Right to remedy

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 […]

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 […]

The following article appeared as the editorial of the latest issue of ‘Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives’, a bi-monthly magazine published by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), based in Hong Kong and the Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY) based in Denmark. by Nilantha Ilangamuwa The long march has clocked a hundred days. The brave […]

International Women’s Day 2014  A pact with the Taliban will destroy what little freedoms remain for women The shadow of darkness shrouds Pakistan. In a country that already has a repressive attitude towards women; the possibility of upholding women’s rights shrinks further. In an environment in which a woman’s worth is considered to be only […]

The AHRC releases today the 20th Episode, of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Roundup  In this week’s programme we bring you coverage of the following stories from across Asia.  As we approach International Women’s Day, we will bring you stories from around Asia on how women’s human rights are trampled on by severe inequalities, entrenched patriarchal […]

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 […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the Indonesian Human Rights and Legal Aid Association (Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum Indonesia, PBHI) in West Sumatra regarding the neglected judgments of the civil courts in the case of Iwan Mulyadi. Iwan, a 28-year-old residing in West Pasaman Barat of West Sumatera, is a victim of a […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

Dear friends,  We wish to share with you the following statement from United Against Torture – Philippines. Asian Human Rights Commission  Hong Kong ————- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AHRC-FST-011-2014 February 4, 2014 A Statement from United Against Torture (UATC) – Philippines forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission PHILIPPINES: “Wheel of torture” symbolizes culture of torture […]

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 […]

The AHRC releases today the 14th Episode, of the Human Rights Asia Weekly Round up  with special reports from India and Hong Kong. In this week’s programme we bring you a special report from India, on how humiliation and hunger continues in refugee camps in the Uttar Pradesh. Four months after the unprecedented riots that […]

Despite the political and social changes in Burma (Myanmar) of the last two years, police and soldiers continue to enjoy impunity for the murder and torture of civilians. Despite the constant efforts of the families of victims to obtain justice, the military and police institutions are resistant to efforts to have perpetrators in their ranks […]

Dear Friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is pleased to inform you that the three community organizers whom were reported to have been illegally arrested, tortured, detained and falsely charged in November 2009, have been released after they were exonerated from the charges against them. UPDATED INFORMATION: In our appeal in February 2010 (AHRC-UAC-005-2010), […]

Bangladesh’s incumbent regime is forcing the nation to witness a fake ‘general election’, scheduled tomorrow, 5 January 2014. All the opposition parties, except the allies of the ruling regime, have boycotted this election. The government is accused of extreme politicisation of the country’s civil administration, along with the police, paramilitary agencies, and all key institutions, […]