SRI LANKA: Signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction

Date: September 26, 2013 Document id: ALRC-COS-24-11-2013 HRC section: Item 10, General Debate Speaker: Ms. Answer Styannes A Joint Oral Statement to the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Franciscans International (FI), non-governmental organizations with general consultative status SRI LANKA: Signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction Thank you Mr. President, The ALRC and Franciscans International (FI) welcome the statement delivered by the High Commissioner at the end of her country mission to Sri Lanka on the 31st of August, 2013 in which she made the following comment: “I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided […]

BANGLADESH: Space for fundamental freedoms almost non-existent

Note: This statement was not delivered at the Council due to the lack of time. However, we wish to share this statement with you and provide below the link to the webcast on the UPR report consideration on Bangladesh for your information. Date: September 20, 2013 Document id: ALRC-COS-24-10-2013 HRC section: Item 6, General Debate An Oral Statement to the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status BANGLADESH: Space for fundamental freedoms almost non-existent Thank you Mr. President, The human rights situation in Bangladesh has suffered the worst during the past four years. The government’s […]

ASIA: Criminal justice systems are failing to enforce international norms and standards on protection of rights

Date: September 17, 2013 Document id: ALRC-COS-24-09-2013 HRC section: Item 4, General Debate Speaker: Mr. Danilo Reyes An Oral Statement to the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Criminal justice systems are failing to enforce international norms and standards on protection of rights Thank you Mr. President, The ALRC welcomes the report submitted by the Secretary-General which provides an analysis of international legal and institutional framework in the administration of justice. The report concludes that its main challenges lie in its implementation at the domestic level. The ALRC wishes to draw the attention […]

ASIA: Criminal justice reforms is a prerequisite to check authoritarianism in South Asia

Date: September 16, 2013 Document id: ALRC-COS-24-08-2013 HRC section: Item 3, General Debate Speaker: Mr. Danilo Reyes An Oral Statement to the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Criminal justice reforms is a prerequisite to check authoritarianism in South Asia Thank you Mr. President, The ALRC, Odhikar and its partners agrees with the opinion of Mr. Alfred de Zayas, the UN Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order. He notes that human rights defenders today face exceptional challenges, particularly in countries where they are subject to threats of […]

THAILAND: Delayed Accountability and Continued Impunity for State Violence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 5, 2013 ALRC-CWS-24-06-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty-fourth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status THAILAND: Delayed Accountability and Continued Impunity for State Violence 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to raise grave concerns with the Human Rights Council about ongoing impunity for state violence during the crackdown on the supporters of the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), or the “Red Shirts, during April-May 2010 in Thailand. 2. Beginning in early 2006, the group of citizens who became the People’s Alliance for Democracy […]

INDIA: Between the rock and a hard place – children in armed conflict

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 4, 2013 ALRC-CWS-24-05-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty-fourth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDIA: Between the rock and a hard place – children in armed conflict 1. India ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1992 with a declaration on Article 32. It has ratified the two Optional Protocols to the Convention, on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict on 30 November 2005 and on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography on 16 August 2005. Yet, children in India […]

BANGLADESH: State abuses UPR process due to lack of enforceability of UN human rights machinery

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 3, 2013 ALRC-CWS-24-04-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty-fourth session, Agenda Item 6, General Debate Joint written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status, together with Odhikar in Bangladesh BANGLADESH: State abuses UPR process due to lack of enforceability of UN human rights machinery 1. In the UN Universal Periodic Review, Bangladesh has successfully abused the UPR Process, courtesy weakness in the enforcement of UN Human Rights machinery. 2. At the UN Human Rights Council’s UPR process on 29 April 2013, during the 16th Session of the UPR Working Group in Geneva, Bangladesh’s human rights record […]

INDONESIA: The government must provide remedies for victims of past human rights violations, including those which took place during the DOM period in Papua and Aceh

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 2, 2013 ALRC-CWS-24-03-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty-fourth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate Joint written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status, together with The Commission for the Disappeared and the Victims of Violence (KontraS) in Indonesia INDONESIA: The government must provide remedies for victims of past human rights violations, including those which took place during the DOM period in Papua and Aceh 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and the Commission for the Disappeared and the Victims of Violence (KontraS) wish to bring to the notice of the Human Rights Council (HRC) […]

THAILAND: The Normalization of the Violation of Human Rights in the Name of Protecting the Monarchy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2013 ALRC-CWS-24-02-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty-fourth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status THAILAND: The Normalization of the Violation of Human Rights in the Name of Protecting the Monarchy 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to raise concerns about the normalization of the violation of human rights in the name of protecting the monarchy in Thailand with the Human Rights Council. This statement is the seventh on this topic that the ALRC has submitted to the Council since May 2011. During the seventeenth […]

PAKISTAN: Government must commute death sentences and protect the people’s right to life

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 29, 2013 ALRC-CWS-24-01-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty-fourth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PAKISTAN: Government must commute death sentences and protect the people’s right to life 1. The new Pakistani government under the Pakistan Muslim League –Nawaz, is moving into office in September and is set to commence killing death row inmates within the next week, despite pleas by the international community to stay the death penalty. 400 inmates are set to be executed by the end of 2013. Critics of the PML-N fear that […]