Rule of law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 7, 2006 AHRC-OL-028-2006 An open letter to the Inter Ministerial Committee on Human Rights The Inter Ministerial Committee on Human Rights Thro- Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights Parliamentary Complex Colombo 1 SRI LANKA July 6, 2006 Dear Sirs, SRI LANKA: The case of Chamila Bandara, HC […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) Urgent Appeals Programme wishes to remind you of our new urgent appeal online support system. We strongly urge you to use this system and to help pressure government authorities and other relevant persons to intervene and bring justice to all concerned.  The urgent appeals online support system will now […]

[Re: UP-80-2005: SRI LANKA:  Further death threats to torture victim J.V. Saman Priyankara from Matale ; UP-74-2005: SRI LANKA: Torture victim Priyankara received death threats again and urgent witness protection is required; UP-37-2004: A Kandy coordinator of National Police Commission allegedly cooperates with torture perpetrators; UP-34-2004: Priyankara brutally assaulted and arrested with no access to […]

Open letter from the AHRC to the Prime Minister of Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala Prime Minister’s office Singha Durbar Kathmandu NEPAL Fax. + 977 142 27286 Dear Prime Minister Koirala, Re: The urgent need to disarm and disband vigilante groups in Nepal, following the death of three-year old child The Asian Human Rights […]

The urgent appeals programme has experienced considerable growth over the last years. To ensure that individual support by UA programme subscribers will continue despite the increased issuing of urgent appeals, and to ease the possibilities to support the urgent appeals programme, the AHRC has launched an addition to the existing system. The urgent appeals online […]

The numerous appointments to key national commissions by the executive president, contravening constitutional requirements, are a very clear indication of Sri Lanka’s drift from a law-based society to one in which the law plays a significantly reduced role.  While criticism against presidential actions has pointed to matters including the fact that no person is above […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 12, 2006 AS-107-2006 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission BURMA: The 1974 Constitution and challenge for Burma’s courts U Tin Nyein is among the latest victims of Burma’s courts of injustice. On March 29, the 49-year-old farmer was jailed for two years because he complained that his crops were […]

The electoral victory of Sri Lanka’s United National Party (UNP) in 1977 created what is now commonly known as ‘elective dictatorship’. This dictatorship was made permanent through the legal structure arising from the 1978 Constitution. Additionally, the transformation of democratic rule into tyrannical rule was approved by a vast majority in the parliament. Most of […]

A statement made by Sri Lanka’s Chief Justice, Sarath N. Silva at a recent public meeting is causing many comments, both public and private, on the state of the judiciary and rule of law in the country. In his statement the Chief Justice is reported to have cursed the Sri Lankan police as being highly […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that over recent months, members of various Cambodian security forces have in separate incidents shot and injured young women in Phnom Penh, shot dead a villager in Kompong Cham, and wantonly driven a car into a smuggler there, killing him on the spot. The AHRC has also […]

On the 1st May, 1993, R. Premadasa, the executive president of Sri Lanka, was killed in a massive bomb blast while participating in the May Day public activities.  The blast also killed and injured many others.  Before becoming president he was the prime minister to J.R. Jayawardene who came to power through a huge electoral […]

The speeches by the King of Thailand to the Supreme Court and Administrative Court judges on 25 April 2006 have with good reason been reported all around the world. Among his remarks, he told the judges that “When an election is not democratic, you should look carefully into the administrative issues. I ask you to […]

As the violence has escalated within the last few days and the lives of many are affected by the actions of all sides, the issue that comes to the forefront is the absence of any human rights monitoring mechanisms in Sri Lanka. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC) became defunct with the expiry […]

[RE: UP-089-2006: BANGLADESH: Government names the head of the judicial probe commission into the police brutality on journalists; UA-128-2006: BANGLADESH: Journalists beaten by the police at the Chittagong stadium] —————————————————– UP-095-2006: BANGLADESH: Government names District Judge to conduct a judicial probe into the police brutality on journalists BANGLADESH: Torture; intimidation; threat; deprivation of professional duty; […]

The meaning of a Constitution is to be found, not in slavish adherence to the letter, which sometimes killeth, but in the discovery of its spirit, which giveth life…”[1] The general dismay voiced over the non-functioning of the Constitutional Council for over a year is shared by the Civil Rights Movement (CRM). Many have observed […]

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) notes with shock and dismay the appointment of the members to the National Police Commission and Public Service Commission, in violation of the constitutional provisions to protect the integrity of those institutions. It is the Constitutional Council that should select and screen members of all of these commissions established under […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the Sri Lankan Cabinet has decided to appoint a working committee of judicial officials and lawyers to consider solutions to the problem of court delays in Sri Lanka. A memorandum in this regard was submitted by Justice and Law Reforms Minister, Amarasiri […]

Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the escalating violence that is occurring in Nepal and the government’s decision to impose a curfew on the capital, Kathmandu, for the third consecutive day, as well as other areas, in an attempt to try to halt widespread protests. As reported in […]

We are bringing to your notice a news item that has appeared in several papers recently regarding a girl of 18 years who is said to be a victim of the tsunami tragedy and who, for the lack of any suitable child care institution, has been put in a prison as there is nowhere else […]

Today, March 30, 2006 the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has nominated three outstanding widows of human rights defenders to receive jointly the prestigious 2006 , awarded by the May 18 Memorial Foundation, Korea. The three are: Angkhana Neelaphaijit, wife of disappeared Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit; Suciwati Munir, wife of murdered Indonesian human […]