The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote a letter to the President Lee Myung-bak on 7 May 2009, presenting facts of arrest of journalists critical of the government. The letter, below, also notes increasing pressure on media in the country since March this year. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) wrote a letter to the [ Read more ]

Hundreds of the Indigenous Khmer Krom people organised a demonstration in Geneva, Switzerlannd, and Vietnam on 7-8 May 2009 to call for the end of discrimination agaisnt them. The date coincides with the Universal Periodic Review of Vietnam at the United Nations Human Rights council. Hundreds of the Indigenous Khmer Krom people organised a demonstration [ Read more ]

The UN Security Council released their press statement on the present situation in northeast of Sri Lanka on 13 May 2009. The statement calls on all parties to "respect their obligations under international humanitarian law". While condemning "the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for its acts of terrorism", the council said to "acknowledge the [ Read more ]

Civil society organisations worldwide call on the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold a Special Session on the current human rights situation in Sri Lanka, "as a matter of urgent concern". Civil society organisations worldwide called on the United Nations Human Rights Council to hold a Special Session on the current human rights situation [ Read more ]

A human rights defender from Law and Society Trust, FORUM-ASIA member in Sri Lanka, won a justice and peace award in South Korea. Here is the speech of Marius Rukshan Fernando, also known as "Ruki", given at the award presentation on 21 April 2009. A human rights defender from Law and Society Trust, FORUM-ASIA member [ Read more ]

More than 40 civil society organisations, including FORUM-ASIA and its members, called on all the governments not to vote for Saudi Arabia to be re-elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council. Their letter here, sent on 28 April 2009, shows failures of the country not to cooperate with the council. The election [ Read more ]

Durban Review Conference, held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 20-24 April 2009, denied the participation of four non-governmental organisations. On 24 April, hundreds of representatives of organisations gathered for the conference submitted the letter below to the president of the conference, saying it is a "political discrimination". Durban Review Conference, held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 20-24 [ Read more ]

Non-governmental organisations say that many prevalent issues on discrimination and racism have not been addressed in the Durban Review Conference, held from 20-24 April 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. FORUM-ASIA, supported by 20 organisations, said, "The lack of genuine will and apathy of Asian governments in achieving the objectives of this Conference should be recorded". Non-governmental [ Read more ]

The international community should take action on caste-based discrimination which violates the rights of 260 million people globally, a group of non-governmental organisations said at a news conference on caste-based discrimination and the Durban Review Conference. (Source: International Dalit Solidarity Network) Geneva, April 22, 2009 – The international community should take action on caste-based discrimination [ Read more ]

Thirty workers came back to Bangladesh, cheated by their recruiting agency and deported. As they organise sit-in at the Bangladesh international airport, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), FORUM-ASIA member, issued the following statement on 6 April 2009 calling upon the Bangladesh government to compensate their loss.  Thirty workers came back to Bangladesh, cheated by their recruiting agency [ Read more ]