To: H.E. Baudelaire Ndong Ella, President of the UN Human Rights Council H.E. Ravinatha Pandukabhaya Aryasinha, Permanent Representative ofSri Lanka CC: Madam Navinethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights H.E. Katerina Sequensova, Vice President/Rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Council H.E. Alberto D’Alotto, Vice President of the UN Human Rights Council H.E. Maurizio Enrico [ Read more ]

For Immediate Release (Bangkok/Geneva, 28 March 2014) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights NGO, welcomed the adoption of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka, which among others calls for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to institute investigations into allegations of human [ Read more ]

Oral Statement Delivered by R. Iniyan Ilango on Behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)  Wednesday, 26 March 2014 Mr. President, FORUM-ASIA welcomes the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. We reiterate our call for an independent, international [ Read more ]

The arbitrary arrest and detention of prominent human rights defenders is an attempt to silence criticism and divert the spotlight from ongoing abuses, leading global and Asian human rights monitors said today in a joint statement. The statement was issued by Amnesty International, FORUM-ASIA, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group, and the International Commission [ Read more ]

The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD IC) is deeply concerned about the threats made to Dr. Nimalka Fernando’s life during a broadcast on the state-owned radio station, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) on 4 November. The radio programme, Rata Yana Atha (The way country is forging ahead) played fragments of an interview [ Read more ]

Oral Statement Delivered by Ms. Pooja Patel on Behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Tuesday, 17 September 2013 Thank you, Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA remains deeply concerned at the increased involvement of the Sri Lankan military in the civilian administration of the Northern and Eastern provinces.[1] Ongoing military presence has had disruptive [ Read more ]

Ms. Navanethem Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland Fax: +41 (0)22 917 9008 Email: [email protected] CC: Mr. Hanny Megally, Chief of the APMENA Branch, OHCHR Mr. Rory Mungoven, Head of the Asia-Pacific Division, OHCHR The [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 25 March 2013) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights group with 47 member organisations from 16 countries across Asia, welcomes the adoption of the UN Human Rights Council (Council) resolution on “Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka” (A/HRC/22/L.1), with 25 out of the 47 member [ Read more ]

Oral Statement Delivered by Ms. Pooja Patel on Behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Thank you, Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA makes this statement in association with its member organisations in Sri Lanka, Law and Society Trust (LST) and INFORM-Human Rights Documentation Centre.[1] We express our disappointment with the manner in which the [ Read more ]

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights group representing 47 human rights organizations from 16 Asian countries including Sri Lanka, has expressed its deep frustration in a statement issued to mark the three years of the abduction and killing of human rights defender Pattani Razeek. Pattani Razeek, who was the [ Read more ]