AHRC News

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ASIA: AHRC calls for one month from May 26th to June 26 to be devoted to finding ways to eliminate use of torture

The Asian Human Rights Commission will work to draw the attention of civil society and governments to the endemic torture that is prevalent in almost all Asian countries. Despite many declarations by ...

INDIA: Country’s conscience nailed in the gutter of caste

The stoning to death of 22-year-old Swapna and her husband 28-year-old Sunkari Sriniwas on 23 May by Swapna’s family near Krishnajiwadi village, Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh state is one more proof...

PAKISTAN: A missing person tells the court that he was tortured in the custody of the Frontier Corp

The government must prosecute the Frontier Corp for running torture cells Mr. Murad Khan Marri was missing for eight months before the Frontier Corp (FC) announced that he had been arrested in March 2...

SRI LANKA: Caste Origins of Authoritarianism in Sri Lanka — Part 4

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article from the Sri Lanka Guardian. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-024-2010...

SRI LANKA: Child abductions, paedophilia among clergy and the protection of children

Two incidents of child abductions were reported in the past two weeks. One was of a two and a half year old boy from Kelaniya. The other case is of a one and a half year old little boy from Hendala Pa...

INDIA: Manipur crisis is the result of brokering with factional interests

Three weeks after the Home Secretary Mr. G. K. Pillai’s discussion with the Chief Minister of Manipur, Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh, the state and its people continue to suffer from the unilateral econ...

PAKISTAN: The government should lift the ban on Facebook, YouTube and other websites

Following a competition in which cartoons and drawings were submitted, the government of Pakistan blocked many websites over what it referred to as blasphemous caricatures. Amongst the websites blocke...

PAKISTAN: The government of Pakistan should abolish its self-contradictory franchise system after the passage of the Eighteen Amendment in the constitution

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has strongly and repeatedly drawn the attention of the government of Pakistan to its self-contradicting franchise system which denies the Ahmadis, a Muslim min...

THAILAND: Government must fulfil obligations regarding detainees

The Asian Human Rights Commission shares in the worldwide concern over the recent violence in Bangkok, and especially deplores the loss of life, irrespective of all other factors. It calls upon the go...

NEPAL: Recipe for impunity at work in Bardiya National Park

The failure to prosecute the army personnel who shot dead two women and a child in Bardiya National Park in March 2010 proves once again that impunity is more the rule than an exception concerning hum...

INDIA: Statement by Supreme Court petitioners on Maoist attack on civilians

As co-petitioners in a Public Interest Litigation before the Supreme Court (WP 250/2007) urging the end of civil strife in Chattisgarh, we write to express our shock and horror at the detonation of a ...

SRI LANKA: Autochthonous constitutions, indigenous commissions and homegrown lawlessness

These days, there is a great deal of discussion about what is autochthonous, what is indigenous and what is homegrown. Contemporary discussion on the proposed commission for reconciliations and lesson...

INDONESIA: Pages from Indonesia’s history — past abuses remain unresolved

The violence on 13, 14 and 15 May 1998 followed as a culmination of a series of violence that occurred in Indonesia before the fall of President Suharto, who had been in power for 32 years. Two major ...

SOUTH KOREA: Gwangju, a model of reconciliation

On May 18th, 2010 South Korea celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Gwangju uprising against the military dictatorship of the then President, Mr. Chun Do-Whan. The manner in which the people of Gwang...

INDIA: Naxalites and Maoists exploit democratic failures

Context: The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the cowardly attack in Chingavaram by the Maoists that killed 35 persons including 11 civilians in Chhattisgargh state on 17 May 2010. It is ...

PAKISTAN: A 13 year old girl was raped for 21 days by policemen; the ineptness of the courts provide protection to perpetrators

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information from The News International about a revolting story of a 13 year-old girl, who was continuously gang-raped, mentally, and physically tortured...

INDONESIA: Police act disproportionately in war on terror — unarmed suspects shot dead

According to your statement and reports, three alleged terrorists were shot to death on May 12, 2010 in Cawang, Jakarta by police officers from the special detachment for anti-terrorism (Densus 88). T...

UN: Competitive vote would improve membership of Human Rights Council

New Members Should Take Visible Steps to Improve Practices Before Joining in June Please find below a joint press release issued by 10 international NGOs, including the Asian Legal Resource Centre. (N...

SRI LANKA: Indigenous insensitivity and the reconciliation commission

The BBC Sinhala Service reported today of a press conference held by the Minister of Media, Keheliya Rambukwella. At this press conference he was questioned on the announcement by the government about...

PHILIPPINES: Negros and its people through my eyes–inequality before the law (Part 4)

Danilo Reyes The story of two elderly farmers, Marilyn Lanotes, of Hacienda Tres Hermanos and Uldarico Nalipay, of Hacienda Manuela, both in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, are just two of the many exa...