Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a FORUM-ASIA member, issued a statement on 27 January 2009, expressing their concerns over the situation in Swat, northwest of the country. Although there have been killings by Taliban in the area, the government remains silent about the issue. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), a FORUM-ASIA member, issued [ Read more ]

Based on one-year collaboration to examine issues related to freedom of expression in Nepal, three civil society organisations in the country released a joint publication on 5 February 2009. Beside the overview of the present situation, it calls upon the Nepali government to protect journalists, and ensure transparency and accountability. Here is their press release [ Read more ]

The government of Malaysia presented its national report for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council on 11 February 2009. Five organisations, including FORUM-ASIA and its member SUARAM, issued a press statement as below saying that the report was incomplete, repeating their "rhetoric excuses". The government of Malaysia presented its [ Read more ]

More than 60 NGOs called upon the Japanese government to reject the revised bill of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act, which will tighten control over foreign residents in Japan. According to their joint statement issued on 24 January 2009, if the bill were pressed forward, foreign residents without visa are likely to be [ Read more ]

Odhikar, a Bangladeshi human rights organisation and FORUM-ASIA's member based in Dhaka, has published its report on post-election violence and human rights violations on 1 February 2009. According to Odhikar, 17 persons were reportedly killed and over 500 persons were injured in clashes in different places across the country, in a continuation of post-election violence. [ Read more ]

About 100 civil society organisations have signed the "Statement on the Treatment of Rohingya and Bangladeshi 'Boat People' in Asia", issued on 7 February 2009. Expressing their concerns about the treatment of Rohingyas from Burma and migrants from Bangladesh, they called upon the governments of Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and beyond to secure their [ Read more ]

After four and a half years in prison, a man accused of murder will have his first chance to appeal against his conviction on 11 February 2009, in Cambodia. Cambodia League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), a FORUM-ASIA member, claims that he is innocent. Chan Sopheak, the convict, is sentenced to [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA issued a press statement on 3 February 2009 on the recent Rohingya issue. The organisation urged the Thailand government to include the ongoing democracy crisis in Burma in its proposed Regional Conference on the afflicted boat people, and called on the governments of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to cease deporting refugees back [ Read more ]

This is an abstract of an open letter issued by FORUM-ASIA to the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on 7 January. The letter raises the issue of excessive force used by Indonesian Police to evict the Sakal indigenous people from their tanah ulayat in Suluk Bongkal, Riau Province. This is an abstract of an [ Read more ]

ESCR-Net hosted the first international workshop on economic, social and cultural rights called "Bridging Trade, Investment, Finance and Human Rights: Pilot Project on the Agricultural Sector" in Bangkok, from 26-30 January 2009. The five-day workshop focused on human rights and economic policies, with particular emphasis on the agricultural sector. Fifteen participants from Latin America, Africa, [ Read more ]