Books

The book, An Exceptional Collapse of the Rule of Law: Told through stories by families of the disappeared in Sri Lanka, details the ordeals of parents, spouses and relatives who witnessed forced disappearance of their dear and near ones in 29 cases. The victims included innocent students, workers and ordinary people of other professions.

The linking of economic, social and cultural rights with civil and political rights very much depends on the way the contradictions between protection and participation are resolved. This principle must also be applied to the promotion of rights of women, where the factors of social repression and violence remains the same as before. In such situations the assertion of equality becomes practically impossible while legislation is sometimes passed intending to promote equality.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has today released a remarkable new book, Memories of a father, by Professor T V Eachara Varier. The story recounts Professor Varier's desperate and endless attempts to get to the bottom of his son's arrest, torture, murder and disappearance at the hands of the police force in Kerala, India, during a period of emergency rule.

A publication based on a workshop on human rights work in Asia, conducted in Wattala, Sri Lanka on November 14-24, 2003, organised by the Human Rights Correspondence School (HRCS), and Rule of Law & Torture Prevention Project of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

We desperately need cross-cultural discussions on the rule of law and human rights. Much of the discourse is dominated by the West, as is the language of justice, which is associated with several centuries of struggle there. As a result, many of the problems faced by people in Asia are beyond the comprehension of those who are used to this discourse. Persons from the western tradition struggle to understand how a police officer may so readily resort to torture as his means for routine criminal investigation, or how he may spend more time making a living on the side than dealing with his official duties.

A critique of the Recommendations by the Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System in India

A book based on the Workshop on The UN Convention Against Torture held between April 2-7, 2001 at Thrissur, Kerala, India, organised by the Religious Groups for Human Rights (RGHR) a project of the Asian Human Rights Commission and hosted by Jananeethi, Thrissur, India

Implementation of Article 2 of ICCPR On the Occasion of the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

A few echoes from the workshop which are quite indicative of the concerns expressed by the participants. It is our collective effort to implement this Convention that can serve as a common ground on which we can work towards a more compassionate, enlightened and respectful world.

The radical elements of early Buddhism have now been submerged by dominant social values... Yet canonical works clearly indicate that the first Buddhists raised a banner of revolt against caste, priestcraft, tyranny and social injustice. This submerged tradition can be recovered and revivified. It can provide inspiration for Buddhists and others who are committed to social renewal and creation of just and humane society.