Child rights

It is to the credit of some Buddhist monks that they have taken active role in extending support and protection to the Muslims victim to vicious attacks across Sri Lanka. The attacks began after the Secretary of BBS, Reverend Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera, spoke at a recent meeting at Aluthgama. Image courtesy: The Financial Times, daily […]

The National Council for Peace and Order  (NCPO) has seized the power since 22nd May 2014. Now it is almost a month that the NCPO has issued many orders and announcements, as of 16 June 2014,  there were 68 orders/announcements. Particularly, Order No.  59/2557 and Order No.  60/2557, dated  11 June 2014, regarding the administration […]

by Bushra Khaliq Like many other poor countries, child labour is a socially acceptable phenomenon in Pakistan. There is a long list of formal and informal sectors teeming with child labour across Pakistan. However, top among these sectors may be agriculture, auto workshops, rag picking and teashops, which harbour significant number of underage working children. […]

The rape of a judge in her residence, located in a high-security area in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, speaks volumes about both the epidemic of sexual violence and the respect for law in India. Such an incident cannot occur in a jurisdiction where a citizen is convinced that the law will play its […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Manoj Singh, a local journalist working with Gorakhpur News Line, regarding the deadly disease Encephalitis, which has struck again in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The toll has already climbed to 60, with monsoons – during which the disease spreads quickly – still distant. Despite […]

Thanks to promising monsoons, India is all set for a bumper harvest. This seemingly good news, however, has a caveat to it. To begin with, an open procurement policy based on government announced minimum support price the government is duty bound to buy all foodgrain that reaches its Krishak Mandis (farmers’ markets). The Food Corporation […]

A 17-year-old boy named, P.H. Sadun Mallinga, from Atturukudua, Megahakiula, was arrested with his brother and brutally assaulted by a group of policemen from the Kandaketiya police without any reason. He died at the remand prison due to the severe injuries he suffered by the assault. He died in his brother’s arms. Now the brother […]

Today the AHRC releases the 28th Episode of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. In this week’s programmewe report on encouraging new legislation in Sindh Province in Pakistan, banning child marriage under 18-years of age. We show disturbing footage of police torture in Jammu and Kashmir with a report of India’s “gangsters in uniform”. Also in India, […]

The killing of senior lawyer, Rashid Rehman, on May 7, 2014 in his office in Multan has once again brought into focus at home and abroad how little the Pakistani state values those who risk their lives for the promotion and protection of fundamental rights for all. Rehman was killed despite having earlier expressed serious […]

White clad people of all ages observing sil; temples full of pious devotees; trees laden with flowers and mounds of jasmine and araliya offered at sacred bo tree and temple alter, scenting the air. Come night and cities that were quiet and white turn garishly gaudy. Pandals light up and stories depicted on them are broadcast too […]

The attempted murder of an anchorperson of a popular media house triggered the open discussion on the role of the ISI in dealing with the freedom of expression and the media as a whole. Indeed, this is not the first occasion that the role of the ISI was brought up as a conspirator in the […]

I held back on writing about the extremely traumatic experience of Naomi Coleman, 37, mental health nurse in Coventry, England. I am very glad I opted to be less than current since I felt I needed other’s opinions before expressing mine. All I spoke with from senior diplomats and retired government officers who held top […]

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment, Karapatan Alliance for Advancement for People’s Rights and the Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas regarding the two decade long struggle by the Manobo people who are facing worse attacks against their right to […]

The provincial assembly of Sindh has took the daring lead on 28th April 2014, that deserves appreciation for becoming Pakistan’s first elected assembly to have passed a bill restraining child marriages under 18 years. The passage of the bill has come on the heels of controversy that was triggered after the council of Islamic Ideology (CII) […]

(Note: this article was first published in the April 20, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) In November 2005, Jose Manegdeg, a staff member of a church-based non-governmental organisation, was killed soon after he finished conducting a para-legal training in San Esteban, Ilocos Sur. Four years later, another 57 people, 32 of whom were journalists, were murdered […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that rape cases of minors and young adults have increased in the country with the impunity. During the first four months of the year 11 cases concerning the rapes of minors were reported. It is now known how many cases were not reported in […]

Cyclic drought and rise in temperature due to climate change has again brought havoc to the people of Tharparkar. The worst affected being women and children. Shahid Hussain Tharparkar is one of the 23 districts of Sindh province and is spread over 77000 square kilometres. It is the continuation of ancient Indian Desert – the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed of the case of a mother that is facing a fabricated charge filed in court against her. The lady was pursuing justice for her 12-year old son who was beaten by a school principal. In the principal’s attempt to escape from his liabilities for […]

Unethical clinical trials conducted without obtaining informed consent of the participants have struck India again, killing 254 women from the most marginalised sections of society. The deaths, or rather murders, have taken place in the course of a 15-year long United States funded clinical trial for a cervical cancer screening method. The women who perished […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that brick kiln owners, with the patronage of the Punjab provincial government, have been holding children, women, and men in illegal detention. Women who have been demanding compliance of the minimum wage and social security have been beaten, their clothes stripped, and their children […]