Freedom of expression

In the Sri Lankan mind, politicians are thought to be engaged in the destruction of the lives of the people and the foundations of the nation. In the subconscious or unconscious, this has gone so deep that to speak of them as archetypes in the Jungian sense is no exaggeration at all. It is commonly […]

A Statement from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission   Analysis of the Head of the NCPO Order no. 9/2562 that repealed some Announcements/Orders that are no longer necessary Click here to read the Original Statement On 9 July 2019, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha in his capacity as the Head of […]

(ICCPR පනත ගැන මන:කල්පිත සාකච්ඡාවක්…) රටවැසියෙක්:- මොකක්ද ඔය ICCPR කියලා කියන්නේ…? ICCPR කතෘවරයෙක්:- ICCPR කියලා කියන්නේ ජාත්යඍන්තර සිවිල් හා දේශපාලන අයිතිවාසිකම් කියන ප්රPඥප්තියටයි. එම ප්රලඥප්තිය ඇති වුනේ මෙහෙමයි. 1948 දී මානව හිමිකම් පිළිබඳ විශ්ව ප්රකකාශනය ප්රකකාශයට පත් කෙරුනා. ඒ මගින් සෑම මිනිසෙකුට හා ගැහැණියකටම සිවිල් හා දේශපාලන අයිතිවාසිකම් වගේම ආර්ථික සමාජීය සංස්කෘතික අයිතිවාසිකම් රැසක් ජාත්යමන්තර වශයෙන් මුල් […]

By Basil Fernando An election can give political power to the winning political party and its leadership. Thereby, they could claim that their exercise of power is legitimate. From the point of view of formal legitimacy, that claim is justifiable. However, elections cannot create the authority of the state if it has lost that authority. […]

Maryknoll sister helps to shed light on human rights violations in Asia An article from Maryknoll Magazine July/August 2019, written by Maria-Pia Negro Chin forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission by Maria-Pia Negro Chin one morning, a man wakes up, hugs his children and kisses his wife goodbye before walking to work. But, he does […]

A Written Submission to the 41st Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The United Nations Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures play a pivotal role in advocating for the people’s freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly in the world, where authoritarianism and right […]

A Written Submission to the 41st Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre Under the Indonesian Constitution (UUD) of 1945, the right to peaceful assembly and association is fully protected and guaranteed without any distinction. Moreover, Indonesia also has national laws that govern and ensure protection of […]

The arrest and ongoing detention of award-winning author and poet Shakthika Sathkumara on spurious charges are a clear violation of his right to freedom of expression, CIVICUS, the global civil society alliance and the Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC), said today ahead of his next court hearing on 18 June. Shakthika Sathkumara was arrested on 1 April […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where protests are continuing over the government’s proposed extradition bill. Thousands gathered outside the Legislative Council headquarters on Wednesday, where the bill was meant to be discussed for the second time. While the protest began peacefully, towards the latter part of the day police resorted to using […]

The sovereignty of the people is best expressed by the exercise of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Both of these freedoms are essential to common people living with a sense of dignity. These freedoms are also essential in order to create a sense of community among all the peoples who live within the […]

A Statement from The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission 4 June 2019 In pursuance to a string of recent attacks of at least three pro-democracy activists including Aekachai Hongkangwan who was physically assaulted seven times and had his car set on fire twice since early 2018, and of […]

The government of Nepal has been repeatedly throttling the civil society, media and human rights organizations in Nepal. Even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has now come under its ambit. The present government, led by the Nepal Communist Party, does not like civil society questioning its business. In an attempt to silence critical voices, […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where criminal disdain for human life was seen again in a blaze claiming 22 young lives in a coaching institution in Surat, Gujarat, one of the country’s wealthiest states. Many of the students, trapped on the fourth floor of a building with no fire exits, were burnt alive […]

Written by Chrisbiantoro1 Introduction As a member of the United Nations (UN)2, Indonesia has ratified at least six major international human rights treaties3. Currently, Indonesia is a member of the UN Human Rights Council [HRC]4, therefore, it has obligations to increase the standard of human rights protection in its territory under the resolution of the […]

Click here to Read the Korean Version On 16th May 2019, Eugene Soh, a man who dedicated his entire adult life working to defeat the military dictatorship in South Korea, passed away after a brief illness. Mahatma is a South Asian word meaning great soul. Eugene Soh was definitely a man who had a very […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where clashes occurred at the legislature on Tuesday morning over vetting the controversial extradition bill. Opponents and supporters of the bill have been trying to lead the bills meeting after a split over the legitimacy of the temporary chairperson of the bills committee. Since Hong Kong’s government […]

Although there was a two day parliamentary debate held to discuss the Easter Sunday carnage caused by the bombs that were exploded in three churches and several tourist hotels, no consensus has yet emerged as to the primary causes that led to the complete breakdown of the security situation and such an abject failure on […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where two Reuters reporters have been freed by a presidential amnesty. Wa Lone, 33 and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29 had spent more than 500 days in prison, after being convicted under the Official Secrets Act and sentenced to seven years in jail last September. Their jailing was seen […]

Much is talked about the external factors behind the worst attacks on human lives experienced in Sri Lankan history within a single day. This search for understanding the external causes, the organizations and the individuals within, is amply justified. However, that does not explain why it was possible to organise the attacks on that day. […]

Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith Archbishop’s House, Colombo – 8, Sri Lanka Phone: +94 11-2695471-2-3 / 2696054 Fax: +94 11-2692009 Email: archbishop@sltnet.lk / cardinalmalcolm@gmail.com  Dear Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, On behalf of the Asian Human Rights Commission, we are writing to express our solidarity with the Catholic community in Sri Lanka, as well as the entire Sri Lankan people, who have […]