Inhuman And Degrading Treatment

This week Just Asia begins with Bangladesh, where a fast-moving fire in the historic district of Chawkbazar in the country’s capital city of Dhaka has killed 78 persons and injured 55. The death toll and the number of victims is expected to increase as more bodies are found from the wreckage. The 400-year-old Chawkbazar district […]

On December 11 to 14, 2018, human rights defenders from South East-Asia and the laureates of Gwangju Prize for Human Rights participated in an international workshop on the ‘Asian Human Rights Charter” organized by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the May 18 Memorial Foundation, (Gwangju, South Korea) in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the workshop, human rights […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia’s Central Sulawesi province, which was hit by a 7.5-magnitude earthquake last Friday, followed by a tsunami. Official figures are reporting the deaths of 1,234 people. Indonesia’s geophysics agency (BMKG) has faced criticism over its handling of a tsunami warning. Indonesian President Joko Widodo is accepting international help for […]

On 25 June 2018, a CBI Special Court in Thiruvananthapuram awarded the death penalty to two police officers accused of murder in a custodial death case for the first time, while another three accused are facing three years in jail. The case is infamously known as the ‘Urutti Kola’ case due to the torture technique used; the rolling […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where two police officers have been awarded the death penalty for the custodial torture and death of 27-year-old Udaya Kumara in Kerala in 2005. For more than 10 years, Udaya’s mother was steadfast in her pursuit of justice. Udaya’s case is a reminder not only of police brutality […]

A Statement on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture June 26th every year is marked as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) works closely with victims of torture through its network of partner organisations across the countries it works in. […]

A Statement on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Torture remains a serious problem in Indonesia, even though it has been 20 years since it ratified the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). There are also various national regulations prohibiting torture: […]

A Statement on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Globally, June 26 is celebrated as a day of solidarity for victims of torture. All over the world, various kinds of events are held in order to highlight the issue of torture and various ways to overcome this perennial problem. […]

Growth has remained the buzzword in Indian polity for decades now. It started after the unprecedented economic crisis that the country faced in early 1990s and never really went away after that. It, rather, almost consumed the other big word- development, which now returns to election rallies and then disappears again until the next elections. […]

Sri Lanka Report for 2017 2017 was a decisive year for Sri Lanka, showing what progress had – and hadn’t – been made in the past few years. In January 2015, a new government was elected with a massive intervention on the part of the people. For 10 years, their premiere, Mahinda Rajapaksa, ran an […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where two young men were lynched on the suspicion of being child abductors. Niloptal Das and Abhijeet Nath were artists based in Goa, who had come to Assam to celebrate the Bohag Bihu festival and do some sight-seeing. A mob stopped their SUV at night, believing a child […]

Karapatan condemns the listing of more than 600 persons, human rights defenders and critics of the Duterte government in the proscription petition filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), through Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Peter Ong, at a regional court in Manila on February 21, 2018. The petition not only seeks to declare the Communist […]

(Hong Kong, 9 December 2017) The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that different human rights groups across the country will hold protests and a series of other events tomorrow, December 10, to mark the International Human Rights Day. Today, the Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan), an alliance of human […]

An article from Daily Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Salman Ali One sided history, false references, half-truths and a biased approach — this is what you will find in Pakistani textbooks. The curriculum that we are currently using in schools and colleges is simply outdated, and does not meet the local needs […]

An oped from the Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission A country cannot survive in the absence of honesty and integrity. Additionally, there is a need for unity, compassion and eagerness for development among the people. Similarly, the government must observe the rule of law for the regulation of good governance. Nepal has had […]

A Study on the use of torture as a routine part of criminal investigations in developing countries; lessons from the situation in Sri Lanka Basil Fernando The Asian Human Rights Commission is happy to present its latest publication which is now available in print and as an e-book. The book is based on over 20 […]

[RE: AHRC-HAC-001-2017: Immediately stop demolition drive against Dalit and tribal hamlets in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from the Samaj Chetna Adhikar Manch, Dabhaura about the demolition drive against five Dalit and tribal settlements in Jawa block of Rewa District, Madhya Pradesh. The […]

The weekly Times column, Focus on Rights, titled ‘The Draft CTA is of Concern to All Sri Lankans, Without Exception’ by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena, in the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka, on 21 May 2017, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission. Kishali Pinto Jayawardena The perception that Sri Lanka’s proposed Counter-Terror Act (CTA) will affect only those of […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from local activists Anuj Shree Jaiswal and Israr Mohammad Issu regarding the demolition of the house of a very poor family in Pipariya, Madhya Pradesh. The AHRC has also learnt that the family, which includes a nine-year-old girl child, has since been forced to […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw the attention of the interested persons to follow the judicial harassment of three human rights defenders in Thailand. According to the AHRC Urgent Appeals case (AHRC-UAC-065-2016) which was released on 13 June, 2016. The Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) is an organization that monitors and documents cases of torture […]