FORUM-ASIA, together with its members in South Korea has welcomed the request for the South Korean Constitutional Court to decide on the constitutionality of Article 10 of the Act on Assembly and Demonstration.  The NGOs include People Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS). The request was made by the Seoul Central [ Read more ]

A report entitled “Post-Nargis Analysis: The Other Side of the Story” was launched by nineteen Burmese civil society organizations on 16 October. The report reveals cases of aid obstruction, human rights abuses, intimidation, and corruption that have occurred in the cyclone-hit region. The post-Nargis analysis report was released in Jakarta because Indonesia holds a key position within [ Read more ]

Informal Sector Services Centre (INSEC) has asked the government to take effective measures to guarantee its people’s right to food, especially in western parts of the country, which is currently reeling from chronic food shortages. INSEC, who is FORUM-ASIA's member based in Kathmandu has issued a statement on 16 October 2008 to mark World Food Day, where it [ Read more ]

The 49th session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child which met in Geneva on 22 September to review the Bhutan report has expressed their desire for more efforts by the government to ensure that the rights of every child are upheld in the country. The Committee raised concerns that Bhutan continues to [ Read more ]

Bangladesh has decided to hold its general elections on 18 December 2008 under a relaxed emergency rule. The decision has been severely criticised by the country's human rights organizations who insist that free and fair elections "do not go hand in hand" with the state of emergency. Bangladeshi human rights organization Odhikar considers the continued state of emergency as illogical as the country is no [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA expressed its grave concern over the lack of measures from the Sri Lankan government to protect and assist internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to recent security operations against the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) in north of Sri Lanka.  Below is a letter that has been sent to the Sri Lankan government: Dear [ Read more ]

10 December of this year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). As a part of the campaign, FORUM-ASIA is planning several events and we would like all members to join us and enjoy this celebration. To celebrate this special year, the Secretariat is planning several events and we would [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA has submited an open letter to the ASEAN heads of states, urging them to play a strong and meaningful role to correct the human rights situations of the people in Burma and push the Burmese military government to respect the principle of non-discrimination and of freedom of assembly, expression and information. OPEN LETTER to ASEAN HEADS [ Read more ]

It has been two weeks since James Balao, a member of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), an independent federation of indigenous peoples' organisations, was last seen by friends and family.On 17 September 2008, Balao failed to arrive at his family's home in La Trinidad. According to the CPA Chairperson, Beverly Longid, Balao had reported since [ Read more ]

Cambodian civil society are unhappy over Prime Minister Hun Sen's proposed NGO Law, saying it was "unnecessary", and that "terrorism and fraud" can be solved through more effective means. Hun Sen proposed the law following his statement in the first meeting of his new cabinet recently that "We are concerned that their funding could come [ Read more ]