In addition, the authorities have refused medical assistance for the detainees that are injured. Thus, the government continues its persecution of the Burmese students who have taken a stand against the government’s plan with respect to education. The background to […]

Enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions are on the rise amidst the political crisis in Bangladesh. At least nine people including two women have been disappeared, and seven men extrajudicially murdered between 5 January and 27 January 2015. Personnel from the Detective Branch (DB) of Police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and the Joint Forces (which […]

On 21 January, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics has unanimously adopted a draft anti-torture bill. PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar moved The Torture, Custodial Death and Custodial Rape Bill, 2014, last August and the Chairman Senate referred it to the Committee. The objective of this Bill is to prevent and protect all persons from […]

For more information or inquiries, please contact Ms. Eun-ji KANG by email (khis21[at]hanmail.net) from Korean House for International Solidarity. – Chairperson Hyun Byung-cheol should reflect on himself whether he is qualified as the head of a NHRI of A status In the Plenary Committee meeting on 12 January 2015, Hyun Byung-cheol, chairperson of the National […]

India is celebrating its 66th Republic Day today. The national capital territory is under a layered security blanket, to ensure the celebrations will not be marred by any inconvenient incident, and that the foreign as well as national dignitaries will return home safe. Some amongst the millions of Indians watching today’s celebrations may wonder why such […]

More than a month after the deadly attack on Army Public School Peshawar, the tragedy is still under thick impenetrable clouds. The uncertainty about what the Prime Minister termed ‘a national tragedy’ persists with no one even making an effort to fathom. According to umpteen media reports about the December 16th attack, all one could […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), in coordination with the Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance, has been monitoring the human rights situation in Nepal in the lead up to 22 January, the deadline for the Constituent Assembly (CA) to draft a constitution. The Maoists, along with the alliance of 30 opposition parties, have resorted […]

Following the gruesome incident of the massacre of children at the Army Public School on 16th December 2014, within the military Cantonment, in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtoonkha Province, the government under pressure by the military immediately lifted the moratorium on death sentences which were continued since August 2008. During the period from 22ndDecember 2014 to date, 21 […]

We, the Conflict Victims Common Platform (CVCP), feel extreme exclusion in the whole process of transitional justice process, specifically concerning the recent recommendation committee’s list of candidates for the forthcoming Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission for Enforced Disappearance (CED). The recommendations were made public last week without prior consultation with victims and surviving […]

Schools across Pakistan reopened on 12th January 2015 following the horrors of the Peshawar carnage that was unleashed on 16th December 2014, on the innocent school children at the Peshawar Army Public School (APS). Parents and teachers along with the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Shareef attended the sombre morning assembly where the surviving students vowed […]

The Asian Human Right Commission and Asian Legal Resource Centre has developed  a handbook on torture titled “Let’s Stop torture together” the book is first of its kind in South Asia to have reached out the victims directly and to help them cope with the aftermaths of torture and how to seek legal redress. Our […]

In recent weeks, the Bangladesh government has intensified its crackdown on the media and the opposition. The country’s media is being forced to censor the news and plight of opposition parties, amidst the spree of arbitrary arrest and detention of opposition supporters. The police raided the office premises of New Age, a national English daily, on […]

A decisive new stage in the political life of Sri Lanka has arisen as a result of the people’s verdict, which overwhelmingly affirms the commitment of Sri Lankans to democracy and the rule of law. Victory to the new President Maithripala Sirisena and the New Democratic Alliance is a mandate given by the people to […]

6 January 2014 shall forever be etched in our collective concise as a sad day when we sold our souls to the devil. Senator Raza Rabbani appeared heartbroken on the floor of the assembly as he shed tears for the assembly taking its last breath “Perhaps, I never felt ashamed as much in my life […]

(Note: this article was first published in the January 4, 2015 issue of the Sunday Examiner) Six year old Chris Angela Sales, whose father is being held on charges of murder, could not understand why her father, who brings her street food, buys her milk and puts her to bed after work, has been locked in a […]

Yesterday, 6th January 2015, the National Assembly of Pakistan passed an amendment to the Constitution allowing the formation of military courts. The Pakistan Senate adopted the same amendment with a limiting clause that the amendment will be valid only for a period of two years. In responding to the 16th December 2014 massacre of 148 […]

Whatever be the outcome of the presidential election to be held on the 8th of January 2015, Sri Lanka has already entered into the deepest political crisis it has ever faced since the adoption of the Executive Presidential system through the 1978 Constitution. Within the period of a few weeks, all the manifestations of strength […]