Category: 32nd Session- 2016 June

INDONESIA: Government fails to guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly and association

32nd Session- 2016 June, ALRC AT THE UN, Commission on Human Rights, Indonesia, Written Submissions June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to Indonesia’s dismal protection and acknowledgment of the right to freedom of assembly and association. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the government has an obligation to guarantee such rights. The Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD 1945) also clearly guarantees and protects such rights. Despite this, countless violations of these rights occur, while the State is largely ignorant and indifferent.

PAKISTAN: Curbing freedom of expression in the name of national security and State ideology

32nd Session- 2016 June, ALRC AT THE UN, Commission on Human Rights, documents, Pakistan, Written Submissions May 31, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) would like to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the deteriorating state of freedom of expression in Pakistan. In states like Pakistan, where democracy is little more than fascism behind a façade of democracy, free press is the first casualty. The Constitution and certain legislations authorize the government to curb freedom of speech on subjects that include the Constitution itself, the Armed Forces, the Judiciary, and religion. Harsh blasphemy laws have occasionally been used to suppress the media as well.

BANGLADESH: Effective interventions needed for protecting people’s freedom of expression

32nd Session- 2016 June, ALRC AT THE UN, ALRC Publications, Bangladesh, Commission on Human Rights, Written Submissions May 31, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

Exercising the right to freedom of opinion and expression has become more challenging than ever in Bangladesh. The government uses a number of draconian laws and institutions, including the Judiciary, to silence citizens, especially human rights defenders and members of the civil society. Citizens are being imprisoned and detained for making critical comments about the Prime Minister and her family in social networking sites like Facebook. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) once again raises the matter with the United Nations Human Rights Council, seeking its effective intervention to promote and protect these rights.