Joint Oral Intervention: Item 2 General Debate with the High Commissioner for Human Rights 11 September 2018 Thank you Mr. President, High Commissioner Bachelet, On behalf of over 750 civil society organizations from every corner of the world, we offer warm congratulations on your appointment. We are committed to a world in which every person [ Read more ]

 39th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 2: General Debate on Oral Update by the High Commissioner Oral Statement Delivered by R. Iniyan Ilango on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Tuesday, 11 September 2018 Mr. President, we welcome the High Commissioner’s first statement to the Council in [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 3 September 2018) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly denounces the verdict of the Insein Court in Yangon today that sentenced two Reuters journalists – Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo – for breaching section 3(1)(c) of the 1923 Official Secrets Act. The pair were arrested on 12 December [ Read more ]

(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 30 August 2018) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM ASIA) is gravely shocked and concerned over the arbitrary arrests of several high-profile human rights defenders in a series of raids across India this week. They were arrested due to their alleged connection in the Bhima-Koregaon case on 1 January 2018, [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Geneva, 27 August 2018) – Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Progressive Voice, Equality Myanmar, Kachin Women’s Association Thailand, and Rohingya Women’s Welfare Society welcome the findings of the Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIFFMM) as a major turning point in international efforts towards justice and accountability in Myanmar. The findings [ Read more ]

Phnom Penh, 15 August 2018 – Land activist and human rights defender Tep Vanny has been unjustly detained for two years as of today, for defending the rights of the Boeung Kak Lake community and her fellow Cambodians. We, the undersigned civil society organisations and communities, condemn her ongoing imprisonment and call on the authorities [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 14 August 2018) – We, the undersigned civil society organisations, condemn the unlawful house arrest and investigation of Huynh Thuc Vy, a prominent Vietnamese blogger and founder of Vietnamese Women for Human Rights (VNWHR). She was taken into custody on 9 August, based on allegations of having violated Article 276 of the 1999 Criminal [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Male, 8 August 2018) – Today marks four years since Ahmed Rilwan, a Maldivian journalist and blogger, disappeared after he was allegedly abducted on 8 August 2014. The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and the Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) call on the authorities to conduct a transparent, independent and credible investigation into [ Read more ]

Attn: H.E. Ambassador Barry Desker, Singapore Representative and Chair of AICHR H.E. Dr. Seree Nonthasoot, Thailand Representative of AICHR H.E. Mr. Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Malaysia Representative of AICHR H.E. Mrs. Dinna Wisnu, PhD, Indonesia Representative of AICHR H.E. Leo Hererra-Lim, Philippine Representative of AICHR H.E. Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim, Brunei Darussalam Representative [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 3 August 2018) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), together with Equality Myanmar and Progressive Voice, expresses grave concern over the independence of the newly established four-member Independent Commission of Enquiry. The only available information on the mandate of the body is a press release by the Myanmar President Office [ Read more ]