FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-003-2014 June 16, 2014 A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PAKISTAN: Appeal to end enforced disappearances and safe recovery of student leaders The Asian Legal Resources Centre (ALRC) has on numerous previous occasions alerted the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the large numbers of missing persons in Pakistan. The country is continuously beset by widespread, grave human rights violations perpetrated by the various State-agencies and institutions, notably more so by the infamous Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)[1] and the military. Hundreds of students are reported missing as the result of enforced disappearances taking place across the country – particularly in the conflict – affected areas, mainly in […]
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BANGLADESH: Big Brother Law for NGOs on the anvil
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-002-2014 June 13, 2014 A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Big Brother Law for NGOs on the anvil The Bangladesh government wants to quash human rights activism. The cabinet has approved the “Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulations Bill, 2014”, which will likely become law soon. The Bill empowers bureaucrats to decide the fate of NGOs and voluntary activities. All individuals or collectives, from NGO’s to volunteer groups, receiving foreign funds for implementing projects will be under constant surveillance under this law. The law will usher even more arbitrary executive actions in Bangladesh. The Bill, in its current form, empowers bureaucrats to grant registration to […]
BANGLADESH: Incommensurable with the rule of law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-STM-001-2014 May 22, 2014 A Statement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Incommensurable with the rule of law The international community continues to invest effort in developing governance systems in countries like Bangladesh. Understanding the dynamics of the country where resources are invested thus remains a quest. Human rights experts hailing from countries with mature democracies and functioning rule of law institutions tend to be well-versed in the behaviour of their country’s institutions. But, such prisms can have little meaning elsewhere. The realities for a citizen in a rule of law nation and realities for a citizen in a country like Bangladesh are incommensurable. In a […]
A Sociological Exploration of Disappearances in Sri Lanka
The last four decades of political violence in Sri Lanka have witnessed the enforced disappearance of tens of thousands of Sri Lankans. While much of the relevant literature has contextualised disappearance as a counter-insurgency strategy in the context of armed confrontation, the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 did not bring about an end to the phenomenon. The hypothesis of this study is that political competition was the motive behind disappearances, which served as an integral part of a system of state power and patronage to enable the political elite to immobilise all political opposition. As a central component of this political project, […]
INDIA: Invitation to a side event at HRC 25 on 18 March
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-ANM-001-2014 12 February 2014 An Announcement by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre wishes to invite you for a side event on Human Rights in India to be held from 13:00 to 15:00 hrs, on 18 March 2014 in room number XXVII. The side event will discuss human rights issues in India, and the efforts of civil society and state institutions. The panellists will highlight steps in, and concerns regarding, seeking and obtaining adequate redress to human rights violations, speaking to specific issues of gendered violence, livelihood options, and ethnic and religious violence, and to issues relevant to minority communities and issues of […]
The Law, Patriarchy and Religious Fundamentalism: Women’s Rights in Pakistan
The women of Pakistan bear the brunt of poor governance, military strife, and the corruption of the social, political and economic systems which surround them. W omen make up 49% of the population of Pakistan, yet they are continuously marginalized and discriminated against by the middle class and feudal societies, and through political and social structures which are inherently misogynistic. Recently, eruptions of violence in cities across the region have prompted new concerns that militia are specifically targeting women in their terror campaigns. As an explicitly Muslim state, the women of Pakistan are beholden to a number of Islamic principles. For one, the family is seen as the nucleus of […]
Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh
(Hong Kong, November 6, 2013): The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has published a new book titled, “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” edited by Md Shariful Islam, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dhaka, and contributed by eleven authors, including the editor, in nine chapters. The edited volume is an outcome of an ALRC project titled, “Corruption, Torture and Extrajudicial Killing in BANGLADESH: Examining the Role of State Institutions” that took place mostly between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. As the excerpt of the book puts it: So long as democracy is understood in terms of the guarantee of basic human rights, this is crucially […]
BANGLADESH: New book “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” released
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE ALRC-PRL-004-2013 A Press Release by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: New book “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” released (Hong Kong, November 6, 2013): The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has published a new book titled, “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” edited by Md Shariful Islam, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dhaka, and contributed by eleven authors, including the editor, in nine chapters. The edited volume is an outcome of an ALRC project titled, “Corruption, Torture and Extrajudicial Killing in BANGLADESH: Examining the Role of State Institutions” that took place mostly between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. As the […]
BANGLADESH: New book “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” released
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE ALRC-PRL-004-2013 A Press Release by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: New book “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” released (Hong Kong, November 6, 2013): The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has published a new book titled, “Human Rights and Governance: Bangladesh” edited by Md Shariful Islam, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dhaka, and contributed by eleven authors, including the editor, in nine chapters. The edited volume is an outcome of an ALRC project titled, “Corruption, Torture and Extrajudicial Killing in BANGLADESH: Examining the Role of State Institutions” that took place mostly between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. As the […]
The Neglected Genocide – Human rights abuses against Papuans in the Central Highlands, 1977 – 1978
Please note that on 25.10.2013 at 12.00 a.m. (GMT +8) an updated version of the report was put online with a corrected image on page 32 and page 94 Title : The Neglected Genocide – Human rights abuses against Papuans in the Central Highlands, 1977 – 1978 ISBN : 978-962-8314-63-8 (online) Language : English, Indonesian ‘The Neglected Genocide’ is a report detailing a series of human rights abuses that took place in the Central Highlands of Papua, during the military operations in 1977-1978. In this publication, the AHRC reports that at least 4,146 Papuans, including children, women, and the elderly were killed. The research found that the methods of killing […]