The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Franciscans International wish to bring to the immediate attention of this council that the judges, prosecutors, and lawyers in Asia face acute forms of suppression of their freedom to engage in their profession independently. Perhaps Hong Kong, South Korea, India, and Japan are exception to this general category.
The fight against extremism and crime are the excuses the governments in India and Pakistan often cite for resorting to extrajudicial executions. Harsh legislations, like the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, which is implemented in several regions of India, provide statutory impunity for extrajudicial executions, better known as “encounter killings” in South Asia.
The government is also curtailing the freedom of peaceful assembly and association of civil society organisations and the political opposition. There is a tangible fear that, in the absence of space for liberal voices, radical groups will proliferate.
The police and military have been involved in many conflicts to facilitate mining and plantation. They invariably stand on the side of the company. For instance, in March 2015, in Ramunia Village, Pantai Labu Sub-district, North Sumatera Province, the Military attacked peasants at the time of grabbing their land.
The Nepal Government, on its part, has been found to be wanting on various counts, including a near complete absence of presence outside Kathmandu valley. Nepal has not seen local body elections for decades and this has resulted in a serious administrative crisis on the ground. As only the bureaucrats govern most of these areas, with no checks and balances from elected representatives, allegations of corruption and incompetence abound. The earthquake has brought all these issues to the fore.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-16-2015 June 12, 2015 A Written Submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDONESIA: Weak judicial system and insufficient legal aid allows for unfair trial A basic requirement in ensuring justice, fair trial is largely dependent on the state of the criminal justice system in the country, particularly the effectiveness of judges and lawyers. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the fact that judicial independence in Indonesia suffers. Indonesia’s Judicial Commission received as many as 1,781 complaints from the public about unfair trial between January and December 2014. In […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-16-2015 June 12, 2015 A Written Submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDONESIA: Weak judicial system and insufficient legal aid allows for unfair trial A basic requirement in ensuring justice, fair trial is largely dependent on the state of the criminal justice system in the country, particularly the effectiveness of judges and lawyers. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the fact that judicial independence in Indonesia suffers. Indonesia’s Judicial Commission received as many as 1,781 complaints from the public about unfair trial between January and December 2014. In […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-16-2015 June 11, 2015 A Written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PAKISTAN: Business and Human Rights – government must strictly follow the regulations of ILO in its true spirit The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) would like to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to an incident in a Pakistani garment factory where workers were burned alive. Ali Enterprises is a garment factory located in Plot 67, Hub Road, Baldia Town, Karachi. It has exported garments to Europe and the United States, employing between 1,200 and […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-15-2015 June 11, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDONESIA: Land grabbing and rights abuse occurs widely under ‘economic development’ State party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (IESCSR), Indonesia has a domestic law promulgating the Covenant as well as relevant provisions in its Constitution, particularly regarding ensuring an adequate standard of living for all. Nevertheless, widespread human rights violations are occurring in the area of land and natural resources. Not only are government policies detrimental to farmers, state officers are themselves involved in land grabbing and other rights abuses. While Article 33 […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-12-2015 June 10, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDONESIA: Government unwilling to genuinely protect freedom of expression Despite the existence of constitutional and other legal provisions, protection for the right to freedom of expression remains weak in Indonesia. This is largely due to the government’s inconsistency in applying the law, as well as a lack of police regulations and policy on dealing with citizens expressing their right. At the same time, the government has also enacted some controversial regulations that can potentially be used to restrict freedom of expression: a) Law No. 7 of 2012 on […]
