Right to life

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following article from the Down to Earth, written by Sachin Kumar Jain. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-008-2014 April 1, 2014 An article from the Down to Earth forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission INDIA: India growth story marred by […]

Basil Fernando Human beings, however poor or however oppressed, seek justice in the same way. Even a tuberculosis patient looks for fresh air. All wisdom traditions have associated justice as having the same character as fresh air. To deny justice is to deny a fundamental condition of being human. If a person cannot get fresh […]

In this week’s programme we will bring you a special feature on the 12th anniversary of the gruesome Gujarat massacre during which widespread communal riots killed thousands of Muslims and others as well as how India, despite several investigations, is still deeply divided regarding the events that took place and who should be held responsible. […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 17-year-old girl was buried alive for marrying by her own choice with a three wheeler driver. She was buried alive on the instructions of a Jirga, an illegal court run by tribal chiefs. She was buried in a Hindu graveyard and not […]

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 […]

On January 17, 2014, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an urgent appeal (AHRC-UAC-005-2014, http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-005-2014) for immediate intervention and financial assistance to a survivor of acid attack in the Indian state of Assam as per the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court of India in 2013. Women in Governance (WinG-Assam), a network of women […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from civil society organizations based in Manipur, India, regarding the custodial death of Mr. Thoudam Digbijoy. Mr. Digbijoy was illegally detained in Wangoi police station, Wangoi Makha Leikai, Imphal West district, Manipur. On 26 February 2014 he was found dead, supposedly by suicide. This […]

By Avinash Pandey At 218 in 2013 and 237 in 2012, one would expect a national outrage on the unusually high number of body bags returning to India from Qatar. One would think especially so, for the fact that these body bags belonged to Indian citizens. It must have incensed even the apologists of neoliberal […]

The report by the Director General of Police (DGP), Mr. K. S. Balasubramanian, in the southern state of Kerala to the government, that most of the police officers of the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police are corrupt, inept to discharge their duties and are clinically lazy, speaks volumes about the capacity of the state’s police […]

On 12 February 2014, assailants fired repeated gunshots and threw homemade bombs at the home and car of Professor Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a history professor at Thammasat University and outspoken political and cultural critic. The attack took place during the day and Professor Somsak was at home when it occurred. Although he did not sustain any […]

(Hong Kong, February 6, 2014) On January 14, the Court of Appeals (CA), Fifth Division, has concluded that Rolly Panesa, a 48-year-old security guard, could not possibly be Benjamin Mendoza, a leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), rejecting the claim of the police and soldiers as justification for his arrest. In its press release, […]

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 […]

In a meeting held on February 4, organised by the Korean Women’s Development Institute where around 500 so-called women ‘leaders’ participated, President Park Geun-hye delivered a speech that her administration will strive for the keeping of good maintenance of systems so that women of capacity will not be barred from achieving their dreams. President Park […]

The AHRC releases today the 16th Episode, of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup.  In this week’s programme we bring you the following stories from across Asia; In the news from Kerala, India, fundamental questions are raised about the police participating in a traditional religious procession. The AHRC speaks to activists in Thrissur, Kerala, to explain […]

In an exclusive interview with Nilantha Ilangamuwa, the editor of Torture – Asian and Global Perspectives, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), said, “We apply the law without distinction, fear or favour. We follow the mandate that has been given to us under the Rome Statute. Regrettably, often the lack of full […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you the following press release announcement from Korean Women Link & Human Right Organisations from South Korea. For further details, kindly contact the person below. Ms. Park Jin DaSan Human Right Center Email: humandasan[at]gmail.com Asian Human Rights Commission Hong Kong ————- FORWARDED PRESS […]

නිදහස් දින පණිවුඩය සිය නිදහසේ සිට වසර 66 ක් ආපස්සට සිතන රටක් වශයෙන්, ශ‍්‍රී ලංකාව නිදහසේ කිසිදු අභිලාෂයක් ළඟා කර ගැනීමට අසමත් වූ ජාතියක් ලෙසට එක`ගතාවයක් තිබේ. මෙහිදී කාටත් පෙනී යන බිහිසුණු දෙය වන්නේ රටේ සිදුවන ඉතා විශාල සංඛ්‍යාවක් වූ අපරාධයන් ය. එහි ප‍්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙසට ජනතාව ජීවත් වන්නේ භීතියෙනි. රාජ්‍යය විසින් තමන් ව ආරක්ෂා කරතියි […]

Independence Day Message As the country thinks back on the 66 years since its independence, there is unanimous agreement that the nation has failed to achieve any of the aspirations of independence. What is most glaringly horrendous is the vast numbers of crimes that are taking place. As a consequence, people are living in fear […]

The AHRC releases today the 15th Episode, of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundupwith special reports from Cambodia. In this week’s programme we bring you the following stories from across Asia; In Cambodia four persons were killed and many others wounded after police opened fire at protestors demanding an increase of the minimum wage. The AHRC […]

Under the Emergency Decree on Government Administration in a State of Emergency (2005), the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra decreed a State of Emergency in Bangkok and surrounding areas on January 22, 2014. The Emergency Decree gives blanket powers to state actors to take a wide range of actions to resolve the State of […]