Rule of law

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the Inspector General of Police We reproduce below a letter sent by the Executive Director of Asian Human Rights Commission to the IGP about two cases of torture by a team led by Sergeant Basnayake, who is an OIC in the Unresolved Crimes Division of the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the arms of a 10-year-old child were chopped off by a landlord over a minor issue with his father’s payment of electricity bills. His hands were tied and were put in a harvesting machine. Police did not take action for two days and […]

Adding to a series of unconstitutional restrictions placed on the legitimate activities of the Non-Governmental Organizations, the Director General of the Department of External Resources (DGDER) has now published a Notice, “advising” the public on the legitimate activities of the NGOs. Having examined carefully the contents of the Notice, we state that the Notice is […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Centre for Social Development and Women Action for Development – two human rights organisations based in Manipur, India – that local politicians are targeting them for exposing corruption in administration. On 12 July, a small mob gathered in front of the office of […]

During the three year period of new Myanmar Government, new political reforms have been taking place. The authorities stopped censoring the media in June 2012 and also allowed private news media groups to print newspapers in April 2013. As people in Burma only had state owned newspapers for the previous decade, elderly journalists and society […]

French philosopher Michel Foucault, in his book Madness and Civilization, reveals the other side of madness. He links our narrow understanding of madness with the development of civilization, emphasizing that deviance and transgression are all mirrors of society and hence, should be analyzed properly to understand the society we live in. Foucault’s objective was also […]

(Hong Kong, July 21, 2014) On June 23, we reported that Fernando Obedencio, a torture victim, was released after the court dismissed the fabricated charges laid on him for possession of illegal drugs. He was detained for nearly nine years. Photo: Fernando Obedencio The Moro Women Centre (MWC), the local group who documented and provided […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a young couple was murdered after they married in a court on their own choice. The local Panchayat decided to kill both, groom and bride, and father of the groom was ordered to handover a girl to the father of bride. The Panchayat […]

On April 16 of this year, a ferry sank and hundreds of lives were lost. Many students who died were from a single school. Dozens of passengers are still missing. This incident has signalled the public that they need to be more aware of the concept of ‘safety’. Analysis from experts and the media has […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the arrest, detention, and torture of a man charged for cannabis possession. The arrest of Dany Lastino was conducted by two police officers, following an unverified report submitted over the phone by an unidentified caller. The arrest and torture has taken place just […]

This must be the first example in human history that a country actually pays their enemy to murder its own soldiers. After much fanfare, followed by congratulatory messages on social media from the liberal sections of Pakistan, the military announced on June 15, 2014, that it had launched the long awaited operation in the North […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) objects to the remarks made by the Government of Nepal that it is not going to amend the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Act. The Act was adopted on 4 May 2014, despite it being in contravention of the 2 January 2014 Supreme Court directives. The government has argued […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 12 year old girl has been missing for  three years after being abducted and sold , several times, allegedly by persons belonging to a criminal syndicate who are backed with heavy political patronage and with full connivance of the police. It is […]

Targeting Freedom of Expression “It is clear that the freedom of expression and opinion is a fundamental right, the mother of all rights.” – Abid Hussain, UN Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Information, Speech in Sri Lanka, 1999. A notice has been issued by one D.M.S, Dissanayake as the director/registrar of the NGO Secretariat […]

Social Online Posting Claimed as a Breach of His Terms of Release Previously, Mr. Thanapol Eawsakul was summoned to report himself as per the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s announcement no. 5/ 2557 and was released on 30 May 2014. In order to be discharged from the military custody, he had to sign […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that  military officers –  three Lieutenant Colonels and the other a  Major in the Pakistan Army , fired live bullets into a peaceful protest by  farmers and later attacked them resulting in killing 02 farmers on the spot, and causing injuries to 29 others, […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning a case of human trafficking and child and bonded labour at a brick kiln, from GURIA, a human rights organisation working in Varanasi, located in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The details of the case suggest that state government officers, including the […]

A statement from the Friday Forum, Colombo, Sri Lanka forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission There have been several news reports recently about a surge of instances of baby elephants taken illegally from the wild and held in captivity by private individuals. Environmentalists and members of the public have expressed their concern. The Friday […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) objects to the Contempt of Court Bill, which the government has tabled in Parliament on 9 June 2014. The Bill, if passed, will restrict freedom of expression and the freedom of the press. The Bill, while purporting to uphold judicial dignity, curtails individual freedom enshrined in Article 19 of […]

The Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) has been providing legal representation to Air, an ethnic Karen girl who has filed a case against her former employers for inflicting on her cruel treatment and enslavement. On 30 June 2014, around 2pm, the Kampaeng Phet Provincial Court read a verdict for the  case filed by Air’s […]