Statement

Cambodian courts have recently issued arrest warrants for top Cambodian politicians living in exile, as they began preparations to return to Cambodia. Among those for whom warrants have been issued are Sam Rainsy, founder of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang, as well as five others. While […]

दक्षिण एसियामै जातीय भेदभाव तथा छुवाछूत मुख्य समस्याको रुपमा रहेको छ। विगतदेखि जातीय भेदभाव तथा छुवाछूत अन्त्यका लागि यस क्षेत्रमा भएका पहलहरु अझै प्रभावकारी हुन सकेका छैनन् । नेपालका सबै नागरिकहरूलाई समानता, स्वतन्त्रता र आत्मसम्मान जस्ता मानवअधिकारका मूलभूत विषयहरू नेपालको संविधान, २०७२, राष्ट्रिय कानुनहरू तथा नेपालपक्ष भएका मानवअधिकारसम्बन्धी अन्तराष्ट्रिय दस्तावेजहरूले प्रत्याभूत गरेका छन् । यद्यपि, […]

The world is celebrating the 53rd International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination today, on March 21. Sadly, the day marks an ironic, melancholic moment in India. Often referred to as the largest democracy in the world, India is now witnessing apartheid style violence, from mob lynchings, vigilantism and so forth. This is particularly […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) extends its deepest sympathies to the victims of the massacre in Christchurch, New Zealand. We urge all the governments and the people of the world to support New Zealand’s efforts to deal with the situation on the basis of humane values and principles. The date of 15th March 2019 […]

A well-functioning legal system can be measured by its response to daily crimes and complaints. This is a much better test in fact, rather than a country’s constitution (in Sri Lanka’s case, the 1978 constitution still remains a major barrier to the functioning of a legal system), or statutes, or judicial presence, all of which […]

Contrary to the incumbent government’s electoral promise of doubling farmers’ income, India’s agricultural crisis has deepened, with the farm income growth rate hitting an unprecedented 14-year-low in the last financial quarter of 2018. At 2.67 percent in real terms (constant price), it is the worst growth since October- December 2004. To worsen matters, the nominal […]

The discovery of body parts of two businessmen from Rathgama, Bussa area, who were abducted, disappeared, and later killed, allegedly by several policemen, including the Officer-In-Charge of the southern province special crime investigating unit, is major news in Sri Lanka these days. According to the newspapers, the two businessmen were kidnapped from Rathgama Bussa area, […]

The state of Arunachal Pradesh is seeing protests for the second time this year. The first wave of protests and violence had come with the government’s ill thought out Citizenship Amendment Bill (2016), which promised to give Indian citizenship to some minority communities fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, with much-relaxed rules. The move […]

The Internet broadcasted the long interview with Arun Siddhartha by Hiru on TV and separately on the YouTube channel, Vishwa Karma. One perspective that comes out of Arun Siddhartha’s reflections can be enormously positive. It can be used in trying to understand ways to resolve the present prolonged crises which have dragged the country into […]

In an unprecedented move, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena attacked the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) for carrying out its duty to vet soldiers to participate in United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. While the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations requires the HRCSL to vet the human rights record of persons proposed for participation in peacekeeping […]

Perhaps one thing that was forgotten when Lord Dunmore gave Adult Franchise for all, and also when Sri Lanka became an independent nation, is the stability of the social structure of a country. This is what provides for the establishment of the government, which will ensure security and stability to all. When these matters are […]

After two world wars, the first world elite realized the necessity of a global human rights movement, and cooperated with each other to bring that about. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a product of this imagination and determination not to allow past rights violations to recur. Subsequent UN conventions all followed from this […]

With reports of violence over the passage of the flawed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha across all seven states in the region, India’s North East is on the boil. The Bill, notwithstanding its confusing use of the word immigrants for refugees fleeing religious persecution, seeks to replace the Citizenship Act of 1955 that […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly objects to the lack of medical care given to Dr. C.K. Raut in custody. Dr. C. K. Raut was arrested by police on 7 October 2018 along with his four-year-old daughter from the premises of the District Court in Rautahat, while appearing in court in the case of […]

On December 11 to 14, 2018, human rights defenders from South East-Asia and the laureates of Gwangju Prize for Human Rights participated in an international workshop on the ‘Asian Human Rights Charter” organized by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation, (Gwangju, South Korea) in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the workshop, human rights […]

Nepal saw a year of poor human rights protection in 2018. The government was instead seen to further restrict people’s rights by introducing harsh laws to control the functioning of human rights NGOs and INGOs with its National Integrity Policy (NIP). The NIP places tighter controls over non-governmental space and is currently under discussion, while […]

Despite repeated DENIAL by the authorities and their attempts to pass on such deaths as deaths by illness, 2 more hunger deaths in Jharkhand have been reported over the last month. This takes the total to 17 since September 2017. The report stated that Kaleshwar Soren (45), a resident of Dumka district and Seeta Devi (75) of […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned by India’s decision to deport seven Rohingya refugees back to Burma. The seven are among around 40, 000 refugees that have fled to India over the years, escaping the discrimination and violence faced by the minority group in Burma. Last year, two Rohingya immigrants, Mohammad Salimullah and […]

The United Nations Development Programme’s recently released 2018 Multi- dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) lauds India for a massive reduction in multi-dimensional poverty in the country. The MPI goes beyond looking merely at income to understand how people experience poverty. It uses key dimensions like health, education, access to basic amenities and living standards and gives 10 indicators […]

On 12 December 2017, two Burmese journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, were arrested through a police sting operation in Yangon, and charged with breach of the Official Secrets Act, 1923. The Yangon district court filed charges against them under Section 3.1 (c) of the Act that penalises a person who “obtains, collects, records […]