Poverty & adequate standard of living

UPDATE (Philippines): A villager died due to lack of food and access to medical treatment due to extreme poverty

[RE: AHRC-HAG-001-2009: PHILIPPINES: Landless farm labourers in Davao suffer from hunger and extreme poverty] Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform that an impoverished villager died on July 25, 2010. The family had been suffering from lack of food and could not afford to take the deceased to the hospital before […]

BANGLADESH: Extremely poor elderly are denied their right to life with dignity, deprived of food and health security in Gaibandha district

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information regarding the elderly suffering from food and health insecurity in Northern Bangladesh, which was initially reported in case (AHRC-HAG-002-2010). Four elderly have been denied their right to adequate food and health care, despite being eligible to receive benefits from the social security programs […]

PAKISTAN: Over hundred houses of labourers were demolished on the instruction of a Minister; a journalist was shot and severely injured

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that more than 108 houses in Toba Tek district, Punjab province, have been illegally demolished by the provincial Department of Revenue with the help of the police. A journalist was injured by a gunshot from the henchmen of the land grabbers. 68 displaced persons […]

INDIA: Country celebrates the 61st day of successful oppression in Manipur

Statement | India | 11-06-2010

Today, the Union Home Ministry, the Chief Ministers of Manipur and Nagaland and a handful of Naga and Meitei nationalists are celebrating the 61st day of their successful enforcement of an indefinite economic blockade organised against the ordinary people living in Manipur state. In tribute to the strenuous effort of the All Naga Students Association […]

PAKISTAN: Half of the population is exposed to food insecurity because of bad governance and abuses.

Julia Lemétayer The Pakistani people are increasingly vulnerable to food insecurity because of the government’s bad governance and its lack of political will to tackle hunger. According to the Global Hunger Index (GHI) prepared by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Pakistan is one of the most food-insecure countries in Asia. Causes of food […]

PHILIPPINES: Negros and its people through my eyes–control begins at childhood (Part 2)

Danilo Reyes From the moment a child is born into a family of sugarcane workers he becomes an object of control in his society, community and even in his own family. For such a long time now the lives of the people have revolved around sugarcane planting and production that it is naturally assumed any […]

PHILIPPINES: Negros Island and its people through my eyes (Part 1)

Danilo Reyes I am not a Negrense, a term that refers to the inhabitants of the island of Negros. I am a Filipino but have never been to Negros until recently. While I can speak Cebuano, the language spoken in the eastern part of the island, Negros Oriental; the Hiligaynon language spoken in the western […]

PHILIPPINES: 28 families are exposed to life insecurity after their houses and farms are illegally demolished by the Sheriff in Mindanao

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Task Force Detainees of the Philippines-Mindanao (TFDP) that the houses and properties, including the farms and trees of 28 families (137 villagers) were illegally demolished from the land they had lived on for more than 50 years in Bukidnon Province, Mindanao. The sheriff […]

UPDATE (Pakistan): A Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh province spreads terror in Nagar Makan village ; a villager is abused

Dear friends, The Special Assistant to the Chief Minister of Sindh province and his henchmen keep spreading terror among the villagers, grabbing land, stealing crops and abusing them. The Minister interfered in the enquiry against his special assistant by transferring the enquiry officer from his post. He also restored the former investigation officer as station […]

INDIA: Extreme starvation claims five lives of a tribal family in Orissa

Dear friends, The Asia Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that extreme poverty and long-term starvation lead to the death of five members including two children under age of six of the same family of a tribal community from September to December 2009. It is also reported that within the last two years […]

SOUTH KOREA: Seoul city fails to respect and protect the right to adequate housing leading a tenant’s suicide

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-STM-253-2009 December 18, 2009 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission SOUTH KOREA: Seoul city fails to respect and protect the right to adequate housing leading a tenant’s suicide On 2 December 2009, 66 year-old man, Mr. Kim committed suicide. He lived in a Yong Gang apartment which was in the […]

SOUTH KOREA: Call for an enactment of the legislation on the provision of temporary housing for the displaced

Dear friends, We wish to share with you the following statement from the Headquarters for the enactment of the legislation on the provision of temporary housing for the displaced in Seoungdong-gu. The statement was translated into English and edited by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE […]

INDONESIA: Dozens are injured in police attacks during protests against alleged land grabbing

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Right Commission (AHRC) has been informed that the Indonesian police shot at, arrested and intimidated peasants who were protesting against the alleged illegal occupation of their land by a government-owned plantation company. The land workers have been protesting regularly for years, but rather than address their concerns, the local authorities […]

BANGLADESH: Around 30 lower caste families in the Hindu community face eviction in Chittagong

Dear friends,  The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the eviction risk faced by around 300 people of a lower caste Hindu community in Chittagong, without adequate compensation or rehabilitation being arranged. The land will be seized for the government-led Patiya Bypass project, yet the community is very poor and residents have not […]

PHILIPPINES: Three people die, including a 7-year-old boy, when policemen illegally demolish shanties of informal settlers

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you that three persons have been killed, including a 7-year-old boy, when a group of policemen opened fire at the informal settlers who resisted an illegal demolition in Pasay City. When the demolition was carried out the demolition team had no valid court […]

INDIA: 6000 slum dwellers evicted and denied resettlement in West Bengal

Sir, In a brutal eviction drive, to uproot nearly 6000 slum dwellers in the vicinity of Eastern Bypass, Kolkata and demolishment of their 1200 shanties for a suggested ‘beautification’ and ‘development’ programme took place by the personnel of Bidhan Nagar Police Station and Rapid Action Force (RAF) on 04/10/2009 from 6 to 10 a.m., the […]

INDIA: Corruption and neglect excludes the poor and migrants Below the Poverty Line (BPL) families

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to draw your attention to the corruption that is excluding the poor from Below the Poverty Line (BPL) family list. BPL families are expected to receive benefits from government programmes guaranteeing the right to food. The human rights organization, SPREAD based in Koraput District, Orissa […]

PHILIPPINES: An urban poor leader and her son killed for defending their dwelling

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) deeply regrets to inform you of the death by shooting of an urban poor leader and her son in Quezon City, Metro Manila on October 9, 2009. The victims were shot at close range by security guards when they tried to prevent them from fencing off their […]

PAKISTAN: The special assistant to a chief minister and policemen attack villagers to grab land killing three persons

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the special assistant to the chief minister of Sindh, Mr. Ismail Dahri, in the company of several policemen attacked villagers in Nawab Shah district on the nights of September 26 and 27, to forcibly evict them from their land. Mr. Dahri, a close […]

INDIA: Villagers die of hunger due to corruption in public food distribution and lack of livelihood in Bihar

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information regarding the deaths of five villagers of hunger from the Hunger Free Bihar Campaign, a human rights group working on right to food in Bihar. According to the report, three of the deceased villagers had not received benefits from the public services to […]