Land rights

UPDATE (Cambodia): Misery of homeless tenants continues unabated

[RE: UA-148-2006: CAMBODIA: Poor tenants brutally forced out of homes; UP-108-2006: CAMBODIA: Inhumane treatment of poor tenants forcibly displaced] ———————————– CAMBODIA: Forced eviction; denial of right to housing; inhumane treatment ———————————– Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the continued cruel and degrading treatment of poor homeless tenants by the Cambodian authorities […]

UPDATE (Pakistan): Karachi Government has announced to make way for Lyari Expressway at all cost

[Re: HA-01-2006: PAKISTAN: City Government forces eviction leaving thousands homeless and without food in Karachi; UP-073-2006: PAKISTAN: Violence imminent over Lyari Expressway construction in Karachi] ——————————————- UP-104-2006: PAKISTAN: Karachi Government has announced to make way for Lyari Expressway at all cost PAKISTAN: Forced eviction; right to housing; right to life; abject poverty ——————————————- Dear friends, […]

CAMBODIA: Poor tenants brutally forced out of homes

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly condemns the brutal eviction and destruction of homes and property of over 1000 families by the authorities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The eviction began on May 3 and has continued today, May 4. Humanitarian groups have been denied access to the evicted persons, who have been […]

NEPAL: Supreme Court ruling on the Royal Commission for Corruption Control and the release of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba welcomed

Statement | Nepal | 14-02-2006

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on Monday February 13, 2006, which declared the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) unconstitutional and ordered it to be scrapped immediately. This has paved the way for the release of ousted Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had […]

UPDATE (Bangladesh): Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in Chapainawabganj

[RE: UP-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Three persons tortured by the Chapainawabganj police; UA-041-2006: BANGLADESH: Eight people killed and at least one hundred injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district; UA-013-2006: BANGLADESH: Two people killed and thirty-five injured by police fire in Chapainawabganj district] ———————————– UP-016-2006: BANGLADESH: Three detained and tortured leaders have been released from prison in […]

PAKISTAN: City government forces eviction leaving thousands homeless and without food in Karachi

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction of thousands of households in Rehmatya colony by Karachi City Government officials. The colony, which also houses one Hindu community, was destroyed without warning to make way for the construction of the Lyari Expressway. Only a small number of families […]

INDONESIA: Forced eviction renders hundreds homeless and threatens security of others

Dear friends, It has come to the attention of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that on 11 January 2006, approximately 125 semi-permanent houses were bulldozed by the local authorities, evicting 140 families from their homes in Kampung Melayu, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, Indonesia. This incident is the latest in a series of forced evictions related […]

INDONESIA: Hundreds of villagers forcibly evicted in Southeast Sulawesi

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the forced eviction of hundreds of villagers and the destruction and burning of houses in Kontu Village, Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi. On 29 November 2005, police began forcibly evicting people in Kontu village despite their protests. On November 30, police destroyed three village […]

SOUTH KOREA: Police brutality against protesting farmers must end

In recent weeks, there have been numerous protests by Korean farmers against the government’s liberalization policies. These have been dealt with by riot police in a brutal and violent manner, causing severe injuries. One farmer has even died due to the seriousness of his injuries: 43-year-old Jeon Young-Cheol died on November 24, 2005 after being […]

UPDATE (Saudi Arabia/Sri Lanka): Renewed plea for commuting the death sentence of Sri Lankan men to the new King of Saudi Arabia

[RE: UP-43-2005: SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Questions remain in Sri Lanka’s willingness to save three of its citizens; UP-39-2005: Three Sri Lankans face imminent execution in Saudi Arabia; UP-38-2005: SAUDI ARABIA/SRI LANKA: Please send a letter to the King of Saudi Arabia urging his intervention to commute the death sentence of three Sri Lankans; UP-34-2005: Death […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Police’s deliberate inaction in a labour case is in violation of court orders

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding 73 workers from the Orex Factory in Ekala, Jaela, Sri Lanka, who were unlawfully dismissed after the owner arbitrarily closed down the factory in 2002. The AHRC previously reported that the owner, Mohamed Mohamed Izzath deprived his workers of the Employees Trust […]

INDIA: Human rights defender physically assaulted, threatened and detained by government officials

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information through its local partner MASUM in West Bengal that Mr. Gopen Sharma, a human rights activist was illegally detained, threatened and assaulted by the officers at the Block Development Office in Jalangi, Murshidabad District, West Bengal. Mr. Sharma was, at the time of the […]

UPDATE (India): No compensation to family of adivasi, murdered by forest official, despite a four year wait

[Re: UA- 50 -2005: INDIA: Three and a half year wait for justice for the brutal murder of an Adivasi (tribal person) by a forest official in Gujarat] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information on the case of Manishbhai Motibhai Vasava (30), an adivasi who was murdered by an Indian […]

UPDATE (Philippines): Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor requested Davao city government to take action for 127 families forcibly evicted in the city

[RE: UA-152-2004:  PHILIPPINES: 127 families lost their homes due to illegal demolition in Davao City on 15 November 2004] Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the continuous inaction of the City government of Davao to comply to its ‘certification (proof) of availability of resettlement and relocation’ for the 127 […]

UPDATE (Philippines): Updates on the 127 families forcibly evicted in Davao City, Mindanao

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you that no action has yet been taken to compensate or relocate victims of the illegal demolition that took place in Dacudao Compound in Davao City last October and November 2004 (see further: UA-152-2004). Under the Philippines domestic law, executive order no.152 states, “designating the […]

PHILIPPINES: 127 families lost their homes due to illegal demolition in Davao City

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP)-Mindanao, a human rights organization, regarding an illegal demolition by Dacudao & Sons that took place in Dacudao Compound, Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines on 19 October 2004 and on 4 November 2004. Having nowhere else to […]

SRI LANKA: A man tortured and prosecuted with false charges by the Samanalaweva Police Post

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man named Heeralu Mohottalalage Punchi Banda (39) was illegally arrested and tortured by the Sub Inspector (S.I.) Dhammika Bandara of Samanalaweva Police Post in Balangoda on 26 August 2004. Due to brutal torture, the victim still suffers from severe pain on his […]

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Urban Development Authority ignores National Human Rights Commission recommendations for Oliyamulla evictees

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that in spite of recommendations issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Sri Lanka February 2004 in favor of the evicted people of Oliyamulla, Wattala, nothing has been done to implement the recommendations. The Commission recommended that the Urban Development Authority provide the […]

UPDATE (India): Please send a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra calling for right to land for Adivasi people

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received an email from John P. Abraham, who is involved in the campaign that fights for the rights of the indigenous Adivasi tribals in India, calling for your urgent solidarity on this matter.  In his email, John P. Adraham said, “Once again we are approaching you with […]

PAKISTAN: A young woman killed by her husband on the pretext of honour killing

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 30-year-old woman named Ms. Hidayat was allegedly killed by her husband, Mr. Momin Ali Mahar in Dal village, Lakhi Ghulam Shah Town, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan on 29 February 2004. The case was registered at the Chak Police Station. However, a human […]