Former President of South Korea Kim Dae-Jung passed away on 18 August 2009. FORUM-ASIA's Korean member People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy issued a statement on the day, mourning over the death of a leader who devoted himself to democratisation and peace in Korean peninsula. Former President of South Korea Kim Dae-Jung passed away on 18 [ Read more ]

A shocking video uncovering the summary executions of two men by the Sri Lankan army has gone public in recent days. FORUM-ASIA expresses its deep horror upon receiving the video which constitutes a clear evidence of gross violation of human rights and war crimes, if the video is authentic. (28 August 2009, Bangkok) A shocking [ Read more ]

Seventy civil society organisations wrote a letter to the chairperson of ASEAN on 28 August 2009, recommending detailed process to select representatives for the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand ASEAN Chair Cc. 1. H.E. Kasit Piromya, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand [ Read more ]

A shocking video uncovering the summary executions of two men by the Sri Lankan army has gone public in recent days. FORUM-ASIA expresses its deep horror upon receiving the video which constitutes a clear evidence of gross violation of human rights and war crimes, if the video is authentic. (28 August 2009, Bangkok) A shocking [ Read more ]

Seventy civil society organisations wrote a letter to the chairperson of ASEAN on 28 August 2009, recommending detailed process to select representatives for the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). H.E. Abhisit Vejjajiva Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand ASEAN Chair Cc. 1. H.E. Kasit Piromya, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand [ Read more ]

Asian civil groups have called on ASEAN to commit to a regional human rights mechanism that includes a regional human rights court. (Bangkok/Jakarta, 25 August 2009) Asian civil groups have called on ASEAN to commit to a regional human rights mechanism that includes a regional human rights court. In their Political Declaration to the Terms [ Read more ]

More than 70 civil society organisations, including FORUM-ASIA, called on member states of the United Nations to end uncompetitive elections and vote trading for Human Rights Council elections. In their letter dated 13 August 2009, they said that each government should publicly commit to support contested and principled electoral process for future elections. More than [ Read more ]

Japan hanged three inmates convicted of multiple murders on 28 July 2009. Many organisations, including bar associations and civil society groups, strongly condemned these executions through protests and statements. Addressing the Prime Minister of Japan, International Federation for Human Rights (Fidh) and Center for Prisoners' Rights expressed their concerns over "the number of executions carried [ Read more ]

The Terms of Reference for the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), approved 20 July at the 42nd meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Phuket, Thailand contains some promising language. For the first time, a group of nations guilty of severe human rights violations in every member state has proclaimed that it will [ Read more ]

Civil society organisations held an NGO Engagement with the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions from 2-4 August 2009, in Amman, Jordan. Following the event, participants from the Middle East decided to establish a network, called Arabic NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institution (ARNNI). FORUM-ASIA was one of the organisers, as the [ Read more ]