The Pakistani government's adherence to international agreements, especially the ones on human rights, is "alarming", said the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Pakistan's periodic report on its implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination was presented on 20 February 2009 to the committee. Chris Maina [ Read more ]

On 6 March, a group of students in Manila, Philippines, blocked the photo exhibition on political prisoners in Burma inside their campus. The exhibition was organised by the Free Burma Coalition – Philippines, hosted by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. The students claiming to be "genuine activists" tore copies of the leaflets and told [ Read more ]

South Korea's Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS) plans to minimise the scale of its national human rights commission for "organisational efficiency". Human rights organisations expressed concerns that the proposed restructuring will reduce the ability of the commission to fulfil its mandate as an independent and effective human rights institution. On 4 March 2009, [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA issued the “Election Observation Mission Report” on the parliamentary election in Bangladesh, which took place in December 2008. The report, released on 15 February 2008, is based on the mission by the organisation to ensure free and fair elections in the country. FORUM-ASIA issued the “Election Observation Mission Report” on the parliamentary election in [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA will express concerns over the escalating human rights crisis in northern Sri Lanka, in a statement to be presented at the 10th session of the UN Human Rights Council. 10th session of the Human Rights Council will be held from 2-27 March 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland. FORUM-ASIA and its members will intervene in human [ Read more ]

Twenty-seven indigenous or ethnic minority women gathered in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, for a follow-up training on promoting and protecting indigenous women's rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), from 15-16 February 2009. "When I was 17, I was kidnapped by a Hmong man, raped and married [ Read more ]

The United Nationalities Alliance issued a statement on 20 February 2009, calling on the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma to release all political prisoners and revise its "sham constitution, forcibly and illegally adopted in 2008". The alliance is a coalition of 12 ethnic political parties from Burma that won 67 seats in [ Read more ]

In this statement, FORUM-ASIA member Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) questioned independence of judiciary system of the country. HRCP is disappointed that judicial pronouncements seem to selectively victimise opposition political parties and their leaders. In the statement below, FORUM-ASIA member Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) questioned independence of judiciary system of the country. [ Read more ]

The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan, a civil society organisation in the Philippines, issued an "urgent appeal" in February 2009, as five Mamanwa indigenous men have been missing since 29 January this year in Mindanao, southern Philippines. Known now as "Mamanwa Five", they disappeared on the day when they built barricade to [ Read more ]

Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese writer, remains in prison after he was arrested on 8 December 2008. He is one of the 303 signatories of the manifesto "Charter 08", which addresses protection of human rights in the country. The charter was released on the Internet on 10 December 2008, which marked the 60th anniversary of the [ Read more ]