Right to life

A Sinhala Translation of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s book Annihilation of Caste is now available in Sinhala translation entitled “ Kulaya Mulin Uputa Demeema” The book has been translated into an easy, readable language by Osadhi Nayantara Gunasekera and published by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The book is now available in bookshops in Sri Lanka. Annihilation of Caste […]

The horrific mob lynching of Mashal Khan has raised many questions about the utility of an archaic and draconian law that has been misused with impunity. Pakistan’s blasphemy law is a mockery of rule of law, and in fact defies common sense. What is the utility of a law that allows people to challenge the […]

An Article Basil Fernando For many decades Sri Lankans have ignored the collapse of their legal system, the crisis of the judicial system and the virtual disappearance of all legal traditions. For this reason, the bond between law and social structure is now weak. This means that the law is unable to keep the political, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to share that the Kavrepalanchowk District Court has finally sentenced three army officers to 20 years’ imprisonment for the murder of 15-year-old Maina Sunuwar at the height of the Maoist insurgency in February 2004. On April 17, a single bench of Judge Medini Prasad Paudyal convicted the former army officers Colonel […]

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal, where violence in the Terai region shows little sign of abating. Protests and killings have been occurring since 2015. In early 2016, more than 50 people died. During the March protests this year against the nationwide campaign conducted by the CPN UML, police started shooting to contain the […]

On March 26, in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, India was home to a blatant display of racism, following the death of a teenage boy, Manish Khari. The teenager’s family and neighbours registered an FIR against five Nigerians in the locality, accusing them of ‘cannibalism’ and Manish’s murder, as well as of being drug peddlers […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where the UN has agreed to ‘urgently’ dispatch an investigation team to probe the abuse amounting to war crimes against the Rohingya Muslim minority. According to the resolution adopted by consensus, the investigators must provide an oral update in September, and a full report by this time next […]

This week Just Asia begins with Nepal. March 21st, celebrated as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, is simply a day to mark all that is not right in Nepal. Since the day’s inception in 1960, the situation of Dalits has barely improved. There is no implementation of Nepal’s law against caste […]

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 […]

At the 34th Session of the United Nations, on 14 March 2017, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) held a joint parallel event in partnership with Right livelihood Award foundation, World Sindhi Congress, UNPO, UKPNP, Baloch Sindhi Forum and the Baloch National Movement. Mr. Baseer Naweed Researcher at the Pakistan Desk of the ALRC moderated the Side Event. The organizations were […]

A Statement from China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group (CHRLCG) and Taiwan Support China Human Rights Lawyers Network (TLN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Chinese version of this statement can be viewed here ( MS Office) or here (PDF) (15 March 2017 – Hong Kong) Since 9 July 2015, the Chinese government has questioned, summoned and […]

This week Just Asia begins with calls by activists for a UN special rapporteur to be appointed to look into deteriorating human rights in Balochistan. Leading the protest outside the UN office in Geneva, Baloch activist Mehran Marri said the past 4-5 months had seen a particular low, with the abduction and disappearance of women […]

On March 6, Higio Gungtey, a 22-year-old man from Arunachal Pradesh studying in Bengaluru was allegedly beaten up by his landlord and forced to lick the landlord’s shoe, in an incident of physical assault, criminal intimidation, and apparent racism. Gungtey alleged that the landlord hurled racial slurs against him and hit him continuously, making him bleed, because of a dispute over […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to The Honourable Minister of Justice Wijedasa Rajapakse and the Honourable Minister of Law and Order & Southern Development Sagala Rathnayake 15 March 2017 Dear Ministers Wijedasa Rajapakse and Sagala Ratnayaka Two more extrajudicial killings at police stations have been reported in Sri Lanka. One of the […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that a prominent activist from Pakistani Kashmir, Mohammad Rafiq Khawaja, who is also Editor of an Urdu daily, is under State repression. He is being victimised for standing up for the rights of the struggle of Kashmiris and for bringing to light the […]

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 […]

A Statement from National Fact Finding Mission forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission In light of the apparent information blackout concerning the fire that devoured the House Technology Industries main building (HTI) inside the Cavite Export Processing Zone, various labor institutions and people’s organization initiated a National Fact Finding Mission to probe the extent […]

Barely one and a half months into this year, eight terrorist attacks in different parts of Pakistan have claimed at least 50 lives, including of 24 security officials. The tall claims of the government and military establishment of breaking the back of terrorism are a shambles. Pakistan, with the world’s sixth largest army and more […]

The sudden and inexplicable surge in violence against women this year has sent shivers down the collective spine of the country. Not that previous years had been any different in terms of violence against women. However, the year 2017 appears to be particularly brutal with more than a dozen honour killings occurring in the first […]

घनश्याम चम्लागाई तथा चेतनाथ चौलागाईं  १) विषय प्रवेश नेपालमा तत्कालीन नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी माओवादीले २०५२ सालमा जनयुद्धको घोषण गरे पश्चात् सरकार र युद्धरत दुबै पक्षबाट शसस्त्र द्वन्दमा गैर न्यायिक हत्या, बेपत्ता, सार्वजनिक, भौतिक संरचनाहरु ध्वस्त पार्नेलगायतका गम्भीर मानवअधिकार उलङ्घन र मानवता विरुद्धको अपराधहरु भएका छन् । २०६३ मंसिर ५ मा तत्कालीन नेपाल सरकार र नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट […]