Right to life

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 […]

The table given below sets down 09 extrajudicial killings, 01 attempted killing – 09 of which are at the hands of the police at various police stations and the other, in a prison. These 10 incidents are the ones reported to the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong during this year. However, at […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information regarding Pitawalagedara Chandrarathna (47), resident of Bakamuna Police Division. Chandrarathna was arrested on 4 May 2017 charged with participation in a murder. After being detained for 14 days, he was found dead on 18 September 2017–murdered inside the Polonnaruwa Remand Prison.   Prison Authorities said that they […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the extra-judicial killing of Mr. D P Premasiri (65) of Stace Road, Grandpass, Colombo 14 in the Colombo District. On 9 August 2017, Premasiri was illegally arrested, severely tortured at his house in front of his relatives and neighbors. Later, he was handcuffed […]

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 […]

Dear Friends, Asian Human Rights Commission has received information regarding the case of 31 Rohingya refugees. They were harassed, threatened and warned with more violent assaults unless they left the country. These actions were carried out by a well-organized group. The refugees comprised 16 children, 7 women and 8 adult men. They were all under […]

रक्षाराम हरिजन नेपालको सार्वभौम संसदले देशलाई छुवाछुत मुक्त राष्ट्र घोषणा गरेको एक दशक पूरा भइसकेको छ । वि. सं. २०६३ जेठ २१ गते संसदले नेपाललाई छुवाछुत मुक्त घोषणा गरेको थियो । तर छुवाछुत मुक्त घोषणा कागजमा मात्रै सिमित रहेको देखिन्छ किनभने जात, वंश, समुदाय वा पेशाका आधारमा हुने छुवाछुत तथा जातीय भेदभावको घटनामा खासै कमी […]

Pakistan’s transgender community is the most ostracised and beleaguered community in the country. Shunned for being gender less, they are restricted to begging, prostitution and dancing, to earn their livelihood. Reduced to the level of sub-humans, the transgender community are devoid of any rights or even identity. In Pakistani society, the transgender community find it […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where a teenage student, Tania Khaskheli, was murdered for turning down a marriage proposal from an influential feudal lord in Sindh province’s Sehwan city. The Sehwan police only filed murder charges after strong civil society protest. While two persons have since been arrested, the feudal lord is still […]

By Basil Fernando The following is a presentation made at a workshop organized by the Asian Human Rights Commission and the May 18th Foundation (14-16th September 2017) on the preparations for the 20th Anniversary of the Asian Human Rights Charter 1998. This paper addresses the direction the Asian human rights movement should take in order […]

An article from Voice of Baloch Missing Persons forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Naser Ullah Baloch Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) is a non-political organization. It initiated campaigning to recover Enforced Disappeared Persons in Balochistan. As an organization, VBMP set its parameters to work within the State’s constitutional limits. Everything is […]

An oped from the Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission A country cannot survive in the absence of honesty and integrity. Additionally, there is a need for unity, compassion and eagerness for development among the people. Similarly, the government must observe the rule of law for the regulation of good governance. Nepal has had […]

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 […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where many Rohingya are suffering horrific injuries and loss of limbs by landmines along the Burma-Bangladesh border in their attempt to flee the violence. After the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) attacked several police posts on August 25, the Burmese government carried out a brutal counter-insurgency clampdown. […]

The mysterious death of 35-year-old Dev Bahadur B.K.on 30 August 2017 seems to involve the Ghorahi Sub-metropolitan police, Dang District. Dev was arrested at around 6 p.m. on August 29 by police officers attached to the Ward Police Station, Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan. Dev was drunk at the time of arrest, and was taken to the police station in […]

A Statement from Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Darker and more dangerous: High Commissioner updates the Human Rights Council on human rights issues in 40 countries Human Rights Council 36th session Opening Statement by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High […]

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, […]

‘In India, Another Government Critic Is Silenced by Bullets’, is how the New York Times reported the murder of Gauri Lankesh, a gutsy journalist known for her fierce opposition of the religious right wing regime currently in power in India. The heading that the New York Times chose says it all. Yes, Lankesh is ‘another’ victim of […]

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 […]