Date: Monday, 18 March 2019 Time: 15.00 – 16.00 (Geneva Time) Venue: Room XXV, Palais des Nations Panellists:  Maja Daruwala, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives (CHRI), (remotely) Henri Tiphagne, Human Rights Defenders’ Alert – India (HRDA) Sharib Ali – The Quill Foundation Gerald Staberock – World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Moderator : Nicole Buerli (OMCT)

Civil society organisations from across South Asia, see full list of signatories below, are deeply concerned about the recent tensions between Pakistan and India. We call up on the Governments of the two countries to take immediate steps to further de-escalate the tension, to create an enabling environment for peace dialogue, and to protect human [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 27 February 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned over the rapid escalation of the tension between Pakistan and India, and urges both Governments to show restraint and caution to assure recent incidents do not accelerate into a full-out confrontation. No one benefits from renewed violent conflict [ Read more ]

(8 February 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Front Line Defenders (FLD), strongly condemn the repeated harassment and attacks on the human rights defenders working with Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) by the Border Security Force personnel of India. Our organisations, call on the authorities to immediately withdraw the fabricated [ Read more ]

(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 30 January 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned over the threat, intimidation and verbal abuse of women human rights defender Shila Bewa, 28 years old. Shila is an active member of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a member of FORUM-ASIA, which works on human rights issues [ Read more ]

(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 24 January 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned over the assault on photojournalists, who were covering an ongoing encounter in Shopian district, on 22 January 2019, which resulted in four journalists being injured. Among those injured were Hindustan Times photojournalist, Waseem Andrabi, Rising Kashmir‘s Nisar ul [ Read more ]

West Bengal Government snatched lands from erstwhile enclave dwellers Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) strongly protest the hasty and capricious initiative of West Bengal Government to distribute lands among its actual owner at erstwhile Bangladeshi enclaves included within Indian territory on 31st July of 2015 through execution of Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh. [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 26 December 2018) – Kishorechandra Wangkhem, a journalist from Manipur was sentenced to one year in prison for posting a video on social media criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-led Government. The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly denounces the unlawful sentencing of Wangkhem under the preventive detention clauses treating the journalist as [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA member from India, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), published its human rights and monthly activities report for the month of November 2018. This month’s report focuses on the following: Torture, Enforced Disappearance, Extra Judicial Killings and other flaws in Criminal Justice System Overall Marginalization of Erstwhile Enclaves Replies submitted to the National Human Rights [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 9 November, 2018): The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) expresses serious concern over brutal attack on the well-known Right to Information and anti-corruption activist and the president of Civil Society Women’s Organization (CSWO) Agnes Kharshiing and her associate Amita Sangma on 8 November 2018.  They were on a field visit to [ Read more ]