Right to food

Contrary to the incumbent government’s electoral promise of doubling farmers’ income, India’s agricultural crisis has deepened, with the farm income growth rate hitting an unprecedented 14-year-low in the last financial quarter of 2018. At 2.67 percent in real terms (constant price), it is the worst growth since October- December 2004. To worsen matters, the nominal […]

Saya sebagai Pemerhati Ham Papua, sangat perihatin dengan situasi pelanggaran Ham di papua di akhir-akhir ini, masyarakat sipil orang asli Papua dan Non Papua hidup dengan penuh rasa takut dan trauma di tanah ini, pembunuhan terjadi di mana-mana terhadap masyarakat sipil. Tindakan (Organisasi Papua Merdeka) OPM juga sangat meresahkan bagi warga pendatang yang ada di […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where the Supreme Court has rejected a challenge to the acquittal of Asia Bibi on blasphemy charges. After repealing her conviction and death sentence last October, the Court was petitioned by Islamists to review the acquittal. That petition was dismissed on Tuesday, and Asia Bibi is finally free. […]

This week Just Asia begins with the Philippines, where rights groups and opposition lawmakers have condemned a bill lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 9 years old. The bill was passed with a 9-1 vote on Monday. According to rights groups, the bill is “not in the best interest” of children, […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a multi- state child sale racket from its partner organization, Aawaj, working in Madhya Pradesh for child rights. Aawaj members played a crucial role in uncovering the racket by acting as decoy customers, and working with the police. In a strange twist however, […]

Despite repeated DENIAL by the authorities and their attempts to pass on such deaths as deaths by illness, 2 more hunger deaths in Jharkhand have been reported over the last month. This takes the total to 17 since September 2017. The report stated that Kaleshwar Soren (45), a resident of Dumka district and Seeta Devi (75) of […]

The United Nations Development Programme’s recently released 2018 Multi- dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) lauds India for a massive reduction in multi-dimensional poverty in the country. The MPI goes beyond looking merely at income to understand how people experience poverty. It uses key dimensions like health, education, access to basic amenities and living standards and gives 10 indicators […]

Sri Lanka repeatedly tops the ranks in South Asia when it comes to hunger. It in fact has mostly sat with the much better doings middle-income countries in global hunger indexes. Not any more despite the fact that it was found to be the most food-safe country in South Asia in the 2017 Global Hunger […]

Since late July 2018 Kerala started receiving unusually high rainfall (a total of 3,368 mm rainfall in this monsoon). This was initially ignored, as this southern-most state is a frequent recipient of torrential rains. With time however, matters worsened and for the first time in history, 35 out of 42 dams in Kerala had to […]

This week Just Asia begins with India, where two police officers have been awarded the death penalty for the custodial torture and death of 27-year-old Udaya Kumara in Kerala in 2005. For more than 10 years, Udaya’s mother was steadfast in her pursuit of justice. Udaya’s case is a reminder not only of police brutality […]

The deaths of three girls aged eight, four and two from prolonged starvation hascaused much shock and uproar throughout India. This is largely because the deaths took place in New Delhi, the national capital, as well as because the autopsy report found that the children had not eaten anything for eight days straight. The girls had not eaten […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned at the deteriorating health of Dr. Govinda KC, who has been on an indefinite hunger strike in Jumla district since 30 June 2018. Dr. KC, a senior orthopedic surgeon, is seeking reforms in the country’s medical education sector. In particular, he is demanding the enactment of a […]

Growth has remained the buzzword in Indian polity for decades now. It started after the unprecedented economic crisis that the country faced in early 1990s and never really went away after that. It, rather, almost consumed the other big word- development, which now returns to election rallies and then disappears again until the next elections. […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) regarding a customary land dispute between Bintuni Agro Prima Perkasa Company and the Mpur Tribe in Tambrauw Regency, West Papua province. The company did not inform or seek consent of the local tribe regarding its project […]

Despite all the tall claims of development by authorities in India, the data from Government bodies shows that there are little, if any, improvements in tackling alarmingly high levels of malnutrition. Add to this the worrisome fact of a sharp increase in the indebtedness of households and the situation becomes even bleaker. The data from […]

By Avinash Pandey In other times Jyoti could have gotten at least a little outrage for her, often all poor and the marginalized get in the country after such tragedies inflicted upon them. Alas, the country is busy over outraging the USD 1.7 billion fraud, and counting, that the Punjab National Bank has complained Nirav […]

President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to the nation, like most of his predecessors at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, took note of persistence of hunger and malnutrition in the country, even more so among the children. He did note that though the republic has made progress in tackling hunger, yet several challenges remain. In his own words […]

Going by the human rights situation across the world, 2017 has not been a particularly good year. Despots were ‘elected’ in many countries, old armed conflicts continued while new conflicts began, and those defending human rights faced increased threats and harassment. 2017 was also the year that saw hunger levels rising—even if only slightly—after decades […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from Shahri Mazdoor Sangthan about a continuous harassment by Police. They forced Indramal Bai, a tribal woman from the Pardhi community, (earlier listed by the British as a habitual criminal tribe), to commit suicide by immolating herself. The cops, identified as Rameshwar Yadav, Sandeep […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where the Corruption Eradication Commission finally secured the arrest of Parliament Speaker Mr. Setya Novanto. Novanto is a suspect in the national electronic identity card scheme case, having caused losses of IDR 2.3 trillion. Next, Pakistan observed Universal Children’s Day on November 20 as a mere formality, while […]