ACHR denies terming 51 juveniles as “political prisoners” in response to the day-long bandh called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference (G)

While responding to day-long protest called by the All Party Hurriyat Conference (G) in Jammu and Kashmir today, ACHR stated that in its report, “Juveniles of Jammu and Kashmir: Unequal before the Law & Denied justice in Custody” of 16 November 2011 it has not termed 51 juvenile cases as that of being“political prisoners”. ACHR further condemned the alleged beating up of the journalists who were covering the protest. Read more..

The Lok Pal Bill Debate:
Lack of accountability, not Anna Hazare’s fast, should be the focus

Attacking Anna Hazare and his team has become the latest fashion in the civil society circles when Hazare, as it appears to all, playing brinkmanship with the government with his fast. The key issue is impunity. Though it is a common knowledge that corruption has multiplied since liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1990s, the number of cases being registered by the CBI have been decreasing. Further, out of the 77,925 cases registered by the Central Vigilance Commission, the government of India has given permission to prosecute only in 1,348 cases i.e. in 1.73% of the registered cases". Read more

OHCHR Nepal and the log frame for impunity

On 10th May 2011, the government of Nepal announced a plan to withdraw murder charges against Mr Agni Sapkota, Minister for Information from the Maoists. Sapkota is alleged to have direct involvement in the abduction and killing of Arjun Bahadur Lama in June 2005 in Kavre District. In March 2008, the Supreme Court of Nepal issued an order to the police to register the case. The police registered the First Information Report but three years later, nothing has been done. The withdrawal of murder charges is an effective declaration of an amnesty. The OHCHR-Nepal so far mantained silence. With the government of Nepal proposing to extend the term of the OHCHR only for six months with the same mandate from 9 June, it is unlikely that OHCHR will speak up. This has been the practice.... read more

The Kathmandu Post
Flawed approach, 3 June 2011

India Human Rights Report Quarterly

J & K: Abuse of Article 370

"India Human Rights Report Quarterly" is the only journal providing information about the status of human rights in each State of India. Further, this issue contains a Special Report on Jammu and Kashmir that includes Abuse of Article 370”, Order Extraordinaire of the NHRC on J&K, status of J&K State Human Rights Commission and deplorable conditions of the Sikhs and Hindu minorities who have been denied citizenship of J&K despite their migration in 1947; field reports on "Forced eviction of Adivasis from Lungsung forest area in Kokrajhar district of Assam" and "Bru repatriation: Mizoram fails to utilize the agreement facilitated by Asian Centre for Human rights"; analysis of the Delhi High Court judgment upholding the responsibility of the Government of India for implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on the IDPs with respect to the Kashmiri Pandits; and the judgement of the Supreme Court of India [SLP(Crl) No. 10367 of 2010] declaring the Scheduled Tribes as "indigenous peoples" of India and Concluding Observations of the UN CERD Committee on the exceptional report submitted by the Government of India on the Gujarat massacre of 2002..... read more

Orissa: Juveniles fleeing from torture and abuse, 06 October 2010

On the intervening night of 21-22 September 2010, ten juveniles escaped from the “Government Observation Home, Special Home and Children’s Home (Combined) for Boys” at Berhampur under Ganjam District of Orissa, India. The incident was widely reported in the national media. The Asian Centre for Human Rights conducted an on-the-spot investigation and visited the Observation Home from 29 September to 1 October 2010. The testimonies/interviews suggest repeated and serious abuse at the Berhampur Observation Home including routine acts of torture and sexual violence against the juveniles.

OHCHR's damning silence, 11 March 2010

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is facing a crisis of its own making. In its website, it claims to “speak out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide”. Stunningly, it even failed to condemn the coup d’etat in Niger on 19 February 2010. The list is long and the High Commissioner must develop mechanisms to add a voice, among others, to that of the UN Secretary General.

Bangladesh: IPs Massacred for Land Grab, 23 February 2010

This report exposes the massacre of indigenous Jumma peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh for grabbing their lands. The Bangladeshi government is yet to provide access to the massacre sites where scores of indigenous Chakmas in 14 villages under Sajek Union were massacred on 19-20 February 2010. In order to prevent the truth from coming out, the Bangladesh army personnel have prevented journalists from visiting the affected areas. The police further arrested the indigenous peoples who came to obtain medical treatment for the bulltet injuries sustained in the firing by the Bangladesh army personnel.

Press Release: Bangladesh burns more tribal villages: Government asked to give access to massacre sites