Judicial system

SRI LANKA:The proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill amounts to a parallel Constitution and a Criminal Procedure Code

Three major ‘strategies’ have been used in this draft bill on anti-terrorism 2023.which create very great confusion about the meaning of the contents of the proposed law and its implications. Three ‘strategies’ The first of these strategies is not to define the meaning of terrorism. The meaning of the key word of this document is […]

SRI LANKA: Best of Laws and the Worst of Law Enforcement – The IMF and the IGP

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility has approved a fund to assist Sri Lanka at this time of terrible economic crisis. While there are many things to talk about that issue, we wish at the very beginning to highlight what we think is the most important issue that should be brought to the […]

SRI LANKA:Few Reflections on the Sri Lanka’s Independence Day

By Basil Fernando Read the article in Sinhala මෙම ලිපිය සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න As Sri Lanka is to celebrate its 75th anniversary of Independence on the 4th of February, the general reaction of the people around the country this year is one of despondency with serious criticisms about the failure of governance in the country.  The need […]

INDONESIA: Waiting for the follow-up on the State’s regret and acknowledgment of 12 past cases of serious human rights violations

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the President of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Joko Widodo President of the Republic of Indonesia Jl. Veteran No. 16 Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Tel: +62 21 3458 595 Fax: +62 21 3484 4759 Dear Mr. President: INDONESIA: Waiting for the follow-up on the State’s […]

SRI LANKA: Two decisions that expose the utter collapse of rule of law

The decision made by the Canadian government to impose sanctions on two former presidents, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Staff Sergeant, Sunil Ratnayaka, and Lt. Commander, P Hettiarachchi for gross and systematic violations of human rights during the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), and supreme court decision in favour of […]

INDONESIA: Monitoring and Investigation of the Kanjuruhan Stadium Case

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the Federation of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (FEDERASI KontraS) wish to inform you about Preliminary Report on Monitoring and Investigation of the Kanjuruhan Stadium Case I. The condition and capacity of the Kanjuruhan Stadium The Kanjuruhan Stadium is a football Stadium owned by […]

Indonesia: The Government must seriously consider that the enactment of the RKUHP leaves serious problems

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the President of the Republic of Indonesia Mr. Joko Widodo President of the Republic of Indonesia Jalan Veteran No. 16 Jakarta Pusat Indonesia Tel: +62 21 3458 595 Fax: +62 21 3484 4759 Dear Mr. President: Indonesia: The Government must seriously consider that the […]

NEPAL: Ensure dignity, freedom, and justice for all

Statement | Nepal | 10-12-2022

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, 10 December 2022 Nepal successfully conducted its parliamentary election on November 20, 2022. Successful in the sense that many young and energetic faces have been elected in this election. Nepalese voters were fed up and even frustrated with the traditional […]

SRI LANKA: POLICE ON TRIAL: Exercising Authority without Accountability

An article from Daily Mirror forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission • Officers are rarely prosecuted for misconduct, including the brutal use of force on citizens. In rare cases, officers found guilty are given minor disciplinary punishments or given warnings. • The NPC received a total of Rs.127, 764, 000 budgetary allocation in 2018 which was […]

INDONESIA : The non-judicial settlement team for past human rights abuses and its membership’s composition contrary to the international human rights standard

A few weeks ago, President Joko Widodo issued Presidential Decree Number 17 of 2022 concerning the establishment of a non-judicial settlement team for serious past human rights violations. We agree with the statement of the victims of past human rights abuses and their families, namely that the Presidential Decree 17 of 2022 is a means […]

INDONESIA: Stop security approach in Papua Island

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) supports Indonesian civil society organizations under the Coalition of the Civil Society for Security Sector Reform. The security approach in dealing with social and human rights problems in the Papua Island shows a bad impact towards efforts to resolve the social conflict in the Papua Island. Applying this approach […]

BANGLADESH: Government Must Bear Responsibilities if Victims of Enforced Disappearances are Harmed

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has submitted a Written Statement to the 128th Session of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) to be held from 19 September to 28 September 2022. While documenting the cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances the AHRC strictly follows the definition of enforced disappearance […]

BANGLADESH: Independent Investigative Mechanism Needed for Affording Justice to Victims of Enforced Disappearances

A Written Statement to the 51st Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) reiterates the issue of Bangladesh’s unabated enforced disappearances with blanket impunity to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s 51st Regular Session. Halting enforced disappearances in Bangladesh has […]

PHILIPPINES: MY ARREST AND DETENTION FOR CYBERLIBEL

An article from Mr. Walden Bello forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission 17 AUGUST 2022 By Walden Bello On August 8, 2022, officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) arrived at my residence at 62 Moncado Street, BF Homes, Quezon City, to arrest me on charges of two counts of cyberlibel. The arrest was […]

නීතිය මත පාලනය හදුන්වාදීමක්

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to share with you the following video regarding current Sri Lankan situation. Click here to view

SRI LANKA: An emergency means nothing less than ‘legalizing lawlessness’

By Basil Fernando A declaration of emergency means suspensions of all the laws which normally operate within a country for the protection of the people. A declaration of emergency takes away all the basic protections which are considered essential to the normal functioning of the society. Lawlessness is declared to be normal under a period […]

BANGLADESH: Dissidents and Human Rights Defenders Survive Defenselessly

Human rights defenders, dissidents, and political opposition survive in a profoundly dangerous condition of civic space in Bangladesh. The country’s government keeps weaponising draconian laws with impunity to curb civic freedoms of the people. The freedom of peaceful assembly and association and the freedom of expression and opinion are dealt with incarceration by the police, […]

SRI LANKA: Journalists and Protesters Face Arrests, Assaults, and Interrogations as Government Fails to Tackle Economic Crisis

The crisis of major magnitude is taking place in Sri Lanka. The world has not yet taken adequate notice of the impact of an economic downturn as a result of the inability of the government to pay the foreign loans as a result of which it is suffering from the worst financial crisis ever faced […]

SRI LANKA: In Sri Lanka politics is imaginary but corruption is real

By Basil Fernando Politics in Sri Lanka mostly consists of the making of speeches at every place. There is lot of talk in the Parliament and there is also a lot of talk in the media shows. However, no real form of governance is taking place in the country. There is no direct relationship between […]

SRI LANKA: 22nd Amendment Bill – Fundamentals are wrong

By Basil Fernando The amendment of a constitution is a serious task. However, some may argue that it is not such an important task as far as Sri Lanka is concerned. That is because of the most trivialized manner in which Constitutional Amendments have been brought about in Sri Lanka in the recent years. However, […]