Right to food

What should the government do when farmers commit suicide in an extreme response to massive crop failures? Mocking these suicides would certainly not figure as a possible response in any sane mind. But that is exactly what Chief Minister of Maharashtra did when alerted to 22 more farmers ending their lives as noted by the […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received disturbing information regarding 193 children starving to death in Thar district of Pakistan. The authorities have conceded half of the number while trying to attribute them to different diseases but independent sources have conclusive evidence that they are all caused by extreme poverty, chronic shortage […]

Every Pakistani is well aware of terrorism, unemployment, inflation, injustice, forced labour, disappearances, blasphemy against minorities, discrimination against women, custodial deaths, torture and so on as these are the challenges they are face on a daily basis in their lives. Now there is another challenge for impoverished Pakistanis: famine; like the conditions faced in the […]

“RIZAL Park is not for sale. RIZAL Park is for the people.” This is the statement of Defend Job Philippines in the midst of a looming privatization plan for Luneta Park. On February 6, 2014, a Public consultation on the Master Planning of the Rizal Park Complex, Manila (Luneta Park) as a flagship Tourism Enterprise […]

PRESS CONFERENCE “A WEEK THAT SHOOK CAMBODIA” Release of the Fact-finding Mission Report on the Violent Crackdown on Garment Workers in Cambodia (Dec 2013-Jan 2014) The garment industry has been the chief engine of the Cambodian economy for the past two decades since its establishment in 1994. However, garment workers still account for a large […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the allegedly illegal and unjust dismissal of more than 100 production workers in the Mamplasan, Binan, Laguna Plant. The information from Defend Job Philippines and Nagkakaisang Manggagawa sa Print Town (United Workers in Print Town) also documents the pitiable livening and working conditions […]

The Supreme Court of India has directed the Union Government to take adequate measures to guarantee the safety of the people from the northeast, in the rest of the country against alleged racial discrimination. The court issued the directive while hearing a public interest litigation filed in court, following a series of incidents, where people […]

Defend Job Philippines joins and supports the people’s protest today in many parts of Metro Manila to show condemnation on the P4.15/kWh power rate hike by the Manila Electric Company or MERALCO. Their group joins the contingent of workers in Plaza Salamanca, Taft Avenue corner Kalaw St. which will march to the Supreme Court of […]

Widespread prevalence of hunger in India is no secret. Neither is complete inaction in making efforts to eradicate hunger recognised as a national shame by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and as the biggest humiliation by President Pranab Mukherjee. Had there been a resolute effort, it would have shown in arresting hunger that is continuing […]

Hello Uncle, I am Parvati. I am from Majha village from Panna block of Panna district. The moment I said Panna, your mind must have registered the emerald mines that the place is famous for. I can perceive the same glee in your eyes as I had seen in the eyes of some of the […]

We, the Cambodian and International Civil Society Organizations represented in this statement, condemn the use of armed force and escalating violence against the Cambodian people. At the start of 2014, following three weeks of peaceful demonstrations in Phnom Penh, tensions increased dramatically as authorities brutally cracked down on garment factory workers, who were demonstrating for […]

Shame shadows Bangladesh again. Numerous attacks have been waged on the Hindu community across Bangladesh in the wake of the January 5th general ‘election’. Houses and business establishments owned by Hindus have been targeted. Other ethnic and non-Muslim communities have also been attacked. Temples and religious sites have not been spared. Few hundred Hindu families have […]

Press Release 6 January 2014 Following the unprecedented outbreak of riots in the rural areas of Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Baghpat, Meerut and Saharanpur districts of Uttar Pradesh in the first week of September, tens of thousands of Muslim families have been living in relief camps for the last four months. However, over the past week, the […]

Each year, in South Asian communities, thousands of young brides lose their lives over dowry disputes. They are burnt, killed or maimed by husbands and in-laws whose material demands remain unfulfilled. Religions including Islam have always been interpreted and applied in favour of men and power structures.  Thus, it is not surprising to notice that   dowry […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the National NGO Child Rights Coalition and local journalists about children housed in prison in Kokrajhar, Assam. The AHRC is concerned, as such an arrangement is denying children their basic rights. The children are being housed in prison not for any delinquency on their part […]

As I wanted to discuss many things, and as I found no one else to discuss these things with, I was happy to see you on a branch of a tree in our garden. I told myself, “Ah, here is someone I can talk to.” As I approached and greeted you, you nodded to me […]

Today, December 23, 2013, the Asian Human Rights Commission releases the 11th Episode, of the Human Asia Rights Weekly Roundup with special reports on Labour Rights from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and India. In these countries, specifically in Bangladesh, labour rights have been a matter of serious international concern following several tragic incidents that have led to the […]

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.” Aly Ercelan and Muhammad Ali Shah A recent publication of Rome-based UN agencies (FAO along with IFAD and WFP of the UN) aims at global food security. It is worth a serious commentary for […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is happy to announce the latest issue of its weekly video news bulletin, the Human Rights Asia TV – Weekly Roundup. The 9th Episode of the Weekly Roundup is being released on the 10th December 2013, on the eve of Human Rights Day, and we are bringing you a special report on […]

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on Human Rights Day Sinhalese The full report is available for download at: http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2013/AHRC-SPR-006-2013.pdf/view International human rights day is a day for the celebration of human dignity. It is an appropriate date to take stock of what progress, if any, has been made in the promotion and protection […]