Institutional reform

A Statement from the Burmese Students in Hong Kong forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We, the Burmese students in Hong Kong, stand by our fellow students in Myanmar(Burma), who are now courageously fighting against the newly enacted National Education Law, which has been designed to perpetuate the military-dictatorship-era education system. Although we are […]

A Statement from the Bar Association Of Sri Lanka forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission At an Emergency Meeting of the Executive Committee of the BASL, which was attended by close to 90% of its members, it was unanimously decided to issue a Statement calling for the resignation of Hon. Mohan Peiris, PC, in […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission wrote to the newly appointed Minister for Finance Ravi Karunanayake, congratulating him on his appointment, and stating that the establishment of good governance as promised by the new government requires budgetary allocations for law enforcement, and the prevention of corruption. The AHRC stated in the letter that “… As the […]

A decisive new stage in the political life of Sri Lanka has arisen as a result of the people’s verdict, which overwhelmingly affirms the commitment of Sri Lankans to democracy and the rule of law. Victory to the new President Maithripala Sirisena and the New Democratic Alliance is a mandate given by the people to […]

Three days ago, two human rights activists campaigning for one of the candidates contesting the national election received a message sent by an opposing candidate. The message arrived in the form of the heads of two freshly slaughtered dogs. This message is symbolic in more ways than one. It represents what has gone radically wrong […]

Everyone knows that Pakistan’s government and military have failed to deal with the widespread terrorism in the country. All Pakistanis would agree that this problem needs to be addressed and that it should be addressed urgently and thoroughly. However, the government’s suggestion of enabling the military to try terror suspects in military courts is no […]

Whatever be the outcome of the presidential election to be held on the 8th of January 2015, Sri Lanka has already entered into the deepest political crisis it has ever faced since the adoption of the Executive Presidential system through the 1978 Constitution. Within the period of a few weeks, all the manifestations of strength […]

To: Member States of the UN General Assembly Your Excellency: We, the undersigned human rights and civil society organizations, write to urge your government to vote in favor of Resolution A/C.3/69/L.33 on the promotion and protection of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This vote will take place during the 69th session of […]

The following interview was originally published in the latest issue ( Volume 3 Number 4 & 5)  of Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives ON 25th September 2014, Basil Fernando and the Asian Human Rights Commission was bestowed with the coveted Right Livelihood Award, widely known as the “Alternate Nobel Prize,” for “his tireless and outstanding […]

A Statement from the Friday Forum  forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has recently been the target of much criticism and one can cite a litany of scandals and questionable departures from professionalism and our traditional Non-aligned stance. These are now overshadowed by the glaring lack of principle and consistency recently seen in the First […]

A Statement from the UN Human Rights Committee forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) 1.         The Committee considered the fifth periodic report submitted by Sri Lanka (CCPR/C/LKA5/) at its 3098th and 3099th meetings (CCPR/C/SR3098 and CCPR/C/SR3099), held on 7 and 8 October 2014. At its 3126th meeting (CCPR/C/SR3126), held on 27 October 2014, […]

A public petition for signatures for the constitutional reforms, by Ravaya forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Alliance of the Opposition should ensure the general public that the Common Candidate it fields for the Presidential Election will carry out the reforms under mentioned within the first three months of his victory. 1. Right for Information The ‘Information […]

by Basil Fernando It must have been somebody’s idea that judicial independence in Sri Lanka must be destroyed. When the idea was first generated we do not know. It is possible that it arose more or less at the same time as the 1962 coup. Those were wild times for some people who had enjoyed […]

by Basil Fernando On the 19th October 2014 BBC Sinhala Service broadcast, the United National Party Member of Parliament Ranjan Ramanayake, complained that there was a plan to assassinate him due to his participation in a televised debate. On air, he had provided details of the information he had received regarding the alleged assassination plan. […]

by Jack Clancey During this past week, Central was occupied by thousands of demonstrators, as was Admiralty, Wanchai, Causeway Bay, and other parts of Hong Kong. The key question being asked is: What needs to be done to end the demonstrations? One of the two key demands of the leaders of the Occupy Central movement […]

In the 45th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup, AHRC TV turns its attention to how failures in the justice apparatuses of Asian states are pushing people to take the law into their own hands. In particular, the programme covers three Asian countries where the system has failed: India, where lawlessness has led to […]

After almost a year of conflict, the 7-article agreement between the CNRP and the CPP allowed 55 CNRP lawmakers-elect to take their National Assembly seats. Both parties claimed victory. But not everyone sees the accord in the same light. Mr. Brad Adams, Director of Asia for Human Rights Watch (HRW) sees the deal as terrible […]

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has announced its agreement with the Burmese government to collaborate on strengthening the rule of law and addressing significant drug and crime threats. The agreement, the result of over a year of negotiations, will cover a period of three years (2014 – 2017). It has been […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Defend Job Philippines about the illegal dismissal of the whole leadership of the NXP Workers Union by the management of NXP Semiconductors Philippines, INC. The workers were dismissed on 5 May 2014 on the pretext of their not reporting to work on 9 […]

An Open Letter from Thai Citizens Against Dictatorship forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). THAILAND: Open Letter Condemning the Thai Junta’s Interim Constitution As Thai citizens, we are writing to make clear that the military junta’s Interim Constitution does not represent our will, nor does it represent the will of the Thai people […]