AHRC News

The latest mass killing in the south of Thailand is a direct consequence of the intentional and dramatic weakening of controls over the police and armed forces there in the last two years. Despite ala...

The manner in which inquiries are conducted by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka and particularly about the functioning of the Kandy Area Office including the conduct of the coordinator o...

A fatal traffic accident in the jurisdiction of Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court, Sri Lanka, has caused a lot of public confusion. It all started with an important question: who caused the accident?...

With the expiry of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Punishment and Control) Act — 2058 this 12 October 2004, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has introduced a more severe and drac...

The obstacles to eliminating torture in Bangladesh were foremost in the discussion at a recent meeting in Dhaka organised by Odhikar, a well-known national human rights organisation. There was consens...

The journey from section 374 to section 500 of the Burmese Penal Code doesn’t take very long. Under section 374, state officials ordering forced labour–which was finally prohibited in 1999...

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) demands the immediate release from police detention of a group of human rights defenders in Tamil Nadu, India, who have been detained without charge since this...

The Officer-in-Charge of the Jaffna office of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka and a UN volunteer were assaulted yesterday, September 27, 2004, as they were engaged in inquiring about a ...

On 21 September 2004 Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, addressed the General Assembly emphasising the primacy of the rule of law over all other factors governing global affairs, be ...

In a statement of September 6, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has asked, “What can be done when there are not enough criminal investigators in Sri Lanka?” A concomitant question ...

The lack of qualified criminal investigators hampers the criminal investigations in Sri Lanka, C.R. de Silva, the Solicitor General of Sri Lanka was quoted as saying in an interview with the BBC Sinha...

On Monday, September 6, Supinya Klangnarong will go to court on a charge of criminal defamation arising from an interview printed in the Thai Post newspaper last year; three of its editors are also su...

Court takes historic step towards restoring independence of judiciary in Malaysia  The decision of Malaysia’s highest court to acquit Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from...

In recent weeks some senior politicians from the government of Sri Lanka have tried to blame the increase in crime on the National Police Commission (NPC). In fact no link between the NPC and the incr...

— Peace negotiations, accountability and an end to impunity are required as a matter of urgency   Time is of the essence. The human rights crisis situation in Nepal risks escalating further...

Reports from the Maldives in recent weeks indicate increasingly disturbing use of authoritarian powers by its government intended to suppress popular calls for democratic reform. After protests on Aug...

This week, the National Police Commission (NPC) of Sri Lanka made the following welcome announcements: That disciplinary control of all police officers except the Inspector General of Police (IGP), in...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 22, 2004 AS-26-2004 A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission Asian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned regarding the devastating security situation in Nepa...

In declining to use its powers to review the death sentence of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, the Supreme Court of India has today not only declined to take responsibility for the life that it has condemned, b...

The findings of the Independent Fact-Finding Commission on the Krue Se Mosque massacre in Southern Thailand were made public yesterday. While recommending compensation payments and the preparation of ...