Right to fair trial

The Interior Ministry of Baluchistan has recently stated that it has arrested 8363 Baloch over the span of 9 months. Whereas, the Chief Minister of Balochistan Dr. Malik Baloch has said that those arrested will be dealt in accordance with the law. No further details pertaining to the arrested have been revealed. The provincial interior […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction and viscious attack on residents in Kampung Pulo, Jakarta, Indonesia, conducted by the Jakarta Governor, and supported by the police, the military, and the civil service police unit (Satpol PP). The Governor ignored due process of law and did not […]

The Pakistani National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Information Technology approved the Cyber Crimes Bill 2015 on September 17 for a second time, after making some cosmetic changes to clauses that curb free speech. Legislators from the ruling party are determined to pass the Bill; the Chairman of the Standing Committee is the son in-law of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Nepal government to take urgent measures in order to defuse alarming on-going violence in Biratnagar. Police have indiscriminately fired on protesters that had just begun to gather in order to carry out their plan to burn a copy of the Constitution promulgated yesterday. The police fired live […]

Sachin Kumar Jain Whenever clichés like development, economic progress, growth rates, and their ilk begin swirling in the air, it can, rather, it should, be safely assumed that there is something terribly amiss; the most important social issues are getting brushed under a (red?) carpet (for whom?). The day’s vegetable prices become the handle to […]

An article from the Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission I am a Chhetri man, born and raised in Kathmandu. Today, the new constitution of the Federal Republic of Nepal will be officially promulgated and it is my constitution – it has been drafted by people who share my gender, my complexion, […]

This week’s Roundup will focus on initiatives for police reform in South Asia. The episode begins in Nepal where on-going instability in the Terai in the last 2 months has provided ample examples for the urgent need of police reform. Nepal’s dysfunctional, incompetent, violent, and corrupt police institution reflects the norm in the South Asian […]

The rights of tribal people and other forest dwelling communities are set to be assaulted again, as the Indian government is warming up to the to the idea of public private partnerships in forest management. Though the details of the proposal are still unclear, a report in the Hindustan Times suggest that the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate […]

September 15 is commemorated throughout the world as the international day of democracy. Yet, for a majority of Asians, true representative democracy remains an illusion.  The “elected dictatorship” most often in practice in these regions allows the people to vote once in four or five years, but they have no say in decision-making process, matters […]

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, abandoned the practices of the previous government delegations to the UN Human Rights Council in the recent years, has frankly admitted before the Council the mistakes of the past and the weaknesses of the Sri Lankan institutions. Previous delegations came with the sole purpose of denying all allegations […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned to have learned that Pravit Rojanaphruk, journalist for the Nation newspaper and freedom of expression advocate, is being detained in an undisclosed location by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The conditions of his detention are arbitrary and a clear derogation of the Government […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding land confiscation conducted by the Indonesian Army in Urut Sewu, Kebumen Regency, Central Java Province. The Army has not obeyed the law; it has claimed the land without supporting evidence. The conflict has not been resolved since 2011 due to lack of law […]

An Article published in the Hong Kong Free Press, on 11th September 2015, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Basil Fernando Perhaps the most touching moment broadcast through international media in recent times is the warm welcome people fleeing Syria through Hungary received from large German crowds on arrival. When citizens of one country […]

This week’s Roundup begins in Bangladesh, where the breakdown of the rule of law is in an ever-worsening downward spiral. On International Day for Victims of Enforced Disappearances, intelligence agencies in the country threatened family members of the disappeared and 27 out of 35 scheduled meetings were cancelled. Next, AHRC TV reports on the shocking […]

September 11, 2012 will remain etched in the collective memory of Pakistan. On that day 259 labourers were burned alive inside a garment factory. The incident is unprecedented in the industrial history of Pakistan, and was termed a 9/11 for the laboring class of Pakistan. The fire was caused by a short circuit and quickly […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the prolonged general strike that has made life very difficult in the southern plains of Nepal. Curfews have been set in Terai Districts to deter any untoward incidents. There is severe shortage of essentials and medicines. Shops and factories are closed. Daily wage earners have difficulty […]

A campaign has been launched in Myanmar demanding an end to the practice of the appointment of military officers as judicial officers to the court of Myanmar. This movement demands the end to militarisation of the legal system. In Myanmar, four out of the seven Supreme Court judges are former military officers. Their names are […]

Article on 3rd anniversary of the fire at two factories where 325 workers were burnt alive Abbas Haider Occupational Safety and Health (OHS) has become a focus of workers organizations and media in Pakistan following the two factory fires that resulted in the death of more than 325 workers in September 2012. These accidents were […]

A Statement from Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission As human rights and peace advocates in Hong Kong, we are outraged by the spate of killings perpetrated against the lumads (indigenous people) in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. The heightened militarisation […]

A new wave of target killings of journalists and attacking on the media houses have again started. With in the span of 24 hours two media persons were killed by, as usual, “unknown persons”. The score comes to five during the current year. According to Dunya Tv during the last five years 65 journalists were […]