Indonesia: Papua situation said to be worse than reported by AHRC
The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation says a new report into human rights abuses against Papuans by the Indonesian military in the late 1970s only covers a small portion of what has actually occurred there.
The Asian Human Rights Commission’s report says more than 4,000 Papuans were murdered, and...
Malaysia: Drop Charges for Film Screening
(Bangkok) – The Malaysian authorities should immediately drop charges against a rights activist accused of showing a film about Sri Lanka’s civil war without Censorship Board approval, Human Rights Watch said today.
Lena Hendry, of the human rights group Pusat KOMAS, was charged under the Film Censorship Act for organizing...
U.N. reviews military tribunals
GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Military tribunals, convened outside the civilian justice system, need to conform to basic standards for due process, a U.N. rights official said from Geneva.
Gabriela Knaul, U.N. special envoy on judicial independence, said U.N. member states need to enact tighter principles to govern military...
Malaysia: A sacred right to believe
By Syahredzan Johan
TO many, religion is something that is close to their hearts. Religion is not something that cannot be compromised, no matter what the circumstances. Some choose to value their faith even higher than they value their own lives.
When there is religion, there is also the possibility of...
Myanmar: UN expert urges greater efforts to curb anti-Muslim sentiment
25 October 2013 – The United Nations expert on Myanmar today cautioned that the situation in Rakhine State is feeding a winder anti-Muslim narrative in the country which threatens the ongoing reform process aimed at a more open and broad-based democracy.
Speaking to journalists in New York, the UN Special...
Indonesian security break up peaceful rallies in West Papua
A heavy security presence disrupted peaceful rallies across West Papua which had been called to commemorate the anniversary of the 3rd Papuan peoples congress.
Joe Collins of AWPA said “yet again peaceful demonstrators have been arrested for simply taking part in rallies which is their democratic right, a right enshrined in article...
Myanmar dismisses UN envoys ‘one-sided’ human rights report
Myanmar has criticized a report to the United Nations on the human rights situation in the country as being one-sided and pessimistic, with its representative to the body dismissing the report by UN special rapporteur Tomas Ojae-Quintana as “hardly acceptable”.
“It’s like blaming a donut for its hole,” said Myanmar’s...
Malaysia Expresses Concern Over Sexual, Gender-based Crimes
KUALA LUMPUR Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has expressed concern over sexual and gender-based crimes and strongly believes that ending impunity is crucial in the quest to put an end to sexual violence in times of conflict.
Citing progress made over the years, Charge D' Affaires of the Permanent Mission...
Myanmar: Quintana warns of a ‘crisis’ in Rakhine State
The United Nations expert on human rights in Myanmar has said that Rakhine State is facing a “profound crisis”, with the government failing to address the root causes of religious violence that has left more than 100 dead and another 140,000 displaced.
Special rapporteur Tomas Quintana issued the warning in...
Voluntary Competition on Understanding of Human Rights for High School Students in Cambodia
The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) partnered with the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MoEYS), Cambodian Mekong University (CMU), and Cambodia-ASEAN Centre for Human Rights Development to organise the 2013 Voluntary Competition on Understanding of Human Rights for High School Students in Cambodia. This event is a year-long...
