STATEMENT BY 11 NGOS AHEAD OF INFORMAL DISCUSSION WITH THE UN SPECIAL PROCEDURES AND UN MEMBER STATES ON THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC 30 April 2020   We thank the Coordination Committee for the update on the work undertaken by the Special Procedures to date to highlight the human rights impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. As States [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Jakarta, 4 May 2020) – The death of Hermanus Bin Bison, an indigenous farmer who died in custody after being denied medical treatment, is a result of the unjust and inhumane treatment against the land and environmental rights defenders in Indonesia, and it must cease. In a joint statement today, the Asian Forum for Human [ Read more ]

India: End judicial harassment and intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders in Jammu and Kashmir (Bangkok/Kathmandu, 28 April 2020) – The intimidation and criminalisation of journalists and human rights defenders in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir constitute a serious violation of their fundamental rights and freedoms, and it must end, the Asian Forum for Human Rights [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Jakarta, 24 April 2020) – The arrest of activist Ravio Patra points towards a new and worrying form of criminalising dissent in Indonesia – one that holds the victim of a cybercrime attack responsible for the action of the real perpetrators. In a joint statement, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 23 April 2020) – The murder of Maldivian human rights defender and writer, Yameen Rasheed, three years ago, remains a stain on the human rights record of the Maldives, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and its member Maldivian Democracy Network, said in a statement today. Yameen Rasheed, a prominent writer and [ Read more ]

Joint-Statement Civil Society Organizations Calls for Immediate Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict in Myanmar 15 April 2020 We, the undersigned civil society organizations and individual call for the protection of civilians in armed conflict in Myanmar and for the State to comply with its obligations under the Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council Resolutions [ Read more ]

Statement of solidarity and condemnation of the violent dispersal of an indigenous community barricade of a suspended mine site in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines In solidarity with the people of Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya in asserting their right to a balanced and healthful ecology, ATM, Kalikasan PNE, LRC-KsK/FoE Philippines, and MiningWatch Canada, as well as other national [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 10 April 2020) – Cambodian authorities must release journalist Sovann Rithy without conditions and reinstate the licence of TVFB immediately, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) said. Sovann Rithy, the founder of TVFB, was detained and charged on 7 April 2020 for incitement for quoting Prime Minister’s Hun Sen from a [ Read more ]

Human Rights Council virtual informal conversation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Joint NGO statement on economic, social and cultural rights Thursday, 09 April 2020   Madame President, We thank the High Commissioner for her update, and her Office’s ongoing work to ensure human rights are central to the response to COVID-19. We [ Read more ]

Human Rights Council virtual informal conversation with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Joint NGO statement on the United Nations’ COVID-19 response Thursday, 09 April 2020 The COVID-19 crisis is powerfully demonstrating the ways in which the human rights of all people are interdependent and interrelated and that ensuring a safe and enabling environment [ Read more ]