(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 17 March 2018) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to immediately lift the state of emergency. If it is still in force by 20th March, it will have to come before Parliament to decide on further extension. In this case, FORUM-ASIA calls on [ Read more ]

36th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 2 General Debate: Oral Update by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Oral Statement Delivered by R. Iniyan Ilango on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Tuesday, 12 September 2017 Mr. President, FORUM-ASIA welcomes the Oral Update by the UN [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA member Law & Society Trust published a new paper: Prosecuting War-Related Rape and Sexual Violence Against Women in Sri Lanka. The paper draws on feminist perspectives of these questions and contestations to highlight some of the challenges for feminist activism in relation to prosecuting such crimes against women through a judicial mechanism in Sri [ Read more ]

Date: Wednesday, 14 June 2017 Time: 11:00-12:00 Venue: Room XXVII, Palais des Nations, Geneva Freedom of expression continues to be under threat in South Asia. Restrictive legislation, criminal defamation, abduction, digital surveillance, killings and threats from rising extremism are some of the trends that plagued have freedom of expression in South Asia. The side event will [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA member Law & Society Trust published a report: The Politics of Criminal Justice Reforms in Times of Transitional Justice. This report seeks to place criminal justice reforms at the center of ongoing transitional justice debates and discussions in Sri Lanka.   It argues that it is dangerous to discuss criminal accountability and the special [ Read more ]

Law and Society Trust published a new commentary, ‘Biting the Bullet – Demilitarising Economic Relations in Post-War Sri Lanka’. The commentary focuses on the post-war legacy of links between private companies or private capital, both investment and philanthropic, and the military in Sri Lanka. In considering these relatively under-explored dimensions of militarisation, it underlines that [ Read more ]

34th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 2: The report of the High Commissioner on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka – Interactive Dialogue Oral Statement Delivered by R. Iniyan Ilango On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) Wednesday, 22 March 2017 Mr President we [ Read more ]

Date: Tuesday 21 March 2017 Time: 13:00 – 14:30 Venue: Room XXIII, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Franciscans International and International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) are organising a side event on the importance of international human rights monitoring mechanisms, specially in the [ Read more ]

Date: Monday 20 March 2017 Time: 15:00 – 17:00 Venue: Room XXIV, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Franciscans International, Human Rights Watch, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), Minority Rights Group International are organising a side event on the human rights challenges in Sri Lanka. The [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA’s member Law and Society Trust (LST) published its joint issue for December 2016 (Vol 27 – Issue 341), and is dedicated to the memory of Priyadarshini Thangarajah (1982-2015), a feminist researcher, activist and lawyer. ‘Exploring a question that informed Priya’s intellectual and activist journey, this Joint Issue inspired by queer theory aims to problematize [ Read more ]