[Tuesday, 13 December 2011, 22:14

    Please do not reply to this email. If you cannot read this message, please Click Here

     

    Asian Human Rights Commission

    AHRC

    AHRC

    AHRC

    AHRC AHRC AHRC AHRC AHRC AHRC

    WEEK 49: The state of human rights in Asia on International Human Rights Day 2011:

    Visit archive for past issues

    FOCUS STORY

    The state of human rights in Asia on International Human Rights Day 2011:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) On the occasion of the annual International Human Rights Day, held on December 10, 2011,  the AHRC is releasing reports on the human rights situations in ten Asian countries: Bangladesh, Burma, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea and Sri Lanka.

    In 2011, the AHRC has witnessed the continuing widespread use of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings by state agents, serious clampdowns on the freedom of expression, and attacks on human rights defenders. Furthermore, in some of the countries listed above, religious intolerance has led to suppression of religious freedoms and violence against religious minorities.

    FOCUS APPEAL

    PAKISTAN: Couple murdered in name of honour for refusing to hand over two minor girls:

    (AHRC URGENT APPEALS) The AHRC has received information that a couple was murdered along with the father of the groom in an honour killing. The order for the killing was issued by a Jirga, an illegal tribal court. During the Jirga it was ordered that the couple cancel the marriage and if this was not possible then the groom, Nisar Mallah, had to gift two minor girls as compensation. When he refused the jirga announced the order to kill the couple in protection of the honour of the Kalhoro tribe. 

    BANGLADESH

    State appears bankrupt in protecting rights:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) International Human Rights Day is going to be ‘observed’ in Bangladesh amidst numerous victims facing gross abuses of human rights without an access to legal remedies from the existing criminal justice system.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in Bangladesh please click here:

    INDIA

    Human rights a utopia without justice:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) The state of human rights in a country is directly proportional to the extent of justice achieved in that jurisdiction. Justice is not a physically quantifiable concept. It is "truth in action" as held by Benjamin Disraeli, depicted by the Dharma Chakra, and reiterated by the phrase Satyameva Jayate. Justice is a perception or notion that is visible in the day-to-day functioning of the justice delivery institutions.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in India please click here:

    Dalits should save themselves through justice reforms:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) A way to effectively address caste-based discrimination in India is by reforming institutions of justice administration. This means changing the manner in which institutions like the police, prosecution and judiciary function in the region. At the moment, what are obtained in the name of human rights are only empty promises.

    Police refuse to take action to rescue a girl trafficked to Bangladesh:

    (AHRC URGENT APPEALS) The AHRC has received information from the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha – a human rights organisation working in West Bengal – about the case of a 15-year-old girl, who was trafficked from the state to neighbouring Bangladesh. Though the family of the victim approached the local police, the officers refused to provide help. Even though the police registered the complaint, it is alleged that since then the police have done nothing to investigate the case or to rescue the girl from Bangladesh.

    INDONESIA

    The Decay of Pancasila and Constitutional Protections:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) In 2011 the AHRC has witnessed a deterioration of the human rights situation in Indonesia in terms of religious freedom, the role of the judiciary and accountability for violence by security forces.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in Indonesia please click here:

    NEPAL

    Commitments to accountability and justice continue to be jeopardized in 2011:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) On the occasion of the 63rd Human Rights Day, the AHRC is releasing its annual report on the state of human rights protection in Nepal through 2011. Given the continuity of challenges presented in this report, the AHRC wishes to take the opportunity of its publishing to restate the crucial importance of a continuous OHCHR presence in the country to ensure that the issues of accountability and justice are not sacrificed to political considerations.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in Nepal please click here:

    PAKISTAN

    The government dodges the international community on civil and political rights:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) The state has become dysfunctional in providing basic human rights to the people. Though the parliament exists it either cannot assert its constitutional duties or does not want to assert itself in the presence of the powerful military which is dominating both internal and external affairs.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in Pakistan please click here:

    Journalist attacked by terrorists from a banned militant organisation:

    (AHRC URGENT APPEALS) The AHRC has received information regarding a journalist and prominent human rights defender that has left the country after an attempt to abduct him by a banned Muslim militant organization, the Jamaatud Dawa – that has allegedly been involved in sectarian and terrorist attacks both inside and outside the country.

    Christian labourer arrested on blasphemy charges in an attempt to force his girlfriend to convert to Islam:

    (AHRC URGENT APPEALS) The AHRC has received information that a young Christian labourer was arrested on the charges of burning papers of Quran, a Muslim holy book for making tea at home. He surrendered to the court arrest when he was informed that his nephew had been taken into custody by the police in exchange of his arrest….

    PHILIPPINES

    Inability to protect has created a parallel system:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) The AHRC has published its 25-page report containing its analyses on what it has observed as the irreparable ‘social and systemic impact’ of the ongoing violations of human rights in the country. The government remains incapable of providing the most rudimentary forms of protection to its people despite the growing intolerance of the public towards human rights violations.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in the Philippines please click here:

    SOUTH KOREA

    New organ established to restrict freedom of expression over the internet:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) The AHRC is gravely concerned with the newly established organ under the Korea Communications Standards Commission that has broad authority to restrict freedom of expression over the Social Network Service from the internet.

    Systematic setup to restrict rights vs. systematic failure to protect rights:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) In 2011, the AHRC believes that human rights in South Korea have deteriorated through ‘legal action’ in order to oppress those that oppose government policies and that due process is no longer meaningful. In addition, freedom of expression over the internet which has been an alternative role of the media is jeopardised after a new organ was established to restrict it.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in South Korea please click here:

    SRI LANKA

    International Human Rights Agencies failed to notice the Collapse of the Sri Lanka’s Public Institutions of Justice:

    (AHRC STATEMENT) The international community, including leading human rights agencies and organisations, has failed to understand the depth of collapse of rule of law in Sri Lanka and have failed to make any effective intervention in this regard.International conventions for several decades now have centered around minority rights and more recently on alleged war crimes. However, violations of minority rights are only a part of the abysmal lawlessness that prevails in the country as a whole and this affects both the majority and the minority.

    To read the AHRC annual report on the state of human rights in Sri Lanka please click here:

    Family fear illegally arrested and detained man will be tortured and extrajudicially killed:

    (AHRC URGENT APPEALS) Mr. Ranasinghe Arachchige Sanjeewa has been in police remand and arbitrary detention for more than fifty days following his illegal arrest by the Talatuoya police of Kandy district. Sanjeewa is under the custody of the Welikada Remand Prison. The Dematagoda police have received permission from a Magistrate Court to take Sanjeewa out of the cell for the purpose of investigation. The family is afraid that Sanjeewa may be killed ‘attempting to escape’ or brutally tortured.

    ASIA FOCUS

    How can lawyers caught up in a dysfunctional system change the situation:

    (AHRC ARTICLE) Countries transitioning to democracy often have to cope with fragile and dysfunctional political, economic and legal institutions3 . In the face of regulatory frameworks either completely lacking or totally unsuited for the “democratic refit,” constitutional and criminal law reforms are crucial for establishing solid foundations for emerging democratic States.

    © 2011 Asian Human Rights Commission

    The newsletter may be reproduced in full or in part for any purpose for the protection and promotion of human rights

    Unit 701A, Westley Square, 48 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Tel: + (852) 2698-6367

    E-mail: ahrc@ahrc.asia Web: www.humanrights.asia

    Visit our new website with more features at www.humanrights.asia.

    You can make a difference. Please support our work and make a donation here.

    —————————–

    Asian Human Rights Commission

    #701A Westley Square,

    48 Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon,

    Hongkong S.A.R.

    Tel: +(852) 2698-6339

    Fax: +(852) 2698-6367

    Web: humanrights.asia

    twitter/youtube/facebook: humanrightsasia

    Please consider the environment before printing this email.

    powered by phplist v 2.10.17, © phpList ltd

    Uploads by humanrightsasia

    By Asian Human Rights Commission| 120 videos

    Watch All

    This message has been truncated.

    Show Full Message