Human rights defenders

SRI LANKA: A Sister’s 20 Year Long Struggle For Justice For Her Brother Killed By The Police

By Basil Fernando On the universal day for torture victims, this year, a book will be launched by The Right to Life organization working in collaboration with the AHRC on a long standing case, which is continuing in courts, regarding a man who was killed extra-judicially, inside a Police station. The author of the book […]

MYANMAR/BURMA: Myanmar Situation Update (31 May – 6 June 2021)

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement Here The National Unity Government (NUG) held its very first press conference on Friday 4 June. The junta shut down the internet between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m to disrupt that press conference being held by the parallel government. The NUG […]

MYANMAR/BURMA: Myanmar Situation Update (24 to 30 May 2021)

Download the Full Statement Here The protests continued in different parts of Myanmar despite the crackdown by the junta. The clashes between the junta forces and the civil resistance fighters or Ethnic Armed Organizations also emerged in several places in Myanmar, such as in Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Shan, Sagaing and Yangon States/Regions. The Karen Peace […]

ASIA: NEGLECT and LOSS (Number 04)

The link to the newsletter is as follows Neglect and loss is a newsletter containing reports and commentaries on current problems in several Asian countries. Today, we are issuing the fourth newsletter in this series. The purpose of the newsletter is to highlight many forms of unnecessary human suffering imposed on ordinary people in these countries […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Myanmar Situation Update (17 to 23 May 2021)

A Statement from ANFREL forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Download the Full Statement here The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released the final comprehensive report of its international election observation mission to the 2020 Myanmar general elections and said “it is its informed opinion that the results of the 2020 general elections were, by and […]

INDONESIA : Victims and Justice Seekers must be included in the Sustainable Development Goals

“No one left behind” is the main principle of implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Will the principle apply in Indonesia? Will the Government include victims and families of victims of human rights violations in the implementation of SDG’s? In the Indonesian context, we can see a strong relation between SDG Number 1 on poverty […]

SRI LANKA: Won the “War” but Lost the Law

By Basil Fernando Calling a civil conflict or a civil war, a war itself, is very misleading. Wars are fought with external enemies. However, civil conflict or a civil war is a fight that takes place among the brethren, with the people who should in fact be living together as a nation. What the ties […]

SRI LANKA: Covid-19 & The Constitution

Arundhati Roy, prominent writer and social activist in India has written several important articles in the recent few days on the problem of the spread of Covid-19 and the vast numbers of deaths that are taking place in India. In an article written just a few days back, Roy directly addresses the Prime Minister of […]

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, […]

ASIA/WORLD: A New Publication – NEGLECT & LOSS

The link to the newsletter is as follows. Neglect and loss is a newsletter containing reports and commentaries on current problems in several Asian countries. The purpose of the newsletter is to highlight many forms of unnecessary human suffering imposed on ordinary people in these countries due to the neglect of authorities to carry out their […]

INDONESIA: Pretrial detention under the existing Code of Criminal Procedure and the Bill of Criminal Procedure

Under the Soeharto regime, which is known as the New Order Era, Indonesia issued Criminal Procedure Code Number 8 of 1981 (known as KUHAP). This Law was issued to replace the old Criminal Procedure legacy of the Dutch Colonial era, known as the Update Indonesia Regulation (RIB) or also called Het Herziene Indonesisch Reglement. After […]

BURMA/MYANMAR: Myanmar Situation Update

A Statement from Anfrel forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The pro-democracy protests continued across the country while the Myanmar community outside of the country also conducted the protests in places such as London, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul. The protests started again in Yangon last week just before the ASEAN summit after a […]

NEPAL: UN experts express concerns for independence and integrity of the NHRC

A Statement from the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission UN Human rights experts* expressed serious concern for the independence of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) after the recent appointment of new members that they regard as being inconsistent with international standards. The experts […]

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: 1972 CJC: The beginning of the collapse of the criminal justice system

By Basil Fernando The Criminal Justice Commissions (CJC) Act, No. 14 of 1972, marked the beginning of the collapse of Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system. The process that started then, gradually expanded further and further, and today, the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka is virtually dysfunctional. What the CJC Act in fact did was […]

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 […]

WORLD: An Interview with Basil Fernando on his book Body, Mind, Soul, and Society

You may watch the interview at the following link.  Some comments of the book as follows. This is a unique and important book… One learns invaluable lessons from this insightful book and, for that, one is grateful to the author for contributing to our understanding of what it means to be working for the promotion and […]

INDONESIA: Special Interview on controversial of Job Creation Law & Human Rights in the time of Covid-19

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you about an interview with Mr. Ken Budha Kusumandaru, a survivor and also a human rights activist from Indonesia. Mr, Ken Ndaru was detained under Soeharto regime due to his involvement in the opponent group against the regime. He is also a former member of the People […]

SRI LANKA: Wasted Years – Short Essays on the 1978 Constitution

Download the full  English Version here Download the full  Tamil Translation here On the occasion of seventy-three years of independence, the Asian Human Rights Commission has published an online book entitled “Wasted Years – Short Essays on the 1978 Constitution”. This online publication is a collection of many essays that were previously circulated in several publications. They covered a […]