Category: ALRC AT THE UN

ASIA: Human Rights Mechanisms Require Exploring Effective Redress for Reprisals

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Asia, Oral Statements October 7, 2021 admin 0 Comments

An Oral Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President: The Secretary General’s Report on Reprisals reflects the manifold challenges the human rights advocates face across the world. Internationally reputed human rights organisation Odhikar and its leaderships have been facing reprisals for cooperating with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, Special Procedures, and the Treaty Bodies, as reflected in the report. On 14 February 2021, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh has vacated the stay order on the prosecution against Odhikar’s Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan while their review petition challenging this decision remains […]

ASIA: Human Rights Council’s Interventions Should be Contextually Realistic

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Asia, Oral Statements September 30, 2021 admin 0 Comments

An Oral Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President, We wish to bring to the attention of the Human Rights Council that a serious undermining of the rule of law is happening in several countries of Asia such as the Philippines, Cambodia, Nepal, and Bangladesh that indicate the patterns similar to those mentioned by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in reports on Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Undermining of the criminal justice mechanisms leads to rapid and sharp decline of rule of law and the fair trial in a radical way. Arbitrary selections for non-investigation of […]

MYANMAR/BURMA: Perpetrators of International Crimes Must Face Punishment

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Burma / Myanmar, Oral Statements September 14, 2021 admin 0 Comments

An Oral Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) Madam President: The Asian Legal Resource Centre appreciates the continued efforts being made by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar since the establishment of the mandate. The Mechanism continues its mandated tasks of collection of evidence, storing them in secured digitalised locations, analysing and sharing with relevant multilateral entities, as the report suggests. This Council and the international human rights community is well aware of the fact that genocidal crimes and crimes under international law are not over yet. The same pattern of crimes that were committed against the […]

SRI LANKA: UN Human Rights Mechanisms Ought to Explore New Approaches to Protect Rights

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Sri Lanka, Written Submissions September 14, 2021 admin 0 Comments

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre For several decades now, the widespread practice of enforced disappearances has been experienced in several countries in Asia and elsewhere. Despite many attempts by the UN human rights agencies including the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, there are hardly any cases where credible investigations or prosecutions have taken place concerning the cases which sometimes go into thousands which are being reported. The Asian Legal Resources Centre (ALRC) urges the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings and the Working Group on Enforced […]

BANGLADESH: Government Uses Arbitrary Detention and Degenerated Judiciary Against Dissidents

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Bangladesh, Written Submissions September 14, 2021 admin 0 Comments

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) brings the issue of arbitrary detention and the degenerated justice mechanisms to the United Nations Human Rights Council focusing on the situation in Bangladesh, which is a Member of the Council. The ALRC has exposed the feature of the judicial independence of Bangladesh time and again in its Written Statements and Oral Interventions since the inception of the Council. Each time the Council sits for its Sessions the authorities of Bangladesh sets new records of abusing the country’s judiciary. The country’s incumbent Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain was virtually presiding over an […]

INDONESIA: New Regulation on Special Autonomy for Papua must ensure protection for Indigenous Papuans

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Indonesia, Written Submissions September 13, 2021 admin 0 Comments

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the problem of amendment of Law on Special Autonomy for Papua. The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia has officially ratified the second amendment to Law Number 21 of 2001 concerning Special Autonomy for the Papua Province to become a law. The decision was made at the Plenary Meeting of the Closing of Session Period V for the 2020-2021 Session Year. In total, 18 Articles underwent changes and two […]

BANGLADESH: Enforced Disappearances Must Warrant Consequences

48th - Session - September 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Bangladesh, Written Submissions September 13, 2021September 13, 2021 admin 0 Comments

A Written Statement to the 48th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) raises the issue of Bangladesh’s rabid enforced disappearances to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s 48th Regular Session. Bangladesh’s incumbent government began using enforced disappearances as one of the tools to silence the dissidents since assuming to the office in January 2009. Independent human rights defenders’ documentation suggests that the law-enforcement agencies had abducted 603 people resulting their disappearance under the incumbent government till June 2021. The actual number of enforced disappearances are few times higher than this figure. Many families of […]

INDONESIA: Pretrial detention under the Criminal Law Procedure needs serious reform, having caused torture and ill-treatment

46th Session - February 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Indonesia, Written Submissions February 24, 2021 admin 0 Comments

A Written Statement to the 46th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) wishes to draw the attention of the UN Human Rights Council to the problem in the existing Criminal Law Procedure which at present still regulates pretrial detention in Indonesia. Pretrial detention is still a serious problem for Law Enforcement in Indonesia. This is primarily because it is one of the main problems causing the practice of torture and other inhuman acts. It is certainly not in accordance with the standards of international Human Rights Law. Moreover, pretrial detention for a long period of […]

BANGLADESH: Torture being used to block access to justice

46th Session - February 2021, ALRC AT THE UN, Bangladesh, Written Submissions February 24, 2021 admin 0 Comments

A Written Statement to the 46th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) brings the issue of torture to the United Nations Human Rights Council the way the Member State has institutionalised it in Bangladesh. The matters on the institutionalised practice of torture in Bangladesh deserves adequate attention and effective actions from the international community. Actions are required not only for the reason that Bangladesh disregards the Human Rights Mechanisms of the United Nations, and the State abuses the multilateral institutions for displaying its untrue cooperations with the international bodies. Rather, the accountability of the State is urgently […]

BANGLADESH: Arbitrary Detention used as a complementary tool for the unelected government and a coercive law-enforcement system

45th Session - September 2020, ALRC AT THE UN, Bangladesh, Written Submissions September 11, 2020 admin 0 Comments

A Written Submission to the 45th Regular Session of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Arbitrary Detention used as a complementary tool for the unelected government and a coercive law-enforcement system The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) once again draws attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council and independent experts of its Special Procedures about systemic use of arbitrary arrests and detention as a tool for silencing the citizens, coerce the state power, and enjoy corruption. Bangladesh is a State where legality or rational reason is not required for arresting a person. A coercive law-enforcement system and an illegitimate government, which consecutively […]