INDONESIA: Blasphemy law should be repealed to show Indonesia’s commitment to the protection of freedom of expression

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 7, 2012 ALRC-CWS-20-04-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twentieth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDONESIA: Blasphemy law should be repealed to show Indonesia’s commitment to the protection of freedom of expression The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to bring the attention of the Human Rights Council (HRC) to violations of the right to the freedom of expression and opinion that are being engendered through the use of Indonesia’s legal provisions prohibiting blasphemy. Religious blasphemy is prohibited in […]

ASIA: Human Rights Council alerted to grave violations in Nepal and Indonesia’s Papuan regions

date: June 28, 2012 document id: ALRC-COS-20-13-2012 HRC section: Item 4, General Debate Speaker: Ms. Juliette Thibaud An Oral Statement to the 20th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Human Rights Council alerted to grave violations in Nepal and Indonesia’s Papuan regions Thank you Madam President, In Nepal, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly without having produced a new constitution and growing political instability, threaten security gains and human rights, as noted by the High Commissioner this session. Serious human rights violations, notably caste-based and gender-motivated violence, continue to be documented and are insufficiently […]

ASIA: Human Rights Council alerted to gender-motivated violations in Nepal, Pakistan and Indonesia

date: June 26, 2012 document id: ALRC-COS-20-11-2012 HRC section: Item 3, General Debate Speaker: Ms. Juliette Thibaud An Oral Statement to the 20th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Human Rights Council alerted to gender-motivated violations in Nepal, Pakistan and Indonesia Thank you Madam President, The ALRC is gravely concerned by widespread gender-based discrimination and violence in Asia. In Nepal, the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly risks greatly undermining efforts to increase protection of women’s rights, by weakening the accountability of law enforcement agencies in dealing with gender-motivated violence, and delaying the adoption of […]

ASIA: Business enterprises and attacks on human rights defenders and protestors

date: June 21, 2012 document id: ALRC-COS-20-12-2012 HRC section: Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on the Issue of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises A Joint Oral Statement to the 20th Session of the UN Human Rights Council from Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, and Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Business enterprises and attacks on human rights defenders and protestors President, Members of the Working Group: LRWC and ALRC welcome your report, including your comment that ASEAN’s Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights plans a thematic study towards an ASEAN […]

ASIA: Violations of freedom of expression and extra-judicial killings denounced in Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines

date: June 19, 2012 document id: ALRC-COS-20-10-2012 HRC section: Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression and extra-judicial killings speaker: Ms. Tyrell Haberkorn An Oral Statement to the 20th Session of the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organization in general consultative status ASIA: Violations of freedom of expression and extra-judicial killings denounced in Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines Thank you Madam President, The ALRC welcomes the work and reports of the Rapporteurs on freedom of expression and extra-judicial killings. We welcome the Pakistani government’s agreement to a visit by the mandate on freedom of expression. As […]

THAILAND: Dehumanization and death in custody of a Thai citizen accused of lese majesty: The case of Amphon Tangnoppakul

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 14, 2012 ALRC-CWS-20-09-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twentieth session, Agenda Item 4, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status THAILAND: Dehumanization and death in custody of a Thai citizen accused of lese majesty: The case of Amphon Tangnoppakul On 8 May 2012, Mr. Amphon Tangnoppakul (also known to his family as “Ah Kong” or “grandfather,” and to the public as “Uncle SMS”), a 61-year-old man, was found dead in prison custody. At the time of his death, Amphon was serving a 20-year sentence received upon being convicted of four violations under […]

INDONESIA: The Indonesian Government must take action to address serious violations of the freedoms of assembly and expression in the Papuan provinces

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 13, 2012 ALRC-CWS-20-08-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twentieth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDONESIA: The Indonesian Government must take action to address serious violations of the freedoms of assembly and expression in the Papuan provinces INDONESIA: The Indonesian Government must take action to address serious violations of the freedoms of assembly and expression in the Papuan provinces INDONESIA: The Indonesian Government must take action to address serious violations of the freedoms of assembly and expression in the […]

PAKISTAN: Human Rights Council urged to act concerning pattern of extra-judicial killings and violations of freedom of expression in Pakistan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 12, 2012 ALRC-CWS-20-07-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twentieth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial killings A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PAKISTAN: Human Rights Council urged to act concerning pattern of extra-judicial killings and violations of freedom of expression in Pakistan The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) urges the members of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the body’s Special Procedures to intervene with the government of Pakistan (GoP) concerning the grave and widespread human rights violations taking place […]

THAILAND: Freedom of expression under attack

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 11, 2012 ALRC-CWS-20-06-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twentieth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status THAILAND: Freedom of expression under attack The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to bring the crisis of freedom of expression in Thailand to the attention of the Human Rights Council. This statement is the third on this topic that the ALRC has submitted to the Council since May 2011. During the seventeenth session of the Council in May 2011, the ALRC highlighted the […]

MYANMAR: Torture, forced confession and a death sentence in Myanmar: the case of Phyo Wai Aung

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 8, 2012 ALRC-CWS-20-05-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twentieth session, Agenda Item 4, General Debate A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status MYANMAR: Torture, forced confession and a death sentence in Myanmar: the case of Phyo Wai Aung On 8 May 2012, a judge in Yangon sentenced young engineer Phyo Wai Aung to death for his alleged involvement in a bombing attack in 2010 that killed 10 people and injured scores. His trial began on 30 June 2010, when Myanmar was still under a military junta. Since then, many important social and political changes […]