Judicial system

Nepal has been in transition since 2006. Following the failure of the first Constituent Assembly to promulgate a new constitution, the country has been in a state of limbo and to make matters worse, there is no clear indication of when this transition will come to an end. The indefinite hunger strike of Dr. Govinda […]

Two prominent Sri Lankan Human Rights Defenders who were detained and questioned at Kilinochchi by officials of the Police Terrorism Investigation Division(TID)on Sunday March 16th night were reportedly brought down to Vavuniya in the early hours of Monday March 17th night.They are to be transferred to Colombo for further interrogation by TID officials. The two […]

We the Catholics of the entire Roman Catholic Diocese of Jaffna, comprising of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna Districts are sad and perturbed to know from the media that Reverend Father Proveen Mahesan, resident at Amathipuram, an Oblate settlement and Rukki Fernando a Human Rights activist of the South have been arrested in the Kilinochchi area […]

Dear friends, These are dark days. On Thursday the prominent campaigner for the disappeared Jeyakumari Balendran was arrested along with her 13 year old daughter. While the daughter was released, Jeyakumari continues to be held in Boosa detention centre. She is being held under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism act, under which a person can […]

On January 17, 2014, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an urgent appeal (AHRC-UAC-005-2014, http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-005-2014) for immediate intervention and financial assistance to a survivor of acid attack in the Indian state of Assam as per the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India in 2013. Women in Governance (WinG-Assam), a network of women […]

A draft resolution promoting reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka is to be discussed at the United Nations Human Rights Council. The proposed resolution calls for, among other things, the Office of the High Commissioner, “To lead a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes by […]

India’s arms imports are now almost 3 times as high as those of the second and third largest arms importers – China and Pakistan – according to new data on international arms transfers published today by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Overall, the volume of international transfers of major conventional weapons grew by 14 […]

National Election Watch Association of Democratic Reforms March 13, 2014 Preliminary Analysis of Candidates Announced by INC and BJP for Lok Sabha 2014 The major parties, Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced their candidates for Lok Sabha, 2014 recently. A total of 203 candidates were announced by INC and BJP for […]

A girl commits suicide by self-immolation after her rapists bribed the police to release them. The state institutions remained as silent spectators The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that an 18 year old student died in hospital after setting herself on fire in the front of a hospital, in Muzzafargarh, Punjab province where […]

While the alleged fabrication and concealment of evidence by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) is gaining more weight in a case of Mr. Yu who is on trial, charged with violation of National Security Act (NSA), it is noticeable that few legislatures have started joining in support of the NIS. It is a normal practice of political […]

Today the AHRC releases the 21th Episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. In this week’s programme we continue our International Women’s Day coverage of stories from around Asia on women’s human rights. We start in Sri Lanka with stories of brutal and widespread domestic violence, entirely neglected by police, courts, and politicians. In Pakistan, peace […]

National Human Rights Commission PRESS RELEASE New Delhi: 12th March, 2014 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Government of Assam pay Rs.5 lakh each to the next of kin of Munindra Kalita (26 years) and Pingal Deka (27 years), who were killed in an encounter by the Assam Police and the […]

Press Note March 12, 2014 Stop the Bloodshed. Declare Immediate Ceasefire.  Sit for Talks to end violence. The PUBL condemns the killing of 16 security personnel, including 11 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, 4 policemen and a civilian. The incident occurred in a land mine blast followed by indiscriminate firing by Maoists at Tongpal […]

An Article by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Women’s International Day Dowry system and related violence is a product of patriarchy that in turn needs to be understood, unloaded and unpacked through gender lens. If there is a formula for defining gender it should be sexes + class +ethnicity.  This implies that gender is […]

In its latest direct onslaught on the women rights, Pakistan’s Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has declared laws regarding second marriage of a man in the presence of first wife, against religious principles. The chairman of the council Maulana Mohammad Khan Sheerani, has said in a press statement that “Sharia allows men to have more than […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. A.H Ranjith was falsely accused by some neighbours of stealing a quantity of gold, arrested without warrant, illegally detained and brutally tortured by the Acting OIC of the Weligama Police Station. Complaints made to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, the Inspector […]

Every Pakistani is well aware of terrorism, unemployment, inflation, injustice, forced labour, disappearances, blasphemy against minorities, discrimination against women, custodial deaths, torture and so on as these are the challenges they are face on a daily basis in their lives. Now there is another challenge for impoverished Pakistanis: famine; like the conditions faced in the […]

An Article by the Asian Human Rights Commission released on the occasion of International Women’s Day One of the rare positive impacts of armed conflict on gender relations is the increased movement, mobility and opportunities for women in political spaces for leadership in constructing and reconstructing peace in the society during conflict and post conflict […]

Last week the U.S. Embassy denied entry permits to Nepalese police officers as they have been stationed at police stations that have alleged track records of human rights violations during the insurgency and in other periods. The Police Headquarter sought help of the Home Ministry after the visas of 14 police officers were rejected as […]

On 10 February, 2013 a young writer and teacher, Ms. Majoni Das working at a private educational institute in the town of Jorhat, located in the eastern Indian state of Assam, went missing. All that her family knows is that Majoni was instructed by police officials to report to a police station, and that she […]