Freedom of religion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-OLT-002-2024 April 19, 2024 An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to Open Letter to H. E. the Cardinal Malcom Ranjith and all the members of the Catholic Bishops’ conference in Sri Lanka H. E. Cardinal Malcom Ranjith Archbishop’s House Colombo – 8 Sri Lanka Tel: +94-11-2695471 Fax: +94-11-2692009 Email: […]

In the case of the destruction of the Miftahul Huda Mosque, a total of 22 defendants were involved. On Thursday, January 6, 2022, the Pontianak District Court held a hearing with the agenda of a verdict against 21 defendants in the case of the destruction of the Miftahul Huda Mosque which was built by the […]

A video presentation on the loss of criminal justice capacity in many developing countries and the impact of this on social stability and peace. It is discussed in relation to Sri Lanka, but the basic problem is common to many of the countries in Asia. See the Video link here

By Basil Fernando  Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith presided over the 21st of April commemoration with the participation of other religious leaders. Talking about the issue, he has said that the problem is not just about Catholics, but that it is about the whole country. According to him, he sees the problem of terrorism and extremism as […]

By Basil Fernando In answering the call of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Sri Lanka, the faithful living in various parts of the country wore black and attended the churches as a protest against the failure to provide justice for all those who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in 2019. They also participated […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about a research report which was conducted and promoted by the Asian Human Rights Commission/Asian Legal Resource Centre and Samari Utthan Sewa (SUS). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the organizational views of the organizations. Please click here to download the Full Report In Nepali RESEARCH […]

A Statement from the Christian Conference of Asia forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission CHIANG MAI: A virtual conference on ‘The Impact of Growing Religious Extremism on Women in Asia’ organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) observed, “The menace of religious extremism and intolerance has once again reared its ugly head as […]

Let us pray that the planet’s resources will not be plundered, but shared in a just and respectful manner Vatican City September 1, 2020 Pope Francis, in his prayer intention for the month of September 2020, asks everyone to pray that we learn to respect the planet’s resources. It has become the custom of Pope […]

We are forwarding herewith the e-version of the social justice magazine published by the Centre for Society and Religion – Sri Lanka. Click here to read the full version of the magazine. Social justice magazine is a long-standing regular publication which has covered many issues relating to the improvement of the conditions of the people, particularly the […]

By Basil Fernando  Church bells will ring and lights will be lit to remember the 2019 Easter Sunday tragedy. Meanwhile, people have also been putting up a fight against the deadly coronavirus. For some, both events will only have a political meaning, depending on what political loyalties they are committed to. In that way, the […]

BY Basil Fernando In his writings, including the book, Common Sense, Thomas Paine celebrated the triumph of reason. He saw the modern age as a product of reason and that all knowledge and all approaches to life should be based on reason alone. This was a characteristic of his age, the age that began with […]

A Joint Oral Statement to the 42nd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LWRC) Mr. President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada thank the Special Rapporteur for her oral update. The Council is well aware of the […]

A Joint Written Submission to the 42nd Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Odhikar The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and ODHIKAR – Coalition for Human Rights draw special attention of the Human Rights Council and the Special Procedures to the acts of violence, persecution, […]

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 […]

This week Just Asia begins with Sri Lanka, which has been traumatized by a series of coordinated bombings on Easter Sunday. More than 350 people were killed and at least 500 wounded in the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka since the end of the civil war 10 years ago. The dead included at least 45 […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the brutal attacks on several churches in Sri Lanka, which killed a large number of persons attending Easter Sunday mass. There were also attacks on several tourist hotels, killing about 32 foreign tourists. This tragedy has shocked and distressed the entire nation, with lamentations heard from so many […]

Regional human rights groups mapped key strategies targeting that the Rohingya people are at the centre of moves. Rights activists and professionals called the international community to expedite justice for atrocity crimes including genocide and crimes against humanity that have forced most of the community to flee Myanmar. The strategic actions are believed to empower […]

This week Just Asia begins with the Philippines, where police shot dead 14 farmers in Negros island on Sunday. While rights groups called this a ‘massacre’, authorities said it was a legitimate operation against suspected communist rebels. According to the police, the 14 men shot at officers with search warrants for illegal firearms, prompting them […]

This week Just Asia begins with a message of solidarity for the victims of the Christchurch shootings in New Zealand. In a cowardly act of terrorism, a lone gunman shot people attending Friday prayers at two mosques, with the death toll reaching 50. The Asian Human Rights Commission in its statement, noted that Prime Minister […]

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 […]