Date: June 23, 2014 Document id: ALRC-COS-26-21-2014 HRC section: Item 4, General Debate Speaker: Mr. Budi Tjahjono A Joint Oral Statement to the 26th session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), NGO with general consultative status and Lawyers Rights Watch Canada and Franciscan International, NGOs with special consultative status THAILAND: The Council must declare the coup illegal Thank you Mr. President, On 22 May 2014, a military junta, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), usurped power by force and overthrew the democratically elected government of Thailand. The ALRC and LRWC are concerned that since the coup, human rights have suffered a […]
Category: 26th Session – 2014 June
NEPAL / REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Blind amnesty and systematic segregation
Date: June 19, 2014 Document id: ALRC-COS-26-20-2014 HRC section: Item 3, General Debate Speaker: Mr. MOON JeongHo Oral Statement to the 26th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization with general consultative status NEPAL / REPUBLIC OF KOREA: Blind amnesty and systematic segregation Thank you Mr. President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)expresses its deep concern about the absence of investigation into the systematic segregation regulation and policy that resulted in at least 500 deaths in a so-called ‘welfare’ facility in the Republic of Korea during the 1970s and 80s. The Ordinance no. 10 of the Ministry of Home Affairs, […]
SOUTH ASIA: No rule of law without independence of judges and lawyers
Date: June 16, 2014 Document id: ALRC-COS-26-19-2014 HRC section: Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Independence of judges and lawyers Speaker: Mr. MOON JeongHo An Oral Statement to the 26th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status SOUTH ASIA: No rule of law without independence of judges and lawyers Thank you Mr. Vice-President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre(ALRC) and its partners welcome the report (A/HRC/26/32) presented by Madam Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. We appreciate the efforts made by the Rapporteur to ensure the rule of law is upheld through […]
EURASIA: Wrongful prosecutions of lawyers
EURASIA: Wrongful prosecutions of lawyers Date: June 16, 2014 Document id: ALRC-COS-26-18-2014 HRC section: Item 3, Clustered Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Independence of judges and lawyers Speaker: Mr. MOON JeongHo A Joint Oral Statement to the 26th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC) & Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L), NGOs in special consultative status and Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) with general consultative status EURASIA: Wrongful prosecutions of lawyers Thank you Mr. Vice-President, Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), Lawyers for Lawyers (L4L) and the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) thank the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers for her […]
INDONESIA: Freedom of expression and Assembly in West Papua
Date: June 10, 2014 Document id: ALRC-COS-26-17-2014 HRC section: Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Freedom of expression and on Peaceful Assembly and Association Speaker: Mr. Budi Tjahjono A Joint Oral Statement to the 26th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), Franciscans International (FI), International Coalition for Papua (ICP), Tapol, Vivat International, West Papua Netzwerk (WPN) INDONESIA: Freedom of expression and Assembly in West Papua Thank you Mr. President, We, the International Coalition for Papua would like to draw the Council’s attention to the deterioration of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Papua, Indonesia. The area remains restricted to […]
INDIA: Reinforcing subordination of women in law and practice
ALRC-CWS-26-16-2014 June 9, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Discrimination against Women A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Reinforcing subordination of women in law and practice 1. To formally recognize the existence of discrimination against women in India, both in law and in practice, the country has acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993, undertaking obligation to eliminate “any distinction, exclusion or restriction” made on the basis of sex which impairs or nullifies “the recognition, enjoyment or exercise” women’s “human […]
ASIA: Independence of judiciary, a mirage in South Asia
ALRC-CWS-26-15-2014 June 9, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre ASIA: Independence of judiciary, a mirage in South Asia 1. The arbitrary dismissal in January 2013 of the former chief justice of Sri Lanka, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, the first female Chief Justice in South Asia, reflects the independence of judiciary in the region. Though conditions prevailing in Sri Lanka are not exactly the same in the other South Asian countries of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan where the Asian Legal Resource Centre is engaged, the fact is that the judiciary […]
Republic of Korea: State’s systematic segregation policy and law results in 513 deaths in a ‘concentration camp’ (“Auschwitz” in South Korea)
ALRC-CWS-26-14-2014 June 6, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A joint written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and a committee for the real truth of the case of Hyungje Bok-ji-won consisting of civil society organizations[1] Republic of Korea: State’s systematic segregation policy and law results in 513 deaths in a ‘concentration camp’ (“Auschwitz” in South Korea) 1. As a result of industrialization and urbanization in the Republic of Korea, the society faced a rapid growth of capital which triggered massive migration from the rural areas to the urban areas. Those […]
THAILAND: Enforced disappearance during a time of lawlessness
ALRC-CWS-26-13-2014 June 6, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A joint written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre with Community Resource Center and Justice for Peace Foundation THAILAND: Enforced disappearance during a time of lawlessness 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)[1] wishes to bring the suspected enforced disappearance of Porjalee Rakchongcharoen, a Karen environmental activist and human rights defender (HRD) to the attention of the Human Rights Council. Porjalee disappeared after he was arrested on 17 April 2014 by park officials in Phetchaburi’s Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi province, Thailand. The park officials claim that […]
NEPAL: Council should exert strong pressure to bring a law that criminalises torture
ALRC-CWS-26-12-2014 June 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A joint written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre and Forum for Protection of People’s Rights, Nepal (PPR Nepal) NEPAL: Council should exert strong pressure to bring a law that criminalises torture 1. Torture is a grave violation of human rights. The prohibition of torture is a fundamental element of international law, enshrined in major international human rights instruments, such as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), 1984, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 1948 and International Covenant on Civil […]