Rule of law

CAMBODIA: UN expert calls for free, fair and peaceful elections, and full respect for human rights

GENEVA (26 July 2013) – On the eve of the National Assembly elections in Cambodia on Sunday 28 July, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi, reiterates his call for free, fair and peaceful election that is underpinned by respect for human rights before, during and […]

PAKISTAN: Marriage by choice becoming taboo

It was a very shivering news for the citizens of the country that a grandfather killed his grandchildren and thrown them from the roof top in presence of their mother who then killed by her father only for the protection of honour of the paternal family. The crime of the daughter was that she married […]

BANGLADESH: Human rights defender Mr. Shahed Kayes, who was abducted and stabbed, requires immediate protection

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information that Mr. Shahed Kayes, who is a leading human rights defender fighting against illegal sand mining in the Meghna River adjacent to the Mayadip and Nunertek islands, was abducted and stabbed on 25 July 2013. The assailants attempted to cut off his left […]

BANGLADESH: Mr. Shahed Kayes, a human rights defender abducted and stabbed, requires immediate protection

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the abduction and attack upon Mr. Shahed Kayes, a human rights defender working in Narayanganj district in Bangladesh. A group of persons abducted Mr. Shahed Kayes, a well-respected human rights defender, working in Narayanganj district of Bangladesh, yesterday, 25 July. The AHRC is informed that Kayes’ abductors, with […]

NEPAL: Conflict victims locked into a mental hospital for seeking justice

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the condition of the parents of Krishna Prasad Adhikari about whom we issued an Urgent Appeal Case earlier (For further details, please see: AHRC-UAC-049-2013). Krishna Prasad Adhikari was a young man who was murdered in 2004 in Chitwan by Maoist cadres following a […]

INDIA: The Bihar school meal disaster: The government must go

Article | India | 22-07-2013

Last Tuesday the 16th of July, schoolchildren from a government school in Bihar complained that the midday meal they were served by the school tasted bad. They ate it anyway, because they were hungry, and could not be sure that they would get another opportunity to eat that day. The food was filled with concentrated pesticides. […]

SRI LANKA: The day when the rule of law system collapsed

What happened on July 23, 1983 was not the event of a single day in history. The impact of that day lives on and with each passing year the situation of the rule of law in the country has become worse. The 1978 Constitution was quite incompatible with the rule of law and democracy. Since […]

INDIA: The Bihar school meal disaster: The government must go

Last Tuesday the 16th of July, schoolchildren from a government school in Bihar complained that the midday meal they were served by the school tasted bad. They ate it anyway, because they were hungry, and could not be sure that they would get another opportunity to eat that day. The food was filled with concentrated pesticides. […]

BURMA: Police torture of gay and transgendered people

The Asian Human Rights Commission has been following with concern news of the police targeting of gay and transgendered people in Burma, or Myanmar, and has recently obtained detailed information on a number of cases of alleged arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of persons on the grounds of sexual orientation. The AHRC is troubled both […]

BURMA: Identifying and freeing remaining political prisoners

The president of Burma, or Myanmar, U Thein Sein in his recent visit to the United Kingdom has made a commitment that all political prisoners in his country will be released by the end of the year. According to him, a committee is continuing to review all relevant cases and determine those persons who are […]

PAKISTAN: Jihad to convert Hindu girls to Islam rages on

The Jihad to convert Hindu girls is continued unabated under the indifferent attitude of Pakistani authorities. In recent months, seven Hindu girls have been targeted in the conversion to Islam campaign. Of the seven, five have been abducted and converted by Muslim goons. One Hindu girl was abducted and forced to convert to Islam, but […]

SRI LANKA: “Stop Prosecution of De Jure CJ” – Lawyers tell Government

Press Release – 18th July 2013 It is reliably learnt that the government is in the process of instituting criminal prosecution against the CJ, Shirani Bandaranayake shortly.  The recommencement of the hate campaign against her in the state media is an indication of this intended action. The state media is known to be operating in […]

INDIA: Court report suggests frightening administrative failure in Manipur

Statement | India | 18-07-2013

The Commission of Inquiry, constituted by the Supreme Court of India, in Writ Petition (Criminal) 129 of 2012 [Extra Judicial Execution Victims Families’ Association and Another (petitioners) Against Union of India and Others (respondents)] and Writ Petition (Civil) 445 of 2012 [Suresh Singh (petitioner) Against Union of India and Others (respondents)] has filed its report […]

INDIA: Supreme Court’s scathing report against the government on encounter killings in Manipur

(Hong Kong, 19 July, 2013) “If one innocent person is killed by [the] police or other security forces in a fake encounter, it creates tremendous upsurge of hatred…people always accurately know who was innocent. People even know whether an innocent person was killed by mistake or deliberately…” said the Commission of Inquiry constituted by the […]

PAKISTAN: Campaign supporting those that stripped Christian women naked begins

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received a report issued by a Christian organization, CLAAS (Center for Legal Aid, Assistance & Settlement), negating the stripping and parading of Christian women in what appears to be an attempt to exonerate those that violated the rights of  the women. Throughout the report, the organizations that joined […]

SRI LANKA: Sandakada pahana (Moonstone) and inculturation

During the last few weeks the Sandakada pahanas (Moonstones) in a couple of churches in Kalutara District came under attack from Bodu Bala Sena, a Buddhist militant organisation led by Buddhist monks. They claimed that Sandakada pahana (Moonstone) is a Buddhist symbol found at the entrance to Buddhist temples, and therefore should not adorn the […]

PAKISTAN: No Respite in Terror

Pakistan Conflict Tracker Monthly Report (June 2013). By Mohammad Nafees   The month of June dawned with lots of hopes and expectations for the people of Pakistan as the new government was to take oath during this month and to offer peace, good governance, and rule of law in the country.  The hope of peace […]

SRI LANKA: Protest against intimidating social and cultural activists

15 July, 2013 Colombo We the undersigned, who stand for justice and democracy,  note with regret and concern the use of State media, especially the Independent Television Network (ITN) that uses its air time to stick labels on and intimidate social and cultural activists who stand for plurality and fair play and for their dissenting […]

INDIA: Can the Supreme Court end the reign of criminals in politics?

Statement | India | 15-07-2013

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India delivered on 10 July 2013 in Civil Writ Petitions 490 and 231 of 2005, declaring Subsection (4) of Section 8 of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 as ultra vires the constitution, is a watershed event. The Court on the same day dismissed two other Civil Appeals, […]

SRI LANKA: Rape and other crimes against women on the increase

Every ninety minutes a woman is raped in Sri Lanka, said Women for Rights at a press conference held in Colombo on July 14. The organisation further said that Sri Lanka is 5thon a list regarding domestic violence. Crimes causing violence relating to women and children is on the rise. In Sri Lanka the citizens […]