Minorities

INDONESIA: Student in West Papua tortured and ill-treated by police officers

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from our local partner in Papua about the torture and ill-treatment of a high school student, Yunus Manauri, in Teluk Wondama regency, West Papua province. After Yunus refused to hand over his motorcycle for not having the vehicle’s document as well as a driving […]

NEPAL नेपाल: राज्यको प्राथमिकतामा पर्दैन जातीय विभेद

Article | Nepal | 06-10-2017

रक्षाराम हरिजन नेपालको सार्वभौम संसदले देशलाई छुवाछुत मुक्त राष्ट्र घोषणा गरेको एक दशक पूरा भइसकेको छ । वि. सं. २०६३ जेठ २१ गते संसदले नेपाललाई छुवाछुत मुक्त घोषणा गरेको थियो । तर छुवाछुत मुक्त घोषणा कागजमा मात्रै सिमित रहेको देखिन्छ किनभने जात, वंश, समुदाय वा पेशाका आधारमा हुने छुवाछुत तथा जातीय भेदभावको घटनामा खासै कमी […]

PAKISTAN: Biased textbooks glorify false researches against non-Muslims

An article from Daily Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Salman Ali One sided history, false references, half-truths and a biased approach — this is what you will find in Pakistani textbooks. The curriculum that we are currently using in schools and colleges is simply outdated, and does not meet the local needs […]

MYANMAR/INDIA: The escalation of the Rohingya crisis requires a humane reaction from the Indian state

Statement | India | 25-09-2017

In August 2017, the government of India had termed Rohingya refugees residing in India as “illegal immigrants”, and had conveyed its intention to deport them. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has previously condemned the genocide of Rohingya Muslims at the hands of Myanmarese security forces, as well as the proposed deportation of Rohingya refugees. While it has been […]

NEPAL: Dalit family beaten and son abducted after inter-caste marriage

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a Dalit family was beaten at midnight on 10 September 2017 by non-Dalits, after the 25-year-old son married a non-Dalit girl. Bal Bahadur married Ms. Ramma Shahi, a non-Dalit girl of Chadung, Dullu Municipality of Dailekh District, on 28 June 2017. The girl’s […]

WORLD: Many senior officials and diplomats indulge in attacks against the human rights mechanisms, or deny the existence of serious violations

A Statement from Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the United Nations forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission Darker and more dangerous: High Commissioner updates the Human Rights Council on human rights issues in 40 countries Human Rights Council 36th session Opening Statement by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High […]

NEPAL: Dalit family beaten after protesting overcharged fertilizer

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about Ram Kishor Harijan and his son Parikshan Harijan. They had been beaten by non-Dalits Mohan Prasad Yadav and his son Niraj Yadav. They were buying chemical fertilizer at the local cooperative, which sells at a discounted governmental price. The feud began after the […]

AHRC TV: Rohingya flee more violence in Rakhine and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 186

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where fighting has broken out once again in the state of Rakhine. Clashes between Burmese security forces and Rohingya militants have led to some 89 people killed, including 12 security force personnel. This is the worst violence to hit the area since October 2016, when a military crackdown […]

INDIA/BURMA: Do not deport Rohingya and other refugees living in India

Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic group belonging to Burma, are considered the most severely persecuted people in the world. The majority of Burma’s 800,000 strong, Muslim populace, identifies as Rohingya and have faced severe discrimination in this Buddhist-majority nation. Rohingyas are routinely denied basic rights to healthcare and livelihood. By the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law they […]

INDONESIA: Stop unlawful deprivation of liberty against Indigenous Papuans

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) condemns the unlawful deprivation of liberty of Papuans which has occurred frequently of late. The AHRC has learned that the Indonesian Security Forces have been using excessive force and flaunting their authority to illegally arrest indigenous Papuans. They are simply exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion […]

INDIA/WORLD: Release female Indian Migrant Worker and others of various nationalities trafficked and illegally Confined in Abu Dhabi

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Alternate Law Forum (ALF), Bangalore, concerning the plight of migrant workers in Abu Dhabi, particularly an Indian woman. Thousands of Indian migrant workers in the Middle East region suffer from deprivation of liberty and inhuman working conditions, and often do not have […]

INDIA: Alleged extra-judicial killing of a civilian by Border Security Force officers in West Bengal

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM, our partner organization in West Bengal. It concerns the enforced disappearance of a civilian at the hands of Border Security Force (BSF) officers at the Indo-Bangladesh border. In the span of a decade, there have been over 1,000 civilian deaths at the […]

INDONESIA: Torture occurs repeatedly as perpetrators enjoy impunity

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) on the occasion of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture Torture remains a serious problem in Indonesia, even after 18 years of police and legal reform. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has noted some fundamental problems that prevent the elimination of torture in […]

INDIA: Release Rohingya Muslims languishing in Bengal prisons

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information from its partner organization, MASUM in West Bengal regarding the abuse of Rohingya Muslims in Bengal. They have fled their homes in Burma to escape the violence and human rights abuses but have been arrested on charges of coming into India without documentation. […]

SRI LANKA: Civil Society Joint Statement in support of Lakshan Dias to continue his work on raising awareness on the attacks on minority religions

Civil Society Joint Statement in Support of Lakshan Dias forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission We are appalled by the recent threats made by the Justice Minister, Mr Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, to remove Mr. LakshanDias from practising as a lawyer over comments made regarding the attacks on Christian places of worship in the country. We […]

AHRC TV: Civilian casualties in wake of Philippines’ martial law and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 173

This week Just Asia begins with civilian casualties in the aftermath of martial law imposed in Mindanao, Philippines. One ethnic Moro resident was killed in North Cotabato due to aerial bombings, and at least two farmers were illegally arrested in Maragusan, Compostela Valley. There are concerns that martial law will empower the military to supersede […]

AHRC TV: Indian judgments spotlight arbitrary nature of death penalty sentencing and other stories in JUST ASIA, Episode 170

This week Just Asia begins with the arbitrariness of the ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine in India regarding the death penalty. The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty awarded to four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case on May 5. Another judgment in the same week was passed in the 2002 Bilkis […]

BANGLADESH/WORLD: Establishing effective governance is way to stop refugee flow out of the country

Two recent reports prove the predictions that the Asian Human Rights Commission has been making for several years, that Bangladesh is likely to become a major refugee producing country in the Asian region. The UK basedIndependent published a report on 5 May 2017, with the title “Bangladesh is now the single biggest country of origin for refugees on boats as new route to Europe […]

INDONESIA: GOVERNMENT SHOULD DROP THE BLASPHEMY LAW

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned about the implementation of The Blasphemy Law Number 1/PNPS/1965 on the Prevention of “Religious Abuse and/or Defamation. In many cases, the police investigators and prosecutors still apply article 156 and 156a of the Indonesian Penal Code to indict accused persons. Recently, the North Jakarta district court sentenced […]

PAKISTAN: Four Ahmadis gun downed with impunity during the first five months of 2017

In the last 60 days, five Ahmadis, including a woman professor were shot dead. One person was shot and injured in a calculated manner in order to eliminate Ahmadis from the country. For many decades the Ahmadi places of worship (mosques), houses, cemeteries, clinics and educational institutions were attacked and many professionals murdered. On May […]