Prosecution system

An article from the Kathmandu Post forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission I am a Chhetri man, born and raised in Kathmandu. Today, the new constitution of the Federal Republic of Nepal will be officially promulgated and it is my constitution – it has been drafted by people who share my gender, my complexion, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has repeatedly raised the alarm against the killings in Terai; however, they fail to stop. The police have again opened fire, this time on 15 September, a market day. The police firings have resulted in four innocent citizens in Bethari, Bhairahawa town, Rupandehi District being killed. The mentality of […]

This week’s Roundup will focus on initiatives for police reform in South Asia. The episode begins in Nepal where on-going instability in the Terai in the last 2 months has provided ample examples for the urgent need of police reform. Nepal’s dysfunctional, incompetent, violent, and corrupt police institution reflects the norm in the South Asian […]

The rights of tribal people and other forest dwelling communities are set to be assaulted again, as the Indian government is warming up to the to the idea of public private partnerships in forest management. Though the details of the proposal are still unclear, a report in the Hindustan Times suggest that the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate […]

September 15 is commemorated throughout the world as the international day of democracy. Yet, for a majority of Asians, true representative democracy remains an illusion.  The “elected dictatorship” most often in practice in these regions allows the people to vote once in four or five years, but they have no say in decision-making process, matters […]

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, abandoned the practices of the previous government delegations to the UN Human Rights Council in the recent years, has frankly admitted before the Council the mistakes of the past and the weaknesses of the Sri Lankan institutions. Previous delegations came with the sole purpose of denying all allegations […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned to have learned that Pravit Rojanaphruk, journalist for the Nation newspaper and freedom of expression advocate, is being detained in an undisclosed location by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). The conditions of his detention are arbitrary and a clear derogation of the Government […]

An Article published in the Hong Kong Free Press, on 11th September 2015, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission By Basil Fernando Perhaps the most touching moment broadcast through international media in recent times is the warm welcome people fleeing Syria through Hungary received from large German crowds on arrival. When citizens of one country […]

September 11, 2012 will remain etched in the collective memory of Pakistan. On that day 259 labourers were burned alive inside a garment factory. The incident is unprecedented in the industrial history of Pakistan, and was termed a 9/11 for the laboring class of Pakistan. The fire was caused by a short circuit and quickly […]

The practice of untouchability being a criminal offence did not deter ‘upper caste’ villagers in Sigaranahalli in Holenarsipur Taluk of Karnataka from mercilessly driving out four Dalit women who dared to enter a local Hindu temple. It did not deter them from fining the women with 10,000 rupees (about $150 USD) for a crime they, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about the prolonged general strike that has made life very difficult in the southern plains of Nepal. Curfews have been set in Terai Districts to deter any untoward incidents. There is severe shortage of essentials and medicines. Shops and factories are closed. Daily wage earners have difficulty […]

Article on 3rd anniversary of the fire at two factories where 325 workers were burnt alive Abbas Haider Occupational Safety and Health (OHS) has become a focus of workers organizations and media in Pakistan following the two factory fires that resulted in the death of more than 325 workers in September 2012. These accidents were […]

A Statement from Hong Kong Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines (HKCAHRPP) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission As human rights and peace advocates in Hong Kong, we are outraged by the spate of killings perpetrated against the lumads (indigenous people) in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. The heightened militarisation […]

A new wave of target killings of journalists and attacking on the media houses have again started. With in the span of 24 hours two media persons were killed by, as usual, “unknown persons”. The score comes to five during the current year. According to Dunya Tv during the last five years 65 journalists were […]

An Article published in the Ceylon Today, on 9th September 2015, forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission BY Ruwan Laknath Jayakody All observers agree that policemen in Sri Lanka are poorly paid, poorly equipped and very poorly trained, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) explained. Director of Policy and Programmes of the AHRC and the […]

The number of hangings in Pakistan has already crossed the 200 mark in 2015, and there are still about four months left in the year. If killing human beings were a race, Pakistan is winning hands down. And still there is room for improvement. An estimated 8,000 people, the largest in the world, are on […]

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 E-mail: webmaster@setneg.go.id Dear President Widodo: On 7 September 2004, the Intelligence Agency (BIN) killed prominent Indonesian human rights defender, Mr. Munir Said Thalib, onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta […]

Iqbal Ahmed Detho The debate around legislating child protection laws and creating institutional mechanisms has got sympathetic constituency both among public and policy makers after the gory incident of raping the children and making their videos in Kasur, Punjab. Before this incident became public, Federal Government had moved a draft bill in the parliament for […]

Kishali Pinto Jayawardena One might easily be lulled into a sense of complacency for having kept the barbarians at bay, first in Sri Lanka’s presidential polls in January this year and then most decisively in last month’s general elections. Striking a cautious note Heartening signs are certainly evident such as the assumption of the United […]

Who will account for the death of three year old Aylan whose dead body was washed up at the Aegean beach in Turkey, the photo of the toddler called upon world’s conscience. The photo that went viral over social media sparked a fresh debate on the Syrian refugees facing civil strife since 2011. As mentioned […]