Rule of law

For enquiries, please contact Ms. Gayoon Baek (sewolho416@gmail.com) For more, please visit www.facebook.com/solidarityforsewol or www.sewolho416.org/category/English. 1. Background The Sewol Ferry bound to Jeju Island from Inchon capsized on 16 April 2014 carrying 476 passengers, the majority of them students from Danwon High School. It is still unclear why the ship capsized but when it happened, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Forum for Protection of People’s Rights Nepal (PPR Nepal) that police officers from the Vacchek Police Station, Gorkha District, under the command of ASI Govinda Acharya, threatened villagers from Simjung Village Development Committee and demanded a bribe, failing to secure which the […]

GENEVA (14 August 2014) – Two United Nations human rights experts* today expressed their grave concern at the situation of Pakistani asylum seekers in Sri Lanka who are being detained and forcefully deported to Pakistan without an adequate assessment of their asylum claims.  “States must guarantee that every single asylum claim is individually assessed with […]

The 40th episode of AHRC TV’s Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup is a special programme on land rights in India. An estimated 100 million Indians have been negatively affected by mega development projects since independence. Such projects have caused large-scale destruction of traditional forests and loss of fertile agricultural land. Indigenous and poor communities have […]

National history is written from a certain perspective. And, it can be rewritten later from other perspectives. However, it should not be forgotten that the purpose of having a national history, which itself underlines certain aspects of national memory, is so that accumulated wisdom from the past can circulate in society. Future generations can utilize […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Sipahi Kurmi, a 42-year-old resident of Bogadi Ward no. 4, Rupandehi District, had been illegally detained at the Area Police Station Majhgawa Rupandehi and was released only when he paid a bribe of NRs. 8,000 to Police Inspector Birendra Kumar Yadav. However […]

Dear Friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the disappearance of a man and his son in Maguindanao. They were last seen by a witness at a military checkpoint. The military claim they had released the two after talking to them. However, they have not been located as yet.  CASE […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about Ma Htet Htet, a 14-year-old girl (from Myaung Mya Township, Ayeyawady region, Burma) who is permanently injured and still needs treatment after being discharged from the hospital. As a domestic helper, she endured months of torture at the hands of her employers and […]

At dawn today, Jovito Palparan Jr., a retired military general, wanted on charges of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), in Sta. Mesa, Metro Manila. Palparan is the principal accused in the abduction, illegal detention, torture and rape of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno. Jovito Palparan Jr. […]

For more information or media inquiry, please contact People’s Committee for the Sewol Ferry Tragedy (Ms. Gayoon Baek, sewolho416@gmail.com, +82 (0)2 723 5051). We oppose the agreement between the rival parties that squashed the family’s requests The Sewol Families Committee held a press conference in front of the National Assembly main building today on August […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD Alliance) regarding an incident of police torture on 31 July 2014. Following, a verbal spat, which turned violent, Mahabir Bishwokarma was detained and tortured by the police till he fell unconscious at the Gadda Chauki Police […]

Eighteen days have passed since the tragic incident where the arms of a 10-year-old boy were severed from his body by a landlord and to-date, no positive developments have been taken nor has there been any progress in the case against the perpetrators of this horrific crime.  According to reports, doctors are being tight-lipped to […]

More than a Policy, Children Need Commitment! On 10th June 2014, Pawan Korku (4 years) and Durgesh Korku (6 years) climbed into an iron drum in their house along with their toys presumably as part of a game they were playing, in their house in Harrai village, District Betul, a tribal dominant district of Madhya […]

International Solidarity Week to Re member the Sewol Ferry Tragedy – The Truth Shall Not Sink with Sewol! Period: 8 August 2014 (Fri) ~ 14 August 2014 (Thu) On April 16, 2014, hundreds of desperate voices cried out for rescue – but most of those cries went unanswered. The tragic sinking of the Sewol ferry cost the lives of […]

Lawyers Collective urge Ministry of External Affairs Responding to a statement made by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 5th August 2014 on the   incident at CSR, the Lawyers’ Collective cautions the public not to be misled by the inaccurate contents of the statement of the MEA. (see the MEA statement at the end […]

Urges credible probe into the actions of the mob attack on 4th August Lawyers witnessed an event of a mob disrupting a peaceful meeting to discuss issues of disappeared families, held at Center for Society & Religion, located in the premises of a Catholic Church in Colombo 10, on 4th August 2014. This meeting was […]

During the three days of Eid holidays about three dozens people were drowned at the beaches of Karachi, the majority drowned at a beach run by Military, its commercial outlets and Clifton Cantonment, which are run directly under the Pakistan military. . Four persons drowned at two different beaches that were under the city government. […]

The fast-unto-death hunger strike of Nanda Prasad and Ganga Maya Adhikari, better known as the Adhikari couple, has reached 278 days and counting. Their only demand is an investigation and prosecution of those who killed their son, Krishna Prasad Adhikari. In other words, they demand justice. Krishna Prasad was abducted and brutally murdered in June […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that on 9 May 2014 Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, 29 years of age, a resident of No.164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa, Chilaw, Puttalam District, was illegally arrested and tortured by police officers attached to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters. He was detained in a […]

Today we are releasing the 37th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. This week we are drawing attention to how various governments are restricting the work of NGOs. Through legislation and other means numerous governments are trying to reduce critical opinion, hampering human rights work across Asia. In Sri Lanka, NGOs are being advised not to […]