Category: South Asia

INDIA: A widow’s voice from Manipur resounds at the UN Human Rights Council

Countries, documents, India, press releases, South Asia May 31, 2013January 16, 2017 admin 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE ALRC-PRL-003-2013 A Joint Press Release by Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM), India and the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: A widow’s voice from Manipur resounds at the UN Human Rights Council (Hong Kong, 31 May 2013) Ms. Neena Ningombam, representing the Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM) and the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) spoke at the 23rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Neena spoke about extrajudicial executions in India and South Asia in the context of the report filed by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to the Council. The speech could […]

BANGLADESH: Rights groups urge the international community to make UPR a meaningful process

Bangladesh, Countries, documents, press releases, South Asia February 17, 2013August 28, 2015 admin 0 Comments

(Dhaka/Hong Kong: 17 February 2013): After a series of consultations held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Odhikar has urged the international community to participate in their fullest during the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Bangladesh. The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva will hold the UPR in April, this year. The participants discussed key issues concerning democracy, rule of law and fundamental human rights in Bangladesh that should be reviewed in the UPR. The participants reviewed documents, including the state party report filed in advance to the UPR. Reiterating the importance of the UPR, the participants agreed that the process could be made more […]

NEPAL: NGOs hold event on the need for greater international action on chronic human rights situations, with a focus on Nepal

Countries, documents, Nepal, press releases, press releases 2015, South Asia July 10, 2012July 9, 2015 admin 0 Comments

This has resulted in a monitoring gap, at a time when Nepal’s political and constitutional future looks bleak. Limited implementation of its recommendations and concerns about the newly adopted NHRC Act curtail the NHRC’s independence and mandate and cast serious doubt over its capacity in this regard.

PAKISTAN: UPR report calls for UN action on widespread torture, forced disappearances, killings, corruption, and attacks on women, minorities and human rights defenders

Countries, documents, Pakistan, press releases, press releases 2015, South Asia May 5, 2012July 9, 2015 admin 0 Comments

Under the UPR, the human rights situation in each UN member-state is considered under a state-led peer-review system every four years. Pakistan’s record will be reviewed by the UN Working Group on the UPR on October 30th, 2012, on the basis of a report submitted by the government, one prepared by the UN, and another comprising the input of civil society organisations.

SOUTH ASIA: Legislation used to punish, not protect human rights defenders in South Asia

16th Session - 2011 March, ALRC AT THE UN, documents, Human Rights Council, Oral Statements, South Asia March 14, 2011July 17, 2015 ALRC 0 Comments

date: March 14, 2011 document id: ALRC-COS-16-19-2011 HRC section: Item 3: General Debate An Oral Statement to the 16th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status SOUTH ASIA: Legislation used to punish, not protect human rights defenders in South Asia Thank you, The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to raise grave concerns about the increasing insecurity, threats and obstacles faced by human rights defenders in Asia. In extreme cases, defenders are being subjected to torture, disappearance or murder by State-agents, with impunity. The lack of effective legal safeguards and protection mechanisms in the region must […]

SOUTH ASIA: Institutional overhaul required to prevent torture in the South Asian sub-region

16th Session - 2011 March, ALRC AT THE UN, documents, Human Rights Council, South Asia, Written Submissions March 4, 2011July 17, 2015 ALRC 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 4, 2011 ALRC-CWS-16-15-2011 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Sixteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the SR on Torture A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status SOUTH ASIA: Institutional overhaul required to prevent torture in the South Asian sub-region In the South Asian sub region, the widespread use of torture remains the central deficit for the realisation of a rule of law framework. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has documented hundreds of cases of torture that show that torture is not merely practiced as a crude tool for criminal investigation in countries […]

SOUTH ASIA: Culture of impunity, a threat to human rights work in South Asia

16th Session - 2011 March, ALRC AT THE UN, documents, Human Rights Council, South Asia, Written Submissions February 23, 2011July 17, 2015 ALRC 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2011 ALRC-CWS-16-07-2011 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Sixteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the SR on human rights defenders A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status SOUTH ASIA: Culture of impunity, a threat to human rights work in South Asia In 2010, Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) continued to be under serious threat due to their work in the South Asian sub-region. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) witnessed intensified attacks on HRDs in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal, including criminal intimidation from state and non-state actors, physical abuse including […]

SOUTH ASIA: Poor governance and corruption in Bangladesh, India and Nepal leading to child malnutrition and widespread hunger

16th Session - 2011 March, ALRC AT THE UN, documents, Human Rights Council, South Asia, Written Submissions February 17, 2011July 17, 2015 ALRC 0 Comments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 17, 2011 ALRC-CWS-16-03-2011 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Sixteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the SR on the right to food A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status SOUTH ASIA: Poor governance and corruption in Bangladesh, India and Nepal leading to child malnutrition and widespread hunger The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to highlight failures by the Bangladeshi, Indian and Nepalese governments in ensuring their citizen’s right to food. All three are State Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which guarantees the right to food […]

SOUTH ASIA: Sale and trafficking of children denounced in dialogue with Special Rapporteur

12th Session - 2009 September, ALRC AT THE UN, documents, Human Rights Council, Oral Statements, South Asia September 16, 2009August 25, 2015 ALRC 0 Comments

Date: September 16, 2009 Document id: ALRC-COS-12-08-2009 Speaker: Michael Anthony HRC section: Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children An Oral Statement to the 12th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status SOUTH ASIA: Sale and trafficking of children denounced in dialogue with Special Rapporteur Thank you Mr. President, The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the report and work of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Data collected in separate studies between 2005 and 2008 conducted by USAID, UNICEF, the ILO and […]

RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION Caste-based Discrimination in South Asia (E/CN.4/2001/NGO/61)

ALRC AT THE UN, CHR 57th Session - 2001, Commission on Human Rights, documents, South Asia, Written Submissions January 30, 2001August 25, 2015 admin 0 Comments

Link to UNCHR E/CN.4/2001/NGO/61) COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty-seventh Session Item 6 of the Provisional Agenda RACISM, RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, XENOPHOBIA AND ALL FORMS OF DISCRIMINATION Written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre, a non-governmental organization with general consultative status Caste-based Discrimination in South Asia 1. Caste is an entrenched form of discrimination still practiced widely throughout South Asia. From an Indian progenitor, caste systems spread and perpetuated a form of human degradation with few parallels. In essence, caste discrimination limits one’s employment to ancestral calling and prohibits inter-marriage, permanently and absolutely dividing social strata. In practice, discrimination is extended to all aspects of life; its physical and psychological […]