Rule of law

The double defeat suffered by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the Presidential Election of 8 January 2015 and in the Parliamentary Elections concluded on August 17, hopefully, marks the end of a long period (1978 to 2015) of onslaught on democracy and the rule of law. All eyes will turn to see how the new […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), along with the Terai Human Rights Defenders (THRD) Alliance, condemns the use of excessive force by the police in the Bhardah area of Saptari District. Today, in Bhardah, the police fired 100 rounds, in addition to tear gas shelling. The shootings have resulted in the death of Rajiv Raut, […]

A Press Release from the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and World Organisation Against Torture (Organisation Mondiale Contre la Torture;OMCT) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) PRESS RELEASE – THE OBSERVATORY BANGLADESH: Judicial harassment against free speech defenders continues Paris-Geneva, August 14, 2015 – The three-year prison sentence handed down to Mr. Mahmudur Rahman yesterday morning by […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is issuing this urgent appeal received from Protection International Thailand, regarding the on-going intimidation by local authorities and security forces against Rak Ban Haeng Conservation Group in the Lamphang Province for opposing the granting of concessionaire rights to rock quarry mining for a period of over five […]

A Press Release from Christian Solidarity Worldwide forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) For Immediate Release 20 July 2015-United Nations human rights experts, the European Union, UK, US and other voices from the international community have expressed their concern regarding the detention of over 200 lawyers and activists in China since 10 July. […]

A three-member team of Women In Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) visited the town of Hussain Khan Wala, Kasur district on 11 August 2015 to gather facts and assess the situation on ground regarding the child sex abuse scandal that has recently surfaced. The team, headed by Bushra Khaliq, the Focal person of Anti-Torture Alliance Pakistan, […]

This week’s Roundup reports on the encouraging re-opening of a three-year-old crime investigation relating to the death of Sri Lankan rugby player Wasim Thajudeen. While it was initially determined to be an accidental death, allegations of it being a murder committed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son have long circulated. The body has now been […]

A Press Release from the Right Livelihood Award Foundation forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Friday, 14 August 2015 Hong Kong The Asia Press Office, Right Livelihood Award Foundation, would like to forward you an appeal on behalf of over 40 Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award, also known as ‘The Alternative Nobel Prize’. Laureates […]

By Javeria Younes August 11 is a historic day that marks the celebration of Minorities’ Day in Pakistan. It was on this date that the father of the nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, in a speech at the first Legislative Assembly of the country on 11 August 1947, i.e. three days before the official announcement of […]

Urikhimbam Jenison The Manipur state government has closed down all educational institutions in the state in an attempt to curb the ongoing movement for the implementation of the Inner Line Permit System (ILPS) in Manipur. It has been a month since this decision was taken. In other words, students have been kept out of their […]

With the exhumation of Wasim Thajudeen’s body, and the start of the reinvestigation into the case a large body of information has been placed before the public by various sources. Therefore, it would be quite natural for the people to want to have truthful answers to many of the questions have been raised through such […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a Labour rights’ activist is being prosecuted for allegedly trespassing on land confiscated by the military. She was arrested in July 2015. The charge relates to her helping farmers’ whose land was seized in the Bago Region. She visited the region several times […]

An article written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene and published in The Sunday Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Deaths of innocents in Sri Lanka have had a long and terrible history. No political party can wash its hands of this blood despite the hypocritical outrage often professed in public. Such fire breathing rhetoric […]

A Press Release from Religions for Peace, PNND, & Mayors for Peace forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Hiroshima, August 6, 2015 ‘Religious leaders, mayors and parliamentarians share the common good of a nuclear-weapon-free world’ announced leaders of Religions for Peace, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and Mayors for Peace at […]

The initial shock at the serial sexual abuse committed over a decade in three villages of Punjab Province of Pakistan has unfortunately given way to something even more tragic: an understanding of the true scale of sexual violence committed on children in Pakistan, something that far exceeds what has been unearthed, and something that appears […]

A Statement from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Centre forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights  Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights condemns statements by Bangladeshi police targeting human rights organizations Contact: Daniel Cronin (917) 284-6356 | Email: Cronin@rfkhumanrights.org (August 5, 2015 | Washington, D.C.) Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights condemns the recent […]

This week’s Roundup delivers stories from Nepal and Hong Kong. AHRC has recently conducted a trauma workshop in Nepal, titled “Trauma of Devastation – Rebuilding the Society”. The 19 participants comprised members of civil society, community workers, students, and volunteers in Kathmandu and focused how to approach and assist traumatised earthquake victims. AHRC TV speaks […]

Next Monday, 10 August 2015, the body of the well-known rugby player and Havelock’s Captain, Wasim Thajudeen, will be exhumed on the orders of the Colombo Additional Magistrate. The Magistrate made this order on the basis of an application by the Criminal Investigations Division, which submitted reports stating that newly available evidence suggests that Thajudeen’s […]

The verdict allows for extrajudicial killings by legalising military courts Today, 5 August 2015, will be remembered as a black day in the constitutional history of Pakistan. It will be commemorated as a sad day, a day when the apex court validated military rule once again. The establishment of military courts has been upheld by […]

The Bangladesh Police has again attempted to justify extrajudicial executions with the excuse of “self-defence”. The latest attempt has been made in a media release (original Bangla and unofficial English translation) sent out from the Police Headquarters and circulated to the country’s media on 2 August 2015. In order to hide its crimes of extrajudicial executions, the […]