INDONESIA: Ongoing violence in Papua and the need for dialogue

date: March 12, 2013 document id: ALRC-COS-22-13-2013 HRC section: Item 4, General Debate Speaker: Mr. Budi Tjahjono A Joint Oral Statement to the 22st Session of the UN Human Rights Council fromthe Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs / World Council of Churches ( CCIA/WCC), Dominicans for Justice and Peace (Order of Preachers), Franciscans International (FI), the International Coalition for Papua (ICP), Survival International (SI), United Evangelical Mission (UEM), Vivat International (VI), and the West Papua Netzwerk (WPN). INDONESIA: Ongoing violence in Papua and the need for dialogue This is a joint statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Commission of […]

MYANMAR: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Date: March 12, 2013 Document ID: ALRC-COS-22-14-2013 HRC section: Item 4, General Debate Speaker: Vani Selvarajah A Joint Oral Statement to the 22nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council from Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) and Asian Legal Resource Centre. MYANMAR: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Mr. President: Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, Lawyers for Lawyers and Asian Legal Resource Centre welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur. 1 We share his appreciation of the progress towards recognition of human rights in Myanmar, 2 including the release of some prisoners of […]

PAKISTAN: Human rights will remain a mirage in Pakistan without state’s political will to guarantee them

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-12-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second session, Agenda Item 6, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PAKISTAN: Human rights will remain a mirage in Pakistan without state’s political will to guarantee them 1. The Government of Pakistan will undoubtedly be proud of the number of votes it received in the re-election to the Human Rights Council. However, this might lead to the false idea that the country must be doing something right and therefore may continue to ignore its international obligations. Re-election should be a reward for […]

MYANMAR: The death of Phyo Wai Aung: Myanmar’s brutal institutions claim another victim

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 21, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-10-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second session, Agenda Item 4, Interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Myanmar A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status MYANMAR: The death of Phyo Wai Aung: Myanmar’s brutal institutions claim another victim 1. At the twentieth session of the Human Rights Council, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) drew the attention of delegates—not for the first time—to the case of Phyo Wai Aung, a young man falsely convicted of involvement in a bombing attack during 2010 that killed 10 people and injured scores. The ALRC […]

SRI LANKA: The absence of action regarding complaints of torture and ill-treatment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 21, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-09-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second 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 SRI LANKA: The absence of action regarding complaints of torture and ill-treatment 1. The ALRC and its sister organisation the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has submitted to the government of Sri Lanka in 2012 a total of 46 complaints relating to torture and ill-treatment. All these cases related to serious assaults on persons after arrest and during the period of detention at police stations. The victims in these cases and […]

SRI LANKA: The need for the preservation and proper inquiries into the remains of about 200 bodies found in the mass grave at Matale

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 20, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-08-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second 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 SRI LANKA: The need for the preservation and proper inquiries into the remains of about 200 bodies found in the mass grave at Matale 1. The ALRC and its sister organisation, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), have documented numerous cases of enforced disappearances to the state of Sri Lanka and to the UN Working Group. 2. The question of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka has been a matter of concern […]

INDIA: A long way to go to ensure food security

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 20, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-07-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second 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: A long way to go to ensure food security 1. Set to overtake China as the world’s most populous nation by 2030, India has a population of over 1.2 billion and is facing an enormous food shortage crisis. Government corruption has rendered it impossible to institute any lasting means through which to feed the Indian people. India has the largest population of hungry citizens, and is home to more than […]

INDONESIA: Government and law enforcement officials are expected to take serious measures to combat paedophilia in Bali

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 19, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-06-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with SRSG on violence against children A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDONESIA: Government and law enforcement officials are expected to take serious measures to combat paedophilia in Bali 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and the Network of Care for Child Victims of Paedophilia (Jaringan Peduli Anak Korban Pedofilia, JPAKP) wishes to bring to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council the issue of child molestation taking place across Bali, Indonesia, as the issue […]

MYANMAR: Targeting and torturing public enemies through the Unlawful Associations Act in Myanmar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 19, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-05-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second session, Agenda Item 3, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status MYANMAR: Targeting and torturing public enemies through the Unlawful Associations Act in Myanmar 1. In January 2013, the Asian Legal Resource Centre released a special dossier of 36 cases brought by personnel of the Myanmar armed forces and police under the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, against people accused of contact with the Kachin Independence Army, which since 2011 has resumed armed combat with government forces in the north […]

MYANMAR: Savage torture in ordinary criminal cases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 18, 2013 ALRC-CWS-22-03-2013 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty second session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Torture A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status MYANMAR: Savage torture in ordinary criminal cases 1. One misconception about the use of torture in Myanmar is that it has been a form of human rights abuse most commonly associated with the cases of political prisoners, and therefore in the current period we should expect the incidence of torture to diminish as political conditions change. This misconception is in part because of the heavy concentration […]