Melbourne/ Hong Kong/ Manila/ Kuala Lumpur/ Bangkok/ Dhaka/ Geneva/ Paris/ London/ Washington, D.C.; 25 May 2023: We, the undersigned organisations, are seriously concerned over the unabated enforced disappearances in Bangladesh amid the denial of access to justice for the victims. We also express our deep concern regarding the plight of the victims’ families, lack of [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu – 19 December 2022) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is gravely concerned about crackdowns against opposition political parties by the government of Bangladesh as the country prepares for its 2023 national elections. The Bangladeshi government has intensified their crackdown on opposition parties, specifically the largest opposition group, Bangladesh Nationalist [ Read more ]

Kuala Lumpur/ Hong Kong/ Manila/ Bangkok/ Paris/Dhaka /Geneva /Johannesburg /Washington DC, 09 December 2022: The undersigned human rights organisations commemorate all victims of human rights violations and stand in solidarity with the victims’ families in Bangladesh and across the world. This year’s International Human Rights Day’s slogan is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”. International [ Read more ]

51st regular session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 2: General debate on the oral update by the High Commissioner   Delivered by Ahmed Adam On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)  14 September 2022     Mr. Vice President, We welcome the Acting High Commissioner’s update and congratulate Mr. [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 14 September 2022) ‒ Bangladeshi authorities should put an immediate end to the continuous judicial harassment against human rights organisation Odhikar, and its leadership and staff. The government must urgently take the necessary steps towards creating an enabling environment for civil society and human rights defenders to work without fear of reprisals, said the [ Read more ]

 50th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association   Delivered by Ahmed Adam On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation and World Organisation Against [ Read more ]

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, FIDH and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Frontline Defenders strictly condemn the arbitrary cancellation of the registration of Odhikar, by the Bangladesh government. The NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 14 June 2022) — The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) condemns the arbitrary deregistration of Odhikar by the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) of Bangladesh. Odhikar, a prominent human rights organisation in Bangladesh and a member of FORUM-ASIA, had applied for renewal[1] of its registration to the NGOAB in 2014, as mandated [ Read more ]

Bangladesh authorities have responded to US Treasury Department sanctions on the notoriously abusive Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) by retaliating against victims’ relatives, human rights defenders and their families, and human rights organizations, twelve organizations said today. The US imposed the sanctions on the paramilitary unit and several of its current and former officials on December [ Read more ]

Civic space is under attack in South Asia. Across the region, increasingly authoritarian governments are relying on a wide range of repressive laws and other tactics to silence criticism, a trend that only intensified in 2021. While the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is the starkest example of this, almost all other countries saw alarming restrictions [ Read more ]