Asian NI Watch Issue Number 3

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) received information regarding the order by the Supreme Court of India banning Ms. Teesta Setalvad, a woman human rights defender (WHRD) from the state of Gujarat, India, from communicating to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The Supreme Court of India [ Read more ]

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) received information on the brutal attack and threats by local money lenders against Ms. Sunita Devi, a Dalit widow and woman human rights defender from Bihar. FORUM-ASIA received information that Ms. Sunita Devi was threatened and physically assaulted by local money lenders in her community. It [ Read more ]

AFSPA must be be repealed! The 10-year hunger strike must end now! We, the undersigned 108 human rights NGOs, human rights defenders, and women human rights defenders from all over the world, celebrate Ms. Irom Chanu Sharmila’s unwavering courage for standing as a voice for thousands of voiceless people demanding to repeal the Armed Forced [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA is initiating an international petition against India’s Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA). This is in solidarity with the hunger strike of woman human rights defender Irom Sharmila in protest of the draconian law. The petition is also aimed to complement the initiatives of its members and partners in India. These activities are aimed [ Read more ]

To:  The Chairperson, Meena Gupta Committee Greetings and peace from the People of Korea First, let me say that we appreciate your efforts regarding the Pohang Steel Company (POSCO)’s project launched in Orissa. Our civil society, including NGOs in South Korea, has been paying close attention to this project. We have noticed recently that the Saxena Committee’s report reveals [ Read more ]

The Government of India has just got passed the Prevention of Torture Bill 2010 before the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) and is to introduce it in the Raja Sabha (Upper House) for its approval. On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) [ Read more ]

The City Council decided at its yesterday ( 23.6. ) session, 16 to give human rights prize of the city of Weimar in 2010 , Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi of the Indians. Dr. Lenin Raghuvanshi has been working 15 years for the rights and interests of the Dalits (members of the lower caste), primarily in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. [ Read more ]

Lenin Raghuvanshi, director of FORUM-ASIA member PVCHR, speaks of a “black day” for the survivors of the tragedy. Sentence to two years in prison for the defendants – already free on bail – shows the shortcomings of a system that is “powerless before international elite”. The Madhya Pradesh government announces an appeal. New Delhi – [ Read more ]

The Peoples SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi on 22-23 April 2010, a week before the 16th SAARC Summit, hosted by the Bhutanese government in Thimpu, from 28-29 April 2010. People’s SAARC (also known as South Asian People’s Assembly) was last organised in 2007 [ Read more ]