Institutional reform

Concerns have been raised about the preliminary report of the Consultation Task Force (CTF), particularly about hybrid courts and foreign judges. It should be remembered that this report and its recommendations have not been finalized. Additionally, at the very beginning of the report, the CTF write that they are not making extensive recommendations themselves, but […]

Today, January 4, is the death anniversary of former Governor of Punjab Province Salman Taseer, who was killed in broad daylight by his own bodyguard in 2011, for appealing for the pardon of a Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who had been sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad. After his assassination, Salman Taseer’s family […]

By Basil Fernando I have had the privilege of witnessing the birth of an initiative to create a people’s movement not affiliated to any political party, which targets a minimum of one million memberships. It will be entirely locally funded and independent. The new movement springs from the initiative of Victor Ivan, a veteran journalist […]

Dear Prime Minister, We, human rights and women rights advocates, write to you to express our profound concern regarding the proposed amendments set to be applied to a recently passed legislation, “Sindh Criminal Law (Protection of Minorities) Bill, 2015”. This legislation, the Protection of Minorities Bill, passed unanimously in the Sindh Provincial Assembly, as it […]

2016 end-of-the-year commentary on human rights in Sri Lanka The neglect of the right to life within the country is quite symbolically expressed in the failure to address the spread of dengue in any significant manner. While the deaths due to dengue fever is high, a number of areas were declared as being more prone […]

by Dr. Badiul Alam Majumdar Elections of 3,956 Union Parishad (UP), the lowest tier of the local governmental system in Bangladesh, held in six phases that were conducted few months ago. Serious allegations of mononoyan banijya (buying nominations for money), other irregularities and violence were raised about these elections. Nevertheless, our CEC claimed that UP elections this time were much […]

by Basil Fernando In last week’s article, we discussed the recommendations of the United Nation’s Committee against Torture. The Committee has recommended the state party establish an independent body tasked with the investigation of complaints against law enforcement officers, one that is independent of police hierarchy. In this week’s article, we will discuss a few more […]

FATA is a human rights free zone where free human beings have been enslaved since 1901. Pakistan claims that FATA is its constitutional part and has placed it in the Pakistan Constitution of 1973. People in this unfortunate place have experienced inhumane treatment ever since Pakistan came into being in 1947. The miseries and troubles […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day This year’s theme for the Human Rights Day is ‘Stand up for someone’s rights today! The statement could not be better suited to what is happening in Pakistan, where human rights defenders are being increasingly targeted for speaking out. Branded […]

This week Just Asia focuses on international human rights day, celebrated annually on December 10. It commemorates the day on which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948. The UN theme for this year’s Human Rights Day is ‘Stand up for someone’s rights today!’ At a time when intolerance and violence is […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day Just like 2015 and the years prior, 2016 has been no different in terms of human rights, rule of law, and functioning of justice institutions in Nepal. Rather, the legacy of human rights and justice institution collapse has remained intact, […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to draw attention to the situation in Thailand on this momentous day, December 10, which is observed as Human Rights Day. Unfortunately, in Thailand, the day will be eclipsed by the Military regime […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day In Sri Lanka, what remains widespread in political, social, and cultural life is widespread shameless impunity relating to every form of abuse of human dignity and human rights. This widespread shameless impunity is also widespread in the entirety of the […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day Commemorating Human Rights Day every December 10 reminds us of the importance of human rights protection, which is still lacking in Indonesia. In the last two years, under President Joko Widodo’s administration, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has observed […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of Human Rights Day The incumbent government has pushed the people to one of the worst living conditions they have faced in recent collective and individual memory. Millions of Indians are repeatedly queuing up before banks and currency dispensing machines, struggling to withdraw legitimately […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines (DJP), a social movement working to promote the human rights of the urban poor in Manila, about surveillance and harassment of Ms. Glacy Macabale. Ms. Macabale is human rights defender and community organizer, who has been resisting the forcible displacement […]

A Statement from Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (KARAPATAN) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission. Karapatan today joined RISE UP!, a campaign initiated by faith-based groups, institutions and people’s organizations against the drug menace and for the protection of human and people’s rights against drug-related extrajudicial killings, in a protest action in […]

An oped from the myRepublica forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Earlier this month Nepal marked 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended the decade-long armed conflict in 2006. Since then a new constitution has been promulgated and former combatants have been reintegrated into the society while some also joined security […]

This week, in its 150th episode, Just Asia begins with Burma, where the crackdown on the Rohingya may amount to ‘crimes against humanity’, says UN’s human rights agency. Since October, the Burmese military have been burning Rohingya homes, shooting people and raping women. According to John McKissick of the UN refugee agency, the government’s “ultimate […]

by Basil Fernando “A History of Ceylon Police” by late A.C. Depp, former Inspector General of Police, is a book consisting of three volumes that gives a good insight into the manner in which the police system came about in Sri Lanka. Reading these pages removes any surprise about the rather pathetic condition into which this […]