Right to remedy

During the three days of Eid holidays about three dozens people were drowned at the beaches of Karachi, the majority drowned at a beach run by Military, its commercial outlets and Clifton Cantonment, which are run directly under the Pakistan military. . Four persons drowned at two different beaches that were under the city government. […]

Today we are releasing the 37th episode of Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup. This week we are drawing attention to how various governments are restricting the work of NGOs. Through legislation and other means numerous governments are trying to reduce critical opinion, hampering human rights work across Asia. In Sri Lanka, NGOs are being advised not to […]

An Open Letter from the Asian Human Rights Commission to the Inspector General of Police We reproduce below a letter sent by the Executive Director of Asian Human Rights Commission to the IGP about two cases of torture by a team led by Sergeant Basnayake, who is an OIC in the Unresolved Crimes Division of the […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the official announcement by the General Election Commission (Komisi Pemilihan Umum, KPU) of the result of the Presidential Election on Thursday, 22 July 2014. After counting and recapitulating the votes cast by Indonesians on 9 July 2014 for about three weeks, the Committee finally declared Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla to […]

During the three year period of new Myanmar Government, new political reforms have been taking place. The authorities stopped censoring the media in June 2012 and also allowed private news media groups to print newspapers in April 2013. As people in Burma only had state owned newspapers for the previous decade, elderly journalists and society […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) objects to the remarks made by the Government of Nepal that it is not going to amend the Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Act. The Act was adopted on 4 May 2014, despite it being in contravention of the 2 January 2014 Supreme Court directives. The government has argued […]

by Avinash Pandey The phone calls were going unanswered. A group of men had broken into a female friend’s house and were holding her hostage. I was frantically calling the Senior Superintendent of Police, the local police station, and officials in the district administration. Every passing minute sent shivers down my spine. I thought to […]

The President has addressed the nation and stated that the law will be strictly enforced. He has also called upon the police and other agencies to enforce the law. That is certainly a good thing to do. However, the critical question is as to whether the President has the will and the capacity to enforce […]

It is to the credit of some Buddhist monks that they have taken active role in extending support and protection to the Muslims victim to vicious attacks across Sri Lanka. The attacks began after the Secretary of BBS, Reverend Galagoda-Atte Gnanasara Thera, spoke at a recent meeting at Aluthgama. Image courtesy: The Financial Times, daily […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following article from The Sunday Times, written by Kishali Pinto Jayawardena. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FAT-017-2014 June 15, 2014 An article from The Sunday Times forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission SRI LANKA: Advocating A Different Political Project by […]

The following article was published as the editorial of the latest issue of Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives by Nilantha Ilangamuwa Sri Lanka is once again on the edge of a political crucible in terms of its international relations as well as in its domestic politics. The country is ignoring calls for an independent and credible investigation […]

According to reports a 37 year old British nurse who arrived in Sri Lanka this Monday (21st April 2014) was taken by a taxi driver to a nearby police station where, according to her, she was harassed by policemen who demanded money from her. She had arrived at the Airport and the immigration authorities had […]

Unethical clinical trials conducted without obtaining informed consent of the participants have struck India again, killing 254 women from the most marginalised sections of society. The deaths, or rather murders, have taken place in the course of a 15-year long United States funded clinical trial for a cervical cancer screening method. The women who perished […]

Recently, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) published its report ranking the country as 3rd “most deadly for journalists,” next to Iraq and Somalia. In another report, the Global Witness ranked the country as the 3rd “most dangerous” for environment and land defenders worldwide, next to Brazil and Honduras, where indigenous people struggle for control of their lands. The […]

The 30 July 2013 announcement of the Congress Working Committee decision to create a separate Telangana state within the Union of India spurred other statehood demands. In Assam, ethnic groups like the Bodos, Karbis, Dimasas, and Koch Rajbonshis – which have all been fighting for separate states for themselves – unleashed serial agitations and economic […]

(Note: this article was first published in the April 6, 2014 issue of the Sunday Examiner) Eleven years ago, I was in a small store with a friend in Pikit, North Cotabato, in central Mindanao. We were exhausted after an all day field work of interviewing people about how and why they were evacuated due to […]

Mr. Jinnah, could not differentiate between the rule of law and the rule by force which has resulted several military actions in Balochistan Baseer Naweed The provincial Interior Minister of Balochistan has stated that a terrorist attack on a passenger train resulting in the death of 18 persons was an attempt to avenge the Frontier […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH Jakarta) regarding the death of a detainee in police custody in Tangerang. The detainee was found hanging in the toilet of his cell. The police have claimed that his death was ‘purely suicide’ but irregularities were found, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) welcomes the move of the Nepal government to form a taskforce that will draft new bills related to transitional justice. The expert team has been given 10 days to submit new drafts on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances (CED). A year ago, […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) appreciates India’s promise to protect and promote a pluralistic civil society. In a speech delivered in a parallel event during the 25th Human Rights Council Session, India said: “[a] pluralistic civil society complements government activities as it is often involved in local level development, advocacy, action research and social […]