Enforced disappearances and abductions

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where at least 14 bloggers have disappeared since the beginning of January. The government started off 2017 with a crack-down on human rights defenders and bloggers raising their voices on disappearances and extrajudicial killings, particularly in Balochistan. The security establishment there is very sensitive to the construction of the China PakistanEconomic […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the alleged enforced disappearance, in the first week of January, of four human rights defenders from different cities. There are two bloggers, a writer and a professor. All four were pro-active on social media against state atrocities on the issues of disappearances and […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where four border police officers have been detained after a video went viral, showing them beating unarmed Rohingya men in the state of Rakhine. The video was posted to Facebook on Saturday and seems to show officers with military-grade weapons kicking two men, as another officer looks on […]

Mr Basil Fernando, Director of Policy and Programmes of the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong speaks with Mr Faraz Shauketaly, Host of the News First – TV1’s “Newsline” programme on 05th January 2017 – on the proposed national reconciliation process; the recommendations of the United Nations for a domestic-international hybrid court inclusive of foreign judges – […]

A Press Release from Voice of Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) In 2016, the series of enforced disappearance, dumping of mutilated bodies and violation of human rights by security agencies continued without abating in Balochistan. It could not suspend due to apathy of national and international human rights […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Commission for Disappearances and Victims of Violence (KontraS), a prominent, national human rights NGO. It concerns the rape of an underage (minor), a 13 year old girl.  Eight people were connected with this action. This includes First Police Brigadier (Briptu) Hery Ismail, a police officer […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the extra judicial killings during custody and enforced disappearance of Sindhi nationalists. The dead body of Mr. Zakir Hussain Bozdar was found. He was missing after his arrest on December 3. A student activist, Sohail Raza Bhatti, was arrested on September 17, and […]

An oped from the myRepublica forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Earlier this month Nepal marked 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the decade-long armed conflict in 2006. Since then a new constitution has been promulgated and former combatants have been reintegrated into the society while some also joined security […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the enforced disappearance of a veteran Sindhi Nationalist leader, Ustaad Muhammad Rahimoon, who was arrested from his home. Since his arrest by a contingent of Pakistan Rangers on November 23, his whereabouts are unknown.  A freedom fighter, Rahimon is today a heart […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the Nepal Police who arrested Dr. C. K. Raut and more than two hundred supporters of his campaign. They came from different districts of Nepal’s Terai. Excessive force was used. Illegal arrests were made. By contrast, Dr. Raut and his supporters were commemorating 25 November (Mangsir 10, […]

We, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Peoples’ Network of Salween River, the Hatgyi dam affected communities, and the Foundation for environment and natural resources demand the Salween dam plan to stop immediately. We realise that the planned dam on the Salween River is causing tension between armed groups and slowing down the peace […]

Bangkok-Dhaka-Geneva-Paris-Quezon City, 29 November 2016 – Kashmiri human rights defender Mr. Khurram Parvez remains in arbitrary detention, despite a High Court order declaring his detention illegal and ordering his release. Our organisations are appalled at this abuse of power and demand the immediate and unconditional release of Khurram Parvez. Last Friday 25 November 2016, the High Court […]

Kingsley Karunaratne Delegation says Sri Lankan government has zero tolerance for torture, but critics say police ‘enjoy impunity’ The United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) is in session in Geneva, Switzerland from Nov. 7 – Dec. 7 and Sri Lanka has been called to account for allegations of ongoing abuse. The Sri Lankan government sent […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18. The rights watchdog is calling for an urgent UN investigation into the […]

The people of tribal areas bordering Afghanistan are caught between the Pakistan army on one hand, and the Taliban and ISIS on the other. The terrorists attack and kill tribal leaders for not allowing them to set up their training centers and move freely in the mountains, while the Pakistan army arrests, tortures, and extrajudicially […]

By Basil Fernando When the high level delegation of Sri Lanka met the UN Committee against Torture (CAT Committee) last week on the 5th Periodic Review, one of the Committee members raised an important issue. The Member asked whether the dysfunctionality of the justice system in Sri Lanka has virtually created a situation of a de facto […]

A Statement from Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission There has been an epidemic of summary killings and extrajudicial executions across the Philippines for decades now. From 1998 to December 2015, a total of 1,424 were documented to have been killed by the so-called Davao Death Squad […]

A Press Release from Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NAKPhilippines) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). NAKPhilippines Says Duterte Has Brought Human Rights Crisis to New, More Dangerous Level (MANILA, Nov. 22, 2016) – The Philippine government should hold accountable members of law enforcement agencies implicated in the extrajudicial killings of civilians […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where terrorist attacks continue despite the Pakistan army’s various anti-terror operations. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded courtyard of Sufi Saint Shah Noorani’s shrine on November 12, killing some 60 persons and injuring 156. The Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan’s Hub […]

A Statement from the International Peace Observers Network (IPON) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The International Peace Observers Network (IPON) expresses its deep concern about the precarious security situation and the continuing criminalization of human rights defenders (HRD) in the Philippines. Against this background, IPON welcomes the decision of the German Member of […]