1316 NGOs working on diverse human rights issues, from 174 States and territories around the world call for the renewal of the mandate of the Independent Expert on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity 41st session of the Human Rights Council Item 8. General Debate Oral Statement Speaker: Phylesha [ Read more ]

Indonesia: Civil society groups call on the President to side with victims of sexual harassment and violence (Bangkok/ Jakarta, 10 July 2019) – We, the undersigned civil society organisations, denounce Indonesia’s Supreme Court decision that rejected the reconsideration of the court decision against Baiq Nuril, a victim of online sexual harassment criminalised under the Electronic [ Read more ]

9 July 2019 Cambodia: Three years and still no effective investigation into Dr. Kem Ley’s killing (Bangkok, Thailand) — Today, on the third anniversary of the killing of prominent political commentator and human rights defender Kem Ley, the 24 undersigned organizations renew calls on the Cambodian government to establish an independent and impartial Commission of [ Read more ]

41st Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 6: Adoption of Universal Periodic Review Outcomes of Cambodia Oral Statement Delivered by Rosanna Ocampo On behalf of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Friday, 5 July 2019 Mr President, FORUM-ASIA notes that Cambodia accepted 173 out of 198 recommendations it received [ Read more ]

41st Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Oral Statement Adoption of the UPR report of Viet Nam 4 July 2019 Delivered by Lisa Majumdar Thank you, Mr President. Mr President, VOICE, CIVICUS and FORUM-ASIA welcome the government of Vietnam’s engagement with the UPR process including its decision to accept 241 recommendations on a [ Read more ]

MEDIA STATEMENT  7 July 2019 There can be no sustainable development without respect for human rights Global civil society call on governments to put human rights at centre of development States fail to make connections between sustainable development and legislation to restrict civil society Governments need to redefine relations with civil society groups to make [ Read more ]

Indian Government should withdraw criminal charges against NGO ‘Lawyers Collective’ and its representatives 26 June 2019, Bangkok/Colombo/Dublin/Geneva/Johannesburg/London/New Delhi/New York/Paris We, the undersigned, strongly condemn the filing of criminal charges against Indian NGO ‘Lawyers Collective’, Senior Advocate Anand Grover, and other representatives of Lawyers Collective. Criminal charges were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on [ Read more ]

41st Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Joint Oral Statement: General Debate Item 2 Oral update by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 25 June 2019 Delivered by Fr Ashok Stephen OMI – Franciscans International Thank you Mr.  President, Franciscans International, International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) [ Read more ]

41st regular session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 2: General debate on the High Commissioner’s update Oral statement delivered by Rose Trajano On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Franciscans International, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Tuesday, 25 June 2019 Mr President, FORUM-ASIA, Franciscans International and [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 21 June 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Front Line Defenders strongly condemn the unabated killings and violence against activists, human rights defenders, and civil society organisations in the Philippines, particularly those of Leonides ‘Dennis’ Suquena, Ryan Hubilla, Nelly Bagasa, Nonoy Palma, and Neptali Morada earlier this month. [ Read more ]