Poverty & adequate standard of living

BANGLADESH: State appears bankrupt in protecting rights

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 International Human Rights Day is going to be ‘observed’ in Bangladesh amidst numerous victims facing gross abuses of human rights without an access to legal remedies from the existing criminal justice system. On the eve […]

NEPAL: Commitments to accountability and justice continue to be jeopardized in 2011

Statement | Nepal | 07-12-2011

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the 63rd Human Rights Day, the Asian Human Rights Commission is releasing its annual report on the state of human rights protection in Nepal through 2011. The report is available here. Given […]

INDONESIA: Human Rights in 2011 – The Decay of Pancasila and Constitutional Protections

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the Occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, December 10, 2011 the AHRC publishes its annual report on the State of Human Rights in Indonesia in 2011. The full report will be made available […]

INDIA: 685-crore Dalit park, a Bokkasan style monstrosity

Statement | India | 14-10-2011

At 5 pm Indian standard time today (14 October), the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Ms Mayawati, will inaugurate a park in Noida, that Mayawati claims is a Dalit memorial to symbolise Dalit liberation and power in India. Noida is close to New Delhi, the national capital. It is reported that the park, constructed at […]

INDIA: Police force a child to gather severed human parts in Indore

Statement | India | 05-10-2011

A Joint Statement by Vikas Samvad and the Asian Human Rights Commission Despicable it might be, yet it is a relatively irrelevant incident in India. The latest is the case of Firoz, a 12-year-old boy who is now reportedly suffering from serious psychological trauma after being forced by a Head Constable of the Railway Protection […]

INDIA: The administration must conduct effective investigations and monitoring to eradicate malnutrition and hunger faced by the Mawasi tribe

[RE: AHRC-HAC-009-2010: India: Five children of Mawasi tribe currently suffering from malnutrition in the village where seven children died of malnutrition in 2008-09] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received a letter from the Indian government dated April 28, 2011 in response to the AHRC Hunger Alert Case (AHRC-HAC-009-2010) reported on November 9, […]

INDONESIA: West Papua — Violence against indigenous women

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article written by Fien Jarangga & Galuh Wandita. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from Fien Jarangga & Galuh Wandita, Cultural Survival – Spring 2011 forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDONESIA: West Papua — Violence against indigenous women Fien Jarangga coordinates […]

PAKISTAN: Military threatens food security of farmers by illegal land grabbing in Punjab

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that the food security of peasants in the Punjab has been threatened by illegal land grabbing by the military for decades. The peasants have been cultivating the land from their forefathers who were asked to settle and cultivate the land in 1913. However, the military-run […]

INDIA: Caste-based discrimination and corruption pushing 83 families to death in Orissa

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information that 83 Dalit families of Ranapada village have been deprived of their food security by non-Dalits from about 54 neighboring villages. It is reported that the reason for the aggressive discrimination against the Bauri families (Dalits) is because three women from Bauri community […]

SOUTH KOREA: Two human rights defenders received sentences for helping the victims of eviction

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has obtained the details of the judgment in which two human rights defenders Mr. Park Lae-Gun and Mr. Lee Jong-Hoi were given a three-year and one month jail sentence suspended for four years and a two-year jail sentence suspended for three years respectively. They played a role […]

PAKISTAN: State of poverty and food sovereignty in South Asia

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following article written by Mr. Farooq Tariq. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- An article from Mr. Farooq Tariq forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By: Farooq Tariq (The paper was read at the South Asian parliamentary round table Caucus held in Islamabad in […]

PAKISTAN: The villages of fisher folk are being grabbed by powerful persons from the ruling party

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the land mafia from the ruling party is occupying the villages of fisher folk by using force and destroying the eco system of the coast by earth filling in the sea and cutting the mangrove forests. One infamous land grabber, Mr. Haji Muhammad […]

INDIA: Urgent actions required to address the situation of the homeless during winter

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Supreme Court Commissioners on the question of the Right to Food in India concerning the homeless persons living in the national capital, New Delhi. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from Supreme Court Commissioners forwarded by the Asian Human […]

SRI LANKA: New Year Wish List – 2011

We hope that wishing for a happy new year in Sri Lanka is not just mere wishful thinking. We wish: 1. That Rizana Nafeek, facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia, will be released as soon as possible. This wish can become true only if the Sri Lankan government makes all the diplomatic efforts to […]

ASIA: Christmas and New Year Wishes from the Asian Human Rights Commission

The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year. In all countries of Asia, this Christmas and new year will be celebrated in very difficult conditions. We extend our wishes to all families who are struggling in the midst of these difficulties to fight for their rights. We particularly […]

INDIA: Eight malnourished Indian children of the Kol tribe face death in the Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Samaj Chetna Adhikar Manch regarding eight malnourished children of the Kol tribe in the Rewa district. Since 2009 the AHRC has been reporting on the gravity of child malnutrition and food insecurity in the area (HAC-008-2009 and HAC-007-2009). It was reported that 80 percent of […]

SOUTH KOREA/INDIA: The one who Prime Minister Singh should meet are people in India and South Korea!

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Korean civil society groups. Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- A Statement from the Korean civil society groups forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission The Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, visit Seoul to participate in the G20 summit. It […]

BURMA: Interview with Mr. Basil Fernando on torture of the poor and related issues

Q: What was your purpose in writing the book ‘Torture of the Poor?’ Why do we talk about torture and poverty? A: Because in the real world, particularly in less developed countries, we can see that poverty and the torture are linked. Q: How are they linked? A: First of all, the majority of people […]

INDIA: A Mother and her six month old child face food and health insecurity under bonded labour

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a mother and her six month old child are currently facing food and health insecurity caused by bonded labour. The family living in the Balangir district of Orissa regularly migrated to Bangalore for the last two years to earn their daily food by […]

INDONESIA: The WISE women of Jakarta

The WISE project started its second leg in Jakarta on August 2nd and with only 9 days to train and create a video – it was bound to be a challenge from the start. The women were all drawn from different backgrounds, ex-drug users, ex-sex workers, some were living with HIV, some were trans-gendered and […]