The Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) has written an open letter to all governments of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, to request for a possibility of establishing a human rights mechanism in South Asia.   The Peoples' Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) has written an open letter to all governments of [ Read more ]

The 10 ASEAN member states have unanimously agreed to Indonesia`s request for a swap of the ASEAN chairmanship with Brunei Darussalam for the year 2011, according to the ASEAN Secretariat release issued on Tuesday in Jakarta. In principle, Brunei would have taken over the ASEAN chairmanship from Vietnam in 2011 and Indonesia from Cambodia in [ Read more ]

This statement was issued by the Burma Partnership Secretariat on 11 April 2010. The statement below was issued by the Burma Partnership Secretariat on 11 April 2010: ASEAN held their 16th Summit this past week in Hanoi, Vietnam, where they discussed enhancing economic cooperation and inaugurated the Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the [ Read more ]

This letter was submitted on 9 April 2010, by FORUM-ASIA to the Prime Minister of Malaysia expressing concern on the lawsuit recently filed by the Malaysian Assembly of Mosque Youths (MAMY) against Sisters in Islam (SIS). The letter reminds the Malaysian government that under the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, it has the duty [ Read more ]

A total of 36 participants from Nepali human rights NGOs, networks and academia participated in a workshop jointly organized by FORUM-ASIA and its member organisation INSEC from 11-13 April in Godavari, Nepal. The workshop comprised of a training and consultation on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which Nepal will undergo in February 2011. A total [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 12 April 2010) The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) welcomes the recent decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, which overturned the resolution of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) denying Ang Ladlad LGBT Party to register as a sectoral party under the party-list representation during the May 2010 elections in [ Read more ]

The New York based Human Rights Watch has issued a statement below on 12 April on Thailand political crisis, which left 21 dead and scores of others injured: The New York based Human Rights Watch has issued a statement below on 12 April on Thailand political crisis, which left 21 dead and scores of others [ Read more ]

This statement was issued by FORUM-ASIA member in Timor Leste, the Judicial Monitoring System Program, in March 2010, urging for the “Urgency and rationale for a Domestic Violence Law” in the country: There are a range of arguments that support the need to urgently pass the draft Domestic Violence Law, including the dire need for [ Read more ]

  164 International Human Rights Leagues gathered in Yerevan, Armenia, and condemned the crack-down on human rights defenders in Vietnam. Below is their statement issued on 10 April: Members of 164 leagues from Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe, meeting in Yerevan, Armenia , from 6 to 10 April 2010 for the 37th Congress of [ Read more ]

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) condemns the illegal arrest and harassment of Mr. Kirity Roy, a well known human rights activist in Kolkata on 7 April 2010. Since Mr. Kirity Roy was frivolously charged in connection with his roles in organizing people’s Tribunal on Torture, FORUM-ASIA believes that the arrest of Mr. Kirity Roy is a serious [ Read more ]