ASIA: Council must abandon appeasement of authoritarianism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar

Date: September 20, 2010 Document id: ALRC-COS-15-16-2010 Speaker: Norman Voss HRC section: Item 4: General Debate An Oral Statement to the 15th Session of the Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization with general consultative status ASIA: Council must abandon appeasement of authoritarianism in Sri Lanka and Myanmar Thank you, Mr. President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is extremely concerned by the giant steps down the path to autocracy being taken in Sri Lanka, and the serious impact that this will have on human rights. Despite the recent end to the conflict, the country now faces its darkest days. On September 8th, 2010, […]

ASIA: Council urged to address the lack of effective domestic witness protection systems in Asia

Date: September 16, 2010 Document id: ALRC-COS-15-15-2010 Speaker: Norman Voss HRC section: Item 2 & 3: General Debate An Oral Statement to the 15th Session of the Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization with general consultative status ASIA: Council urged to address the lack of effective domestic witness protection systems in Asia Thank you, Mr. President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the report by the High Commissioner on the right to truth and witness protection. The ALRC supports its call for States to develop independent domestic witness protection systems and the suggested development of best practices and common standards by the […]

THAILAND: Arbitrary detention and harassment under the Emergency Decree in Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-14-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 4 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status THAILAND: Arbitrary detention and harassment under the Emergency Decree in Thailand In a submission to the 14th session of the Human Rights Council, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) described the use of arbitrary orders for interrogation of civilians in army camps and other facilities under emergency regulations during the violence between state forces and antigovernment protestors in Thailand in April-May 2010 (A/HRC/14/NGO/42, 17 May 2010). Noting the relationship between open violence and the […]

SRI LANKA: Right to the truth required regarding “death sentences” carried out secretly by state agencies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 31, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-13-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 4 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status SRI LANKA: Right to the truth required regarding “death sentences” carried out secretly by state agencies 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to inform the Human Rights Council of a phenomenon that is of grave concern to the organization with regard to Sri Lanka and the wider Asian region. The ALRC is seriously disturbed by claims that have been made by some security agencies about their right to decide on “death sentences” […]

INDIA: Bonded labour in India

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-12-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 4 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDIA: Bonded labour in India Bonded labour is prohibited in India by law. Though the Constitution directly and indirectly prohibits the practice, vide Articles 21, 23 (1) and 24, a specific law that prohibits the practice, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act was legislated only in 1976. Despite the statutory prohibition, bonded labour is widely practiced. The worst affected are the children, particularly those from the Dalit community. The practice is so prevalent in […]

SRI LANKA: Lack of safe drinking water leading to upsurge in health problems

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-11-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 3 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status SRI LANKA: Lack of safe drinking water leading to upsurge in health problems The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) joins the UN Independent Expert on human rights, water and sanitation, Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, in welcoming the landmark resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 28 July 2010 that recognised water and sanitation as a human right. Every year, nearly 1.8 million people die from diarrhoeal diseases, including cholera, according to the WHO. Of […]

PHILIPPINES: Reforms required immediately to protect witnesses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-10-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 4 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PHILIPPINES: Reforms required immediately to protect witnesses The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) welcomes the discussion during the 15th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) concerning the OHCHR’s report on programmes and other measures for the protection of witnesses. The issue of failing witness protection systems is a key element in many Asian countries that permits impunity for State agents accused of grave human rights violations. In this submission, the ALRC will focus […]

PAKISTAN: Thousands of persons remain missing amid government inaction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-09-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 4 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PAKISTAN: Thousands of persons remain missing amid government inaction The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the ongoing work of the Advisory Committee concerning the issue of missing persons. The ALRC has on numerous occasions informed the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the large number of missing persons in Pakistan. The country is beset by grave and widespread human rights violations by various State-agencies and institutions, notably by the notorious Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) […]

PAKISTAN: Government urged to commute all death sentences and abolish the death penalty

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 26, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-08-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 3 A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PAKISTAN: Government urged to commute all death sentences and abolish the death penalty The Asian Legal Resource Centre welcomes the discussion by the Human Rights Council during its 15th session concerning the report of the Secretary General on the question of the death penalty. In light of this discussion, the ALRC is hereby submitting information pertaining to the death penalty in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan has failed to abolish the death penalty in […]

NEPAL: The Haliya bonded labour slavery system must be abolished without further delay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 26, 2010 ALRC-CWS-15-07-2010 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fifteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status NEPAL: The Haliya bonded labour slavery system must be abolished without further delay In view of the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery during the 15th Session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Nepalese NGO the Jagaran Media Center, wish to highlight the situation of bonded labour that persists in Nepal […]