(Bangkok, 16 February 2021) — The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) must uphold the principles of human rights and ensure the independent, impartial and effective exercise of its powers and functions during the current human rights situation in Myanmar, rights groups said today. The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), an [ Read more ]

29th Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council On the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar Oral Statement Delivered by Ahmed Adam On behalf of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)   Friday, 12 February 2021 Madam President, FORUM-ASIA welcomes this special session. This is an important step in [ Read more ]

Joint Regional Statement by LGBTIQ+ Organizations, Networks, and Allies 5th February 2021 We are organizations, networks and concerned individuals advancing the human rights of persons with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expresion and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). We strongly condemn the military coup and its attack on civilian rule in Myanmar that took place on [ Read more ]

(New York) – The United Nations should use its meetings with senior Bangladeshi military officials next week to protest attempts to use the UN as cover for abuses at home, seven human rights groups said today. The UN should announce a comprehensive review of UN relations with Bangladeshi armed forces, the top troop contributor to peacekeeping [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 5 February 2021) – The Indian government must uphold the constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression as well as to assemble peacefully. The continuous crackdown against the farmers aimed at suppressing dissent through various means is unconstitutional, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) today. On 26 January 2021, [ Read more ]

5 February 2021 We, the undersigned human rights organisations, are deeply concerned by the human rights situation in Myanmar after the military seized power and immediately cracked down on the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to take immediate action. On 4 February, the UN [ Read more ]

Myanmar military should end its use of violence and respect democracy The undersigned groups today denounced an apparent coup in Myanmar, and associated violence, which has suspended civilian government and effectively returned full power to the military. On 1 February, the military arbitrarily detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders of the [ Read more ]

Joint Statement: Condemning The Arrest of Peaceful Protestors Against LGBT Discrimination in Singapore (29 January 2021, Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Manila) — We, the undersigned, are alarmed by the arrest of the three individuals who were exercising their right to assembly in a peaceful protest against transphobia outside the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore earlier this week [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 26 January 2021) ‒ We, 23 organisations in Asia stand in solidarity with the human rights defenders and the pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong as they continue to face escalating repression from China and the Hong Kong authorities. Over the past few years, we have witnessed the sustained and escalating attacks against democracy and [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 14 January 2021) ‒ Malaysia’s recent declaration of a state of emergency risks compromising the rights of its people and its systems for accountability, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and its Malaysia member organisations Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) and Pusat Komas (KOMAS), in a statement. A nation-wide emergency was [ Read more ]