Institutional reform

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you about an interview with the Commissioner of Aceh Truth and Reconciliation (Aceh TRC), Mr. Muhammad Daud Beureuh. Mr. Daud is also a former intern at the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in 2012. During the internship, he worked with the Indonesian Desk, he got experiences […]

On 25 September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) adopted a Resolution entitled “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” Two years later, the Government of the Republic of Indonesia issued Presidential Decree, Number 59, of 2017, concerning the Implementation of Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal. “No one left behind” is […]

By Victor Ivan This is not an issue which has received adequate attention. Yet, I am of the view that one era of the history of Sri Lanka which commenced since independence in 1948 has come to an end in 2020.It simply means that the State and its associated socio- political system that was bequeathed […]

By Basil Fernando Why is there a need for a constitutional change? Is it to make the already bad situation worse? Or is it to undo, the state of disorder brought about by the 1978 constitution. Judging by the passing of the 20th Amendment to the constitution, it is clear that the proposed constitution is […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional human rights organization in Asia and the Federation of the Commission for the Disappearances of Victims of Violence (Federasi KontraS) would like to announce monitoring report on the situation of public protest against the bill on Creation Job. Between 6 and 8 October 2020, the AHRC and […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a regional human rights organization in Asia, and the Indonesian Court Monitoring Society/MaPPI-FHUI, a civil society organization based in Indonesia, wishes to inform you about a journal (essay) written by the Former Head of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for the Period 2007-2011, Mr. Chandra M Hamzah concerning The […]

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC UAC-005-2020 23 July 2020 ———————————————————————————- SRI LANKA: Urging the Sri Lankan authorities to support the Supreme Court’s Direction to educate Law- Enforcement System personnel, on the law elimination of and the use of torture ISSUES: Torture, Illegal arrest and detention  ———————————————————————————- Dear Friends, […]

By: Ma. Hazel Joy Faco Out of breath from running around the city with a big placard in one hand and a heavy, borrowed tripod on the other, I stood in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul with eighty other activists demanding for an official apology and reparation from the Japanese government. After that […]

Access to Justice is coupled with multiple hindrances in Bangladesh’s Justice Mechanism. The filter of politicisation, corruption, and ineptness of professionals at all times supersedes the juridical norms in the country’s Judicial System. The COVID-19 pandemic situation has subtly exposed the problems, as reflections came from participants of a Webinar hosted by the Asian Human […]

A Written Submission to the 44th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) draws attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures to the realities regarding access to justice in Bangladesh, an incumbent member of the Human […]

 මේ දින වල ලොව පුරා ප්‍රචලිත පුවත වන්නේ ඇමරිකාවේ සුදු ජාතික පොලිස් නිලධාරියෙකු විසින් කළු ජාතික සාමන්‍ය පුරවැසියකුගේ බෙල්ල මත දණහිස තබා මරණයට පත් කිරීමේ සිදු වීමයි. එම මරණය සිදු කල ආකාරය ඡායාරූප ගත කර ඇති හෙයින් එය කාටත් දැක ගැනීමට අවස්ථාව උදාවී ඇත. මෙම සිද්ධියත් සමඟ ඇමරිකාව පුරා බලවත් විරෝධතා ඇති වීමත්, එම විරෝධතාවයන්ට […]

 The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submitted report to the UN Human Rights Council on 4th of June. It is a very comprehensive report on serious violations of Human Rights that have been taking place in the last few years. In her concluding remarks, the High Commissioner’s report says… “The legal, constitutional and […]

By Basil Fernando I have borrowed the title of this article from the immortal work of Robert Lewis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. This novel is about a mysterious and tragic transformation caused by the use of certain chemicals. By the use of such chemical concoctions, Dr. Jekyll, an amiable, […]

30 years ago, Richard de Zoysa was abducted and disappeared. His dead body was later found on a beach. During the same period, literally tens of thousands of persons throughout the country were also disappeared, and none of the cases relating to such disappearances have been resolved through genuine investigations and prosecutions. Indeed, the process […]

By Basil Fernando This article is about the manner in which unscrupulous lawyers could manipulate delays in the law to their personal advantage. This type of behavior is now a permanent feature in Sri Lanka’s legal system. Analysis of the methods used for such manipulation are based on experiences from actual cases. Reflections on the […]

A Written Submission to the 43rd Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) draws attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council and its Special Procedures about the institutionalised practice of torture in Bangladesh, which is an incumbent member of the […]

A Joint Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission, Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, and Odhikar on the occasion of International Human Rights Day Dhaka/Manila/Hong Kong, 10 December 2019: On International Human Rights Day, the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), and Odhikar pay tribute to and stand in […]

A comment on the memoir of Former Chief Justice Dr Shiranee Bandaranayake entitled “Hold Me in Contempt” Basil Fernando Attorney-At-Law This memoir by former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake on the (now nullified) impeachment is a significant contribution to the cause of promoting the independence of judiciary in Sri Lanka. Its significance lies in the […]

By Basil Fernando In a Thai courthouse on 4th October 2019, Judge Khanakorn Pianchana shot himself in the chest as a protest against interference with the independence of judges in their decision-making process. Fortunately, he survived the suicide attempt – made in open court – and is reportedly out of intensive care. Regarding the issue […]

By Basil Fernando Legalistically speaking, a nation is a people living together in a particular geographical region. But legal definitions do not create a nation. The meaning of nation is far deeper than any legal definition of it. Often politicians define a nation in terms of ideologies. For example, if a nation at a given […]