Rule of law

“No one left behind” is the main principle of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Will the principle apply in Indonesia? Will the Government include victims and families of victims of human rights violations in the implementation of SDG’s? In the Indonesian context, we can see a strong relation between SDG Number 1 on poverty […]

The link to the newsletter is as follows Neglect and loss is a newsletter containing reports and commentaries on current problems in several Asian countries. Today, we are issuing the third newsletter in this series. The purpose of the newsletter is to highlight many forms of unnecessary human suffering imposed on ordinary people in these countries […]

On May 18th, the Gwangju uprising is being celebrated in the Republic of Korea as well as elsewhere. It has been the position of the Asian Human Rights Commission that May 18th should be recognized as a universal day of commemoration and also reaffirm the commitment to democracy, human rights, and human dignity. The most […]

A video presentation on the loss of criminal justice capacity in many developing countries and the impact of this on social stability and peace. It is discussed in relation to Sri Lanka, but the basic problem is common to many of the countries in Asia. See the Video link here

By Basil Fernando Calling a civil conflict or a civil war, a war itself, is very misleading. Wars are fought with external enemies. However, civil conflict or a civil war is a fight that takes place among the brethren, with the people who should in fact be living together as a nation. What the ties […]

Arundhati Roy, prominent writer and social activist in India has written several important articles in the recent few days on the problem of the spread of Covid-19 and the vast numbers of deaths that are taking place in India. In an article written just a few days back, Roy directly addresses the Prime Minister of […]

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement Here The pro-democracy protests continued across the country in different townships despite the continuing lethal attacks by the junta forces and arrets of protests and the youth. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) figures showed that as of 9 May, […]

The link to the newsletter is as follows. Neglect and loss is a newsletter containing reports and commentaries on current problems in several Asian countries. The purpose of the newsletter is to highlight many forms of unnecessary human suffering imposed on ordinary people in these countries due to the neglect of authorities to carry out their […]

There are no dearth of horrible tales of blood and tears from India, the epicentre of the second wave of COVID-19. The country’s daily case load crossed 400,000 once while steadily hovering over 300,000 for almost 2 weeks with over 3,000 deaths for almost a week. This is despite the fact that there are serious […]

Under the Soeharto regime, which is known as the New Order Era, Indonesia issued Criminal Procedure Code Number 8 of 1981 (known as KUHAP). This Law was issued to replace the old Criminal Procedure legacy of the Dutch Colonial era, known as the Update Indonesia Regulation (RIB) or also called Het Herziene Indonesisch Reglement. After […]

A Statement from Anfrel forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The pro-democracy protests continued across the country while the Myanmar community outside of the country also conducted the protests in places such as London, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul. The protests started again in Yangon last week just before the ASEAN summit after a […]

By Basil Fernando The recommendations by a Commission appointed by the President, recommending that a large number of criminal cases that have been filed in the Courts of Sri Lanka be withdrawn, is the deadliest blow that has been dealt with the administration of justice in Sri Lanka. If this recommendation is put into effect, […]

A Statement from the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission UN Human rights experts* expressed serious concern for the independence of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after the recent appointment of new members that they regard as being inconsistent with international standards. The experts […]

The Bangladesh Government continues using dis-proportionate lethal force and brutal crackdowns on dissidents. The authorities have been using the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the excuses for denying the rights of liberties and livelihoods to the people. The Bangladesh Government, in its signature style, chose to crackdown on protesters for staging two peaceful protests. They were aimed […]

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement Here The protests continued for the 12th week across the country despite the brutal crackdown. After a weeks- long absence, protesters returned to the streets in downtown Yangon ahead of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. The media also reported that more than […]

By Basil Fernando  Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith presided over the 21st of April commemoration with the participation of other religious leaders. Talking about the issue, he has said that the problem is not just about Catholics, but that it is about the whole country. According to him, he sees the problem of terrorism and extremism as […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and its sister organization, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), have long history of journey working with local human rights networks and organizations in Indonesia. In addition, the AHRC also has long experiences working with association of victims and family of victims of past human rights abuses such as […]

By Basil Fernando The Criminal Justice Commissions (CJC) Act, No. 14 of 1972, marked the beginning of the collapse of Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system. The process that started then, gradually expanded further and further, and today, the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka is virtually dysfunctional. What the CJC Act in fact did was […]

By Basil Fernando It is not for fun that the Government established processes for taking decisions and implementing them. It is the age old wisdom gained through various experiences throughout history that led to the establishment of these processes before making decisions and also for implementing and following up on them. The most underlying principle […]

By Basil Fernando There are a number of entrenched beliefs which have become institutional doctrines within the policing system which contribute to the continuing practice of torture. No suspect will ever tell the truth. Therefore, it is better not to waste time asking questions before torturing the person. This is a practice almost invariably followed […]