SRI LANKA: Abductors threaten the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 28, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-10-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth 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 SRI LANKA: Abductors threaten the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) is gravely concern about the abduction of Ramasamay Prabhakaran, 42, who was bundled into a white van by seven men armed with assault rifles and hand guns. This was two days before a fundamental rights case filed by him was to be taken up at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. In a written statement to […]

NEPAL: Council action required to prevent blanket impunity for conflict-era violations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 27, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-09-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth 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 NEPAL: Council action required to prevent blanket impunity for conflict-era violations The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Advocacy Forum wish to alert the Human Rights Council to multiple attempts by the government of Nepal to shield perpetrators of human rights abuses committed during the conflict from prosecution, which promote impunity and threaten the development of functioning rule of law institutions, in violation of Nepal’s obligations under the ICCPR. The gains achieved […]

PHILIPPINES: Human Rights Council must act on widespread arbitrary dismissals of torture complaints and resultant impunity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 24, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-08-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on torture A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PHILIPPINES: Human Rights Council must act on widespread arbitrary dismissals of torture complaints and resultant impunity The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to inform and seek the intervention of the Human Rights Council and the Special Rapporteur on torture concerning the frequent dismissals of complaints of torture, which speak to a system of legal and procedural obstacles and systemic institutional failings that are ensuring that […]

NEPAL: The ALRC and Advocacy Forum call for international action concerning the rise of torture and ongoing impunity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 23, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-07-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on torture A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status NEPAL: The ALRC and Advocacy Forum call for international action concerning the rise of torture and ongoing impunity The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Nepalese human rights organisation Advocacy Forum wish to bring to the Council’s attention the continuing and significant increase in reports of torture in Nepal over the last two years, as well as ongoing delays by the state in implementing the policing […]

INDONESIA: National laws and policies are resulting in violations of the right to food

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 22, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-06-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDONESIA: National laws and policies are resulting in violations of the right to food The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) wishes to bring the Council’s attention to the deterioration of farmers’ and indigenous peoples’ food security in Indonesia as the country’s laws and policies fail to ensure their fundamental rights and let human rights violations committed by national and multinational corporations go unpunished. […]

THAILAND: Continued impunity for enforced disappearance in Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 21, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-05-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status THAILAND: Continued impunity for enforced disappearance in Thailand The Asian Legal Resource Center wishes to bring the importance of continued action to end enforced disappearance in Thailand to the attention of the Human Rights Council. While the signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 9 January 2012 by the Government of Thailand is a positive […]

INDONESIA: Attacks on religious minorities remain largely unchallenged by justice institutions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 20, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-04-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status INDONESIA: Attacks on religious minorities remain largely unchallenged by justice institutions The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has noted with concern the ongoing violence against religious minorities in Indonesia. Many cases of such violence are characterized by a lack of protective action by the police and institutional discrimination against minority groups. The ALRC urges the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on […]

PHILIPPINES: Action required to address ongoing abuses of the legal system used to target human rights defenders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 17, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-03-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status PHILIPPINES: Action required to address ongoing abuses of the legal system used to target human rights defenders The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) submitted a written statement to the tenth session of the Human Rights Council in March 20091 concerning a growing pattern of the abusive use of prosecutorial powers and the country’s judicial process in order to detain human rights and political activists, […]

THAILAND: Growing threats to political freedom in Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 16, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-02-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth 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: Growing threats to political freedom in Thailand 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) wishes to bring the growing range of state and vigilante threats to political freedom in Thailand to the attention of the Human Rights Council. These threats have been concentrated around those who both express critical views of the monarchy, as well as those who express concern about these threats. In recent months, academic and human rights defenders […]

NEPAL: Families of the disappeared in a legal and emotional limbo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 15, 2012 ALRC-CWS-19-01-2012 Language(s): English only HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Nineteenth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status NEPAL: Families of the disappeared in a legal and emotional limbo The Hong Kong-based Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and Nepalese human rights organisation Advocacy Forum wish to highlight the lack of progress being made in addressing enforced disappearances in Nepal, which is engendering growing frustration and suffering by victims’ families. In 2011, a special taskforce established by the government to ascertain the […]