AHRC News

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HONG KONG SAR: Legitimate protests against threatened livelihoods and police responsibility to remain within legal parameters

The past two weeks saw Hong Kong become a theatre in which the conflict between free trade and human rights played out very visibly, with broadcast and other media conveying the interventions of all t...

PHILIPPINES: Tribute to Sister Marianni

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 19, 2005 AS-130-2005 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Philippines: Tribute to Sister Marianni The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) joins all t...

HONG KONG SAR: Police brutality and inhuman treatment of WTO protestors condemned

The brutality and inhuman treatment of the protestors against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the Hong Kong police comes as a shock and must immediately be stopped. On December 17, 2005 unarmed ...

NEPAL: Nepal Celebrates Human Rights Day by Arresting over 100 Activists

The authorities in Nepal have once again illustrated their complete disregard for human rights, by arresting over 130 activists taking part in peaceful demonstrations on International Human Rights Day...

SRI LANKA: An Open Letter to the Solicitor General C.R. De Silva

Dear Mr. De Silva, I am writing this letter in response to newspaper reports concerning a speech that you have made on the right to life, where you claimed that there are ‘improvements in the field o...

SRI LANKA: Transparency necessary in arson investigation of Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission

Serious doubts and suspicions have arisen about the investigation into the attempted arson of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka offices in Colombo, on October 11, 2005. Despite significan...

PHILIPPINES: Government must intervene if the killings of activists are to stop

On 5 December 2005, activist Cathy Alcantara was killed by unidentified armed men in Abucay, Bataan province, Luzon, Philippines. Alcantara, a mother of two children and the wife of a farmer’s organi...

THAILAND: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms Arbour, RE: THAILAND MUST RATIFY THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE On this international Human Rights Day, December 10, 2005, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls upon you to make it a ...

SRI LANKA: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: Sri Lanka’s refusal to implement recommendations made by the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to brin...

PHILIPPINES: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: The urgent need for effective laws against torture, witness protection, and end to the increasing occurrence of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines On the occasion of the D...

NEPAL: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: Nepal – without a Parliament and laws on torture and forced disappearance, the Office of the OHCHR in Nepal cannot fulfil its work for human rights On the occasion of the De...

SOUTH KOREA: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: Human rights trailing democracy in the Republic of Korea – legislation and labour rights concerns and the violent repression of demonstrations On the occasion of the Decembe...

INDONESIA: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: Indonesia – the sham trial of human rights defender Munir Said Thalib highlights the need for judicial and legal system reform On this Human Rights Day, the Asian Human Righ...

INDIA: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: India – Constitutional promises and international obligations remain empty rhetoric The systemic failure of the justice dispensation system in India is marring the state of ...

CAMBODIA: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: the bleak human rights situation in Cambodia, twelve years after the peace process The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) directs your attention to the bleak human rights situat...

BURMA: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms Arbour, RE: SUSPEND MYANMAR FROM THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION On this international Human Rights Day, December 10, 2005, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) calls upon you to initiate acti...

BANGLADESH: Open letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to mark International Human Rights Day 2005

Dear Ms. Arbour, Re: Bangladesh should criminalize torture and appoint independent investigation bodies to conduct prompt inquiries into torture, extra-judicial killings and other serious violations o...

ASIA: The Absence of the Rule of Law and the Actualisation of Human Rights: A Contradiction that Must Be Resolved

International Human Rights Day on December 10 should be a moment in Asia to reflect soberly as to why on this continent, where more than half of the world’s population live, basic human rights a...

SRI LANKA: Does the Attorney General want Sri Lanka to renege on its strict obligation to implement decisions of the U.N. Human Rights Committee?

On December 5, the BBC Sinhala service reported the Attorney General of Sri Lanka as having said last Monday that urging the Supreme Court to alter a ruling is tantamount to undermining the independen...

THAILAND: DSI must promptly and assertively answer the question “Where is Somchai?”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 2, 2005 AS-123-2005 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission THAILAND: DSI must promptly and assertively answer the question “Where is Somchai?” Dece...