Land rights

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that around 500 residents in Dharamsal village, a small village on the Line of Control (dividing the State of Jammu Kashmir into Pakistani and Indian administered parts) have been living in equivocal situation since August 13, 2017. The Indian Army is unremittingly targeting […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines (DJP), a social movement working to promote the human rights of the urban poor in Manila, about the dismissal of the workers of Ming John Plastic Ware. The AHRC has also been informed that the workers were evicted from their […]

1. Today, on 15 September 2017, a group of 58 Asian human rights defenders, including the Chairpersons of the National Human Rights Commissions of: Indonesia, Nepal, Timor Leste, and the Philippines, having converged in the global human rights city of Gwangju, hereby expresses our deep concern about the on-going violence committed against the Rohingya people […]

The plight of enclave dwellers and the status of enclaves in India is something that rarely catches the attention of the media and is therefore an issue that few know or understand. The history of enclaves in India, its origin and continued existence is complex and fascinating, dating back to the 18th century. After Partition in 1947, the hurried redrawing […]

The floods that took place in mid-June in northeast India severely impacted the lives and livelihood of over 17 lakh persons, many of whom were displaced from their home villages. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had earlier noted that the damage caused by the floods was heightened by the construction of numerous dams and hydropower projects, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRDA) are extremely concerned over the Government of Nepal’s slow response to the flood affected Terai region. Continuous four-day heavy rains since 10 August 2017 triggered floods and landslides across the country, causing a great loss of human life and property. This is […]

Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic group belonging to Burma, are considered the most severely persecuted people in the world. The majority of Burma’s 800,000 strong, Muslim populace, identifies as Rohingya and have faced severe discrimination in this Buddhist-majority nation. Rohingyas are routinely denied basic rights to healthcare and livelihood. By the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law they […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding continuous harassment meted out by the Mahiyangana Police and the Badulla Police to Herath Mudiyanselage Podi Kumarihami, in order to grab a land which Podi Kumarihami owns and where she has been living for a long time. Police officers attached to the […]

Avinash Pandey Gopikrishna Durgaprasad, a 25-year-old gainfully employed young man, committed suicide a few days ago in Pune, Maharashtra. With Maharashtra seeing thousands of suicides every year, and being the state with the most farmer suicides annually, Gopikrishna’s death would not have been significant news on its own. What was different about this case though, was that […]

Avinash Pandey Looking at the pattern of tomato pricing in India, year after year, could lead one to believe that tomatoes are pricing themselves, evilly conspiring against the farmers producing them and the consumers buying them, helping only the intermediaries in the process. As of now, tomatoes are being sold for more than Rs. 80 […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from the Samaj Chetna Adhikar Manch, Dabhaura about the demolition drive against Dalit and tribal settlements in Chhipiya, Khairaha, Jirahua, Genduraha and Kota villages in Jawa block of Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh. The AHRC has been informed that the administration has flouted all rules and […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the torture and ill-treatment of Seko indigenous people in North Luwuk, South Sulawesi province. The North Luwuk police favored the Seko Power Prima Company (PT. Seko Power Prima). They arrested, detained and forced the local people to accept the company’s plan to develop […]

The security establishment has found a new way to control terrorism. They stop people in the northern parts of the country, bordering Afghanistan, from growing maize and abandoning trees. In their view, the best way to control terrorism is to impoverish the affected population by plundering their sources of livelihood. This theory was applied in […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information provided by Bandar Lampung Legal Aid (LBH Bandar Lampung). It is regarding an unfair trial and a fabricated case faced by the Tulang Bawang farmers and a Priest, Father Sugianto who defended and spent time in solidarity with the farmers. So far, there […]

by Lakhumal Lohano There are numerous dimensions to CPEC, economic, geo-political and geo-strategic, environmental, sustainability, human rights, and regional and global security and peace. However, I will focus on its implication for the Sindhi people and why we oppose it. According to information available in the public domain, China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) comprises thousands […]

by Avinash Pandey The Supreme Court of India is worried about the continuing havoc of farmer suicides in India. It termed it “a sensitive matter of larger public interest and human rights which covers the entire country” this January. The Court has also wondered why there is no national policy to compensate farmers in cases of crop failure and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes Pope Francis’ unequivocal support for the indigenous peoples’ rights of land and livelihood. It notes that this can go a long way for tenure rights of global indigenous populations while ensuring their food security. It can also surface possible solutions to conflicts arising out of increasing encroachments and forced acquisitions of land for […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day The year 2016 has proved to be a difficult year in terms of food and livelihood security for the poor and marginalized communities across Asia. There have even been reverses in food security of the people in countries like Sri […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information provided by the Land Reform Commission (KPA), a national NGO documenting land conflicts,regarding the current legal status of three residents of Sukamulya Village, Kertajati Sub-district, Majalengka Regent, West Java Province. They were detained on17 November 2016 and have finally just been granted bail. […]

The Maoist movement in India, which allegedly claims it will uproot the Indian State by an armed insurrection, has brought organised and armed violence to the remotest countryside in higher number and intensity. The ongoing conflict has brought the State and Maoist firepower into the daily lives of some of the most marginalised of the […]