ALRC-CWS-28-005-2015 March 03, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PHILIPPINES: Failure to investigate and prevent widespread attacks on human rights defenders 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (A/HRC/28/63). We take note of the Special Rapporteur’s emphasis on the importance of “preventing violations against defenders (para. 6).” In General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/68/181 para. 9), states are called upon to “exercise due diligence in preventing violations and abuses” against defenders in line with their primary responsibility to promote and protect rights. 2. The ALRC takes note of […]
Category: Countries
PAKISTAN: An attack on independence of judiciary and right to fair trial
ALRC-CWS-28-004-2015 March 03, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PAKISTAN: An attack on independence of judiciary and right to fair trial 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to bring to the attention of the UN Human Rights Council the supra-constitutional arrangement that has established military courts and is depriving the people of Pakistan their right to fair trial. 2. Following the gruesome massacre of children at the Army Public School in Peshawar on 16th December 2014, under military pressure, the government lifted the moratorium on death sentences and rapidly pushed through the 21st Constitution Amendment, establishing military courts […]
INDIA: Criminal justice reforms elementary to control violence against women
ALRC-CWS-28-003-2015 March 03, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Criminal justice reforms elementary to control violence against women 1. After the infamous New Delhi rape case of 2012, and other cases of gender based violence subsequently reported by the media, the Government of India initiated a series of measures to curb violence against women. The government’s initiatives have, however, been limited to sensitising communities and instructing the local police to register complaints upon receipt. Amendments were made in 2013 to the Indian Penal Code 1860, The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, The Indian Evidence Act 1872, and to The […]
THAILAND: Human rights crisis is deepened
Date: September 17, 2014 Document ID:ALRC-COS-27-14-2014 Speaker:Mr. MOON JeongHo HRC section: Item 3, General Debate An Oral Statementto the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status THAILAND: Human rights crisis is deepened Thank you Mr. President. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) continues to draw attention from the Council to the deepening human rights crisis in Thailand following the 22 May coup.Although the country has been experiencing political unrest, this unrest is protracted, and nothing in the current circumstances is justification to introduce martial law and launch a military coup under the international human rights […]
INDONESIA: Human rights defenders in Papua
Date: September 16, 2014 Document id:ALRC-COS-27-16-2014 Speaker:Mr.Damion Vogt HRC section: Item 3, General Debate A Joint Oral Statementto the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from 21 NGOs INDONESIA: Human rights defenders in Papua Mr. President, Papuan human rights defenders are often confronted by intimidation from Indonesian authorities. Franciscans International and a coalition of 18 international and national organisations would like to call the Council’s attention to the case of intimidation of Papuan human rights lawyer, MrGustafKawer. MrKawer is an independent lawyer from Papua who has been involved in numerous human rights litigations. He was summoned by the Papua regional police as a witness on August 22, 2014. […]
INDONESIA: Freedom of expression in Papua and West Papua
Date: September 15, 2014 Document id:ALRC-COS-27-15-2014 Speaker: Mr. Budi Tjahjono HRC section: Item 3, General Debate A Joint Oral Statement to the 27th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from 23 NGOs INDONESIA: Freedom of expression in Papua and West Papua Mr. President, Franciscans International and VIVAT International in coalition with 16 international and national organizations would like to draw the Council’s attention to the still unresolved issue regarding the freedom of expression in the provinces of Papua and West Papua in Indonesia. In 2013, the Human Rights Committee in its concluding observation requested Indonesia to take the necessary steps to ensure that any restrictions to the freedom of […]
BANGLADESH: People’s rights cannot be conceived without the existence of the rule of law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE ALRC-PRL-001-2014 A Press Release by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: People’s rights cannot be conceived without the existence of the rule of law (Hong Kong, September 12, 2014) “People’s rights cannot be conceived without the existence of the rule of law, in any given territory,” says the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) in a new edition of its quarterly journal, article2, examining the inexistence of the rule of law in Bangladesh. The publication titled “Special Report: Inexistent Rule of Law in Bangladesh“, Vol. 13, No. 2 & 3, June – September 2014, is now available online. This special edition focuses on the criminal justice […]
THAILAND: Human rights in crisis three months after coup
ALRC-CWS-27-12-2014 September 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre THAILAND: Human rights in crisis three months after coup 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to raise grave concerns with the Human Rights Council about the deepening human rights crisis in Thailand following the 22 May 2014 coup launched by a military junta calling itself the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha. The NCPO has claimed that it carried out the coup for the vague purpose of “reform” and with the […]
BANGLADESH: Absence of freedom of expression contributes to the non-existence of the rule of law
ALRC-CWS-27-11-2014 September 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre BANGLADESH: Absence of freedom of expression contributes to the non-existence of the rule of law 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to share with the UN Human Rights Council the status of freedom of expression and opinion in Bangladesh. 2. Bangladesh’s Constitution guarantees “Freedom of thought and conscience and of speech” in a strange manner. Article 39 of the Constitution reads: “(1) Freedom of thought and conscience is guaranteed. (2) Subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law […]
PAKISTAN: A call for an immediate intervention to stop extrajudicial killings
ALRC-CWS-27-10-2014 September 4, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre PAKISTAN: A call for an immediate intervention to stop extrajudicial killings 1. Extra judicial killings have become rampant in Pakistan; they are being executed with impunity and are rarely tried in Courts. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) continues to document hundreds of cases of extra-judicial killings in Pakistan, which are generally accompanied by absolute impunity, due to the lack of investigations and prosecutions. The rampant killings, the lack of effective actions to neither punish them nor provide redress to […]