(Bangkok, 25 January 2016) – Perpetrators of the deadly attack on Bacha Khan University in Pakistan that resulted in at least 19 deaths and several injuries must be swiftly brought to justice, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) said today. Armed militants attacked the Bacha Khan University in Charsadda of north-western Pakistan [ Read more ]

Blogging in South Asia can be a dangerous enterprise. In the last year, 4 bloggers have been killed in Bangladesh, while a number of others have been targeted across the region in various ways simply for expressing their views online. Both state and non-state actors share responsibility for this climate of fear and intimidation. A [ Read more ]

In December 2014, Pakistan faced a shocking terrorist attack that took 126 lives including the lives of over 100 children. In response to this Pakistan formulated a National Action Plan (NAP) to counter terrorism. This plan has serious implications on the human rights situation in the country. From the lifting of moratorium on capital punishment [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA, together with Bytes for All, Association for Progressive Communications, Global Partners Digital, the Internet Democracy Project, KontraS and ICT Watch, recently organised a regional consultation on “Expression, Opinion and Religious Freedoms in Asia” on 3-5 June 2015, in Jakarta, Indonesia. Over 140 people, comprised of experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion [ Read more ]

The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition is appalled and deeply saddened at the news of the murder of Sabeen Mahmud, Pakistani woman human rights defender. On Friday 24 April in Karachi, Sabeen Mahmud was shot by unidentified gunmen after leaving an event she hosted about the human rights situation in Balochistan. Sabeen’s friends told [ Read more ]

(Islamabad/Bangkok, 27 April 2015) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), together with its Pakistani member Bytes for All, strongly condemns the killing of Sabeen Mahmud. The groups also call on the government of Pakistan to ensure the protection of human rights defenders and bring perpetrators of the brutal murder of Sabeen [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 16 March 2015) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), expresses deep sadness and concern following the twin bomb blasts at Catholic churches during Sunday mass in Lahore yesterday (15 March) that resulted in the deaths of 15 worshippers and scores of others injured. These attacks – responsibility for which was [ Read more ]

Oral Statement Delivered by Gayathry Venkiteswaran on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)   Wednesday, 11 June 2014   Thank you Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA welcomes the reports of the two Special Rapporteurs. Concerns identified by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and [ Read more ]

The UN Human Rights Council will hold its 26th regular session from 10 to 27 June 2014 in Geneva, Switzerland. FORUM-ASIA interventions, statements and events during this session will appear on this page.   Oral Statements Panel Discussion on the safety of journalists (Human Rights Council decision 24/116) (11 June 2014) Item 3: Interactive Dialogue with [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Geneva, 28 March 2014) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights group, has expressed concern over the lack of cooperation of a number of Asian states with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders in 2013. The regional human rights group said this following [ Read more ]