Rule of law

Human Rights Report for 2013: ‘License’ to torture, kill and to silence the oppressed http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-001-2013.pdf/ On December 9, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has expressed its deep concern over the renewed targeted attacks of journalists and activists. In the space of one week, five journalists and activists, known critics against corruption, wrong doings of local politicians, […]

The suspects are missing after arrest and 150 have been extrajudicially killed during the last three months of the “Karachi operation” The federal government has started an operation in Karachi, the capital of Sindh, under the title: “Targeted Operation” with the support of the police and Pakistan Rangers. The operation, which commenced on September 5, […]

Commemorating the 64th Anniversary of Human Rights Day, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has released a comprehensive report, State of Human Rights in Asia 2013, covering Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hunger in Asia. The report can be accessed here. The global theme for this year is 20 Years: Working for your rights. […]

The following is a translation of a statement made by Eran Wickramaratne, MP, in Parliament on December 3, 2013. Today, I am going to take the opportunity of the short time accorded to me, to speak on the protection of the lives of those who are being arrested by the police. We all know of the  […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is happy to announce the latest issue of its weekly video news bulletin, the Human Rights Asia TV – Weekly Roundup. The 9th Episode of the Weekly Roundup is being released on the 10th December 2013, on the eve of Human Rights Day, and we are bringing you a special report on […]

The situation in Miryang seems to have been deteriorating, which has shown by the phenomenon of violence in the area, including threats and harassment followed by arrest and detention against villagers who have protested against the construction of a 765 Kv power transmission tower. After two statements issued in this regard(vicarious administrative execution and discrimination, it was […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-008-2013.pdf/view Human Rights Day is being observed in Bangladesh, amidst extreme forms of humiliation and denial of human dignity. Lives, livelihoods, and liberties are not only being undermined but being literally denied in the political quest of a few. The two major political camps of Bangladesh are in […]

Sri Lanka’s ratifications of United Nations human rights conventions signal a certain willingness to adhere to the UN treaties and to be guided by international law. But the record of actual compliance with the international treaties tells a different story. The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties says individual states must comply in […]

PRESS RELEASE, December 10, 2013 Thma-U-Rangli-Juki (TUR), a progressive people’s organisation, will hold a street corner meeting on the draconian Meghalaya Preventive Detention Act (MPDA), 1995 and Meghalaya Maintenance of Public Order Act (MMPO) to observe International Human Rights Day on 10th December at Khyndai Lad, Shillong at 2 p.m. This will kick off the […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day Sinhalese The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-006-2013.pdf/view International human rights day is a day for the celebration of human dignity. It is an appropriate date to take stock of what progress, if any, has been made in the promotion and protection […]

English The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-006-2013.pdf/view අන්තර්ජාතික මානව හිමිකම් දිනය මානව අභිමානය සමරන දිනයකි. එහිදී, ශරී   ලංකාවේ මානව හිමිකම් පර්ත වර්ධනය හා ආරක්ෂාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් යම්කිසි දියුණුවක් ලබා තිබේ නම් එම දියුණුව කුමක්දැයි සලකා බැලීම සඳහා මේ දිනය යොදාගැනීම සුදුසු ය. අවාසනාවකට මෙන් මේ සම්බන්ධයෙන් පරුසුගමනයක් දැකගත නොහැකි අතර ඒ වෙනුවට පැහැදිලිවම […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-002-2013.pdf/view In commemoration of Human Rights Day on December 10, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is issuing a brief report on the state of human rights in Indonesia. Using the examples of events which took place in 2013, the report highlights three crucial subjects which have been […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-003-2013.pdf/view Human Rights Day commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948, which declares freedom and equality for every human being in the world. The Indian constitution, adopted by the people of independent India a year later, guarantees each Indian citizen right […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-004-2013.pdf/view The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in May 2012 stalled efforts to trigger debate on human rights and institutional reform. The political transition kept Nepal in limbo in 2013 as well, until a successful second Constituent Assembly elections on 19 November 2013. The elections have been lauded […]

The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-005-2013.pdf/view A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day AHRC releases its Report on the State of Human Rights in Pakistan, 2013 In 2013, the people of Pakistan have remained at the mercy of state and non-state actors who resort to violence as a […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following press release and declaration from ‘Samsung Labor Watch’. For more information, please directly contact below. Mr. CHO Dae Hwan Samsung Labour Watch Address: 3/F, 135, Dangsan-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, Korea Telephone: +82 (0)2 3667 1210 Fax: +82 (0)2 312 1638 e-mail: […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a lawyer who was contesting cases of missing persons in the Balochistan High Court and a Baloch child were abducted by security forces and people in pain clothed. There are reports from different websites that the persons in military uniforms and plain clothes […]

(This article was first published by the Australian National University’s College of Asia and the Pacific (http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au) on November 7, 2013) There is little point in delegates gathering at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka unless rule of law issues in the South Asian nation are raised, a Sri Lankan […]

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka at the weekend, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that while his government ”deplores the use of torture, we accept that sometimes, in difficult circumstances, difficult things happen”. His statement is not only legally and morally indefensible, it is also factually incorrect. Torture is prohibited under […]

Unfair Inquiry of only “Six Hours“- detailed facts & truths. The most astonishing, outrageous and mysterious aspect of the Impeachment proceedings is: How? The entirety of the ‘actual Inquiry proper’ of examining and recording of all the evidence of several witnesses, producing and marking enormous amount of complicated documents, was speedily and hurriedly rushed, in […]