Enforced disappearances and abductions

BANGLADESH: Families Take to the Streets to Demand Justice for Enforced Disappearances

Families of victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, took to the streets across Bangladesh to demand justice. The families organised human chains and rallies in different parts of the country. In the International Week of the Disappeared, the victims defied intimidation and harassment by the agencies of Bangladesh. Parents, wives, children, and siblings of […]

SOUTH KOREA: HOW to HONOUR the heroes of the Gwangju uprising in 1980?

On May 18th, the Gwangju uprising is being celebrated in the Republic of Korea as well as elsewhere. It has been the position of the Asian Human Rights Commission that May 18th should be recognized as a universal day of commemoration and also reaffirm the commitment to democracy, human rights, and human dignity. The most […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Myanmar Situation Update (3 to 9 May 2021)

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement Here The pro-democracy protests continued across the country in different townships despite the continuing lethal attacks by the junta forces and arrets of protests and the youth. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) figures showed that as of 9 May, […]

BANGLADESH: UN Rights Chief needs to act to address excessive use of force leading to extrajudicial killings and torture amidst mass arrests

The Bangladesh Government continues using dis-proportionate lethal force and brutal crackdowns on dissidents. The authorities have been using the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the excuses for denying the rights of liberties and livelihoods to the people. The Bangladesh Government, in its signature style, chose to crackdown on protesters for staging two peaceful protests. They were aimed […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Myanmar Situation Update

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement Here The protests continued for the 12th week across the country despite the brutal crackdown. After a weeks- long absence, protesters returned to the streets in downtown Yangon ahead of the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting. The media also reported that more than […]

SRI LANKA: UNHRC Resolution: A Ray of Hope for Sri Lanka

By Basil Fernando The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution “Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka” was adopted with 22 members of the council voting in favour of the resolution, 11 members voting against it and 14 members abstaining. The passing of the resolution marks the strongest action ever taken by the […]

BANGLADESH: Gang close to Bangladesh PM extracts bribes for state contracts

By Al Jazeera Investigative Unit 1 Feb 2021 A criminal gang is colluding with Bangladesh’s security forces to extract bribes for state contracts and job positions, all the while maintaining powerful links with the country’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an Al Jazeera investigation has found. All the Prime Minister’s Men reveals how Haris and Anis Ahmed, […]

BANGLADESH: Authoritarian repression in curbing civic space harms more than the pandemic

The Bangladesh Government continues its repressive campaigns of curtailing civic space in the country’s ever-deteriorating human rights situation. The Authorities have been using the COVID-19 pandemic as an additional excuse for encroaching on the freedoms of assembly, expression, including the freedom of the press. Bangladesh’s Law-Enforcement Agencies kept playing their predatory role in detaining the […]

INDONESIA: Focus Discussion and Sharing with all Commissioners of the Aceh TRC

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about focus discussion and sharing with all Commissioners of the Aceh Truth and Reconciliation (Aceh TRC). Since the Aceh TRC established four years ago, the Commission has achieved some important points. They can be described as follows: 5200 victims have been interviewed and statements have […]

INDONESIA: Lecture by Mr. Basil Fernando with Indonesia Law School Students on International Law and Important of National Judiciary Reform

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about a lecture on International Law and judiciary reform in Indonesia legal system. The lecture conducted by Mr. Basil Fernando with Indonesian law students of International Law Class of the University of Bung Karno, Jakarta. In total, 37 students took part in the lecture and […]

SRI LANKA: Abduction and demands for ransom by some officers of Kuda oya Police Station

Two young men named Wicramage Shanaka Chathuranga and Wicramage Eishan Chintaka Lakamal both from Ambilitiye were abducted under suspicion of the theft of four buffaloes. At the police station, they were severely tortured. According to the family, the family members were denied access to the suspects and the police denied having abducted or taken them […]

INDONESIA: Justice Efficiency Improvement Through Special Line Mechanism in the Draft of Indonesian Criminal Procedure Law (RUU KUHAP)

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional human rights organization in Asia and the Indonesian Court Monitoring Society/MaPPI-FHUI, a civil society organization based in Indonesia, wishes to inform you about a journal (essay) concerning Justice Efficiency Improvement Through Special Line Mechanism in the Draft of Indonesian Criminal Procedure Law (RUU KUHAP), written by Mr. […]

INDONESIA: Twenty two years of unresolved enforced disappearances while the offender enjoys impunity

A Written Submission to the 45th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the problem of enforced disappearances in Indonesia. After twenty-two years in office, the former dictator, President […]

BANGLADESH: Victims of Enforced Disappearances Denied Access to Justice

A Written Submission to the 45th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) is set to hold its 45th Regular Session. Enforced Disappearance is one of the thematic issues on which the independent experts of the Working Group on […]

INDONESIA: 55 Tahun Genosida, Mana Tanggungjawab Negara?

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission & the 1965 Murder Victims’ Research Foundation (YPKP 65) Pada tahun 2012, penyelidikan pro-justicia Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia (Komnas HAM) untuk Tragedi Kemanusiaan 1965-66 (Genosida 1965) telah merekomendasikan langkah penyidikan sebagai tahap lanjut atas dugaan kuat terjadinya kejahatan HAM berat pada masa lalu di Indonesia. […]

WORLD: A manifestation of the decadence of our times?

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES There has been a great deal of lip service given out when it comes to dealing with disappearances. But beyond that, there is hardly any other attempt to do something in real time, regarding such a widely-practiced, heinous crime. Perhaps, that is an understatement. And, there is reason to wonder whether it is […]

INDONESIA: Pelaksanaan SDGs Harus Satu Nafas dengan Perlindungan Hak Asasi Manusia

Pada 25 September 2015, Sidang Umum Perserikatan Bangsa-Bangsa (PBB) mengadopsi Resolusi berjudul “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” Selang dua tahun kemudian, Pemerintah Republik Indonesia mengeluarkan Peraturan Presiden Nomor 59 Tahun 2017 tentang Pelaksanaan Pencapaian Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan. “No one left behind” merupakan prinsip utama pelaksanaan Tujuan Pembangunan Berkelanjutan (Sustainable Development Goals/SDGs). […]

NEPAL: On the International Day of the Disappeared, Victims Associations and Human Rights Organizations call for an end to continuing delays in justice for the country’s many victims

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission and 47 National and International Organizations While commemorating the International Day of the Disappeared 2020, the undersigned national and international organizations and groups of victims, in Nepal call on the responsible authorities to undertake immediate steps towards a reinvigoration of the TJ process, adopting a transparent […]

Bangladesh: End Enforced Disappearances

A Joint Statement by 12 human rights groups ahead of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, 2020 Hold Law Enforcement Accountable (Hong Kong) – Bangladesh security forces and law-enforcement agencies continuously commit enforced disappearances with impunity, targeting journalists, activists, and government critics, 12 human rights groups said today ahead of the International […]

BANGLADESH: Tortures and Enforced Disappearances: The Bloody History of Bangladesh’s Elite Paramilitary Force

An article from VICE WORLD NEWS forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Since 2004, successive governments have used the Rapid Action Battalion to settle political scores and stifle dissent By Arpita De On May 3, 2020, Bangladeshi photojournalist Shafiqul Islam Kajol was found blindfolded with his limbs tied in Benapole town, close to the Bangladesh-India […]