Category: Human Rights Council

INDIA: Extrajudicial execution to subdue indigenous communities must end

32nd Session- 2016 June, ALRC AT THE UN, Commission on Human Rights, India, Written Submissions June 2, 2016January 16, 2017 Admin 0 Comments

The Indian state of Odisha is home to a large section of India’s indigenous people. Most of them are poor and their lives depend on forests they call home. They are the original inhabitants of the land. Unfortunately, this peace-loving people are today forcefully dispossessed from their lands, illegally and arbitrarily arrested, and face death at the hands of the state agencies. The Indian state of Odisha is blessed with natural wealth. Of this includes an estimated 30% of the land covered by some form of forest and the state accounting for 83, 92, 55, 38 and 26 per cent of chromite, nickel, bauxite, iron ore and coal resources of […]

PAKISTAN: Extrajudicial killings make a mockery of failed judicial institutions

32nd Session- 2016 June, ALRC AT THE UN, Commission on Human Rights, Pakistan, Written Submissions June 2, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) would like to draw the UN Human Rights Council’s attention to the rise in extrajudicial killings committed by Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) officials. Since the start of the Military operation Zarb-e-Azb two years ago, extrajudicial killings have increased manifold. When the operation began, the government vowed to keep a check on the excesses of LEA’s to ensure innocent persons would not be arrested; there were talks about constituting a monitoring committee. However, as is usual with State formed committees, this one failed to deliver; extrajudicial killings are rampant with total impunity for State officers involved.

BANGLADESH: Democracy and competent justice mechanisms needed to stop extrajudicial executions

32nd Session- 2016 June, ALRC AT THE UN, Bangladesh, Commission on Human Rights, Written Submissions June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

There has been a continuing discussion about extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions at the United Nations Human Rights Council, which has now been in operation for ten years since inception. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has shared analytical information with the Council underlining the depth of the systemic human rights problems in Bangladesh in the last ten years. There is a dire need to review the UN Human Rights mechanisms in order to address extrajudicial executions, flagrant violations of the right to life.

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.

BURMA/MYANMAR: International community must assist in the re-engineering of justice institutions

31st Session - 2016 March, ALRC AT THE UN, Burma / Myanmar, Commission on Human Rights, Oral Statements March 18, 2016January 16, 2017 Admin 0 Comments

An Oral Statement to the 31st Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) on Myanmar’s UPR Outcomes. Due to time constraints in Council proceedings, the following Oral Statement could not be presented at the Council. The Statement is now being shared to inform the wider audience in Myanmar and across the world about the ALRC’s campaign on institutional transformation in Myanmar. Mr. President. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) notes that the adoption of UPR Outcomes on Myanmar coincides with the long-cherished struggles for democracy in Myanmar coming to fruition. The flowering of democracy in Myanmar is proof that people’s desire for democracy […]

NEPAL: Universal Periodic Review has become mere ritual

31st Session - 2016 March, ALRC AT THE UN, Commission on Human Rights, Nepal, Oral Statements March 17, 2016 Admin 0 Comments

An Oral Statement to the 31st Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) on the Universal Periodic Review Outcomes on Nepal. Due to time constraints in Council proceedings, the following Oral Statement could not be presented at the Council. The Statement is now being shared to inform the wider audience in Nepal and across the world about the ALRC’s campaign on institutional transformation in Nepal.