AHRC News

The Philippines Commission on Human Rights (PCHR) is an independent body in the Philippines that has the authority under the 1987 constitution to initiate an investigation and make recommendations bas...

There are two expressions the use of which brings about abject fear among all sectors of society in Bangladesh.  These terms are, ‘cross-fire’ and ‘Rapid Action Battalion’.  While the government...

The case of Don Wijerathna Munasinghe, who was arrested on 10 April 2005 and subsequently died of injuries allegedly received at the Maharagama Police Station, received wide publicity in the media.?Th...

The arrest of a suspect in the killing of Fr William Tadena has given a little emotional relief and glimpse of hope to the relatives of human rights defenders and political activists killed during rec...

On April 11, staff of the West Bengal-based human rights group Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (Masum) went by appointment to raise their concerns over attacks on Gopen Sharma, a local human righ...

Since January 2005, at least 18 human rights and political activists have killed or disappeared in the Philippines. The latest reported attack was on Alden Ambida, a provincial coordinator of the oppo...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 11, 2005 AS-39-2005 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission So where are Thailand’s judicial bodies? Speaking last Friday, April 8, the head of Thailand̵...

In an announcement this week, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand stated that the proposed reform of some hundreds of the country’s laws would concentrate on those that violate its 1997 Con...

The address to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights by the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan this April 7 is a wake-up call to the global human rights movement. This speech marks a moment in ...

Recent reports that the execution of three Sri Lankan men in Saudi Arabia are to be carried out in the coming days has led the Asian Human Rights Commission to inquire into this matter with much urgen...

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) notes that the Government and of Sri Lanka and, more specifically, its foreign ministry is taking a very passive role in defending the rights and saving the li...

As the Sixty-first Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is taking place in Geneva, we would like to draw attention to the colossal absence of human rights in three countries in the Asia ...

Further to our statement issued on 22 March 2005, regarding the death sentence handed down to a Sri Lankan migrant worker sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)...

“The Government of Sri Lanka, taking serious note of recent allegations regarding torture while in police custody, has introduced short and long-term preventive mechanisms to address the issue, in li...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 23, 2005 AS-32-2005 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission Anticipating Thailand’s missing-persons centre  The announcement last week by Thailand’s n...

Mrs. Geetha Udugama, the wife of Mr. Edirisinghe, who is facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia, strongly condemns the attitudes taken by many Sri Lankan authorities to her desperate plea regarding t...

Fear continues to grip members of Sri Lanka’s judicial system, media and key witnesses in criminal cases – and rightly so. In only the last few days, a state counsel has revealed that deat...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 15, 2005 AS-28-2005 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission An awakening to the delays in Sri Lanka’s adjudication process The Asian Human Rights Commission ...

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is concerned about another case of a torture complainant being threatened, similar to that of Gerald Perera. Mr. Nimal Silva Gunaratne, a victim of brutal tort...

In exonerating the three generals identified as having been primarily responsible for the killing of at least 85 persons in Narathiwat province on October 25 of last year, the Thai army commander-in-c...