ADPAN - The Death Penalty in Law & Practice in the Asia-Pacific – abolitionist & retentionist countries (March 2012).

Here you can find the document about death penalty in Asia Pacific countries:

http://adpan.net/resources/statistics/

NEPAL - Sgomberi forzati.

Sgomberi case abusive sul fiume in Nepal.

Almeno 200 abitazioni abusive sono state rimosse dalle forze di polizia nepalesi a Kathmandu. Numerose famiglie che vivono sotto la soglia di povertà avevano adibito le sponde del fiume Bagmati a campo di fortuna dove costruire le loro baracche, da cui sono stati forzatamente allontanati per permetterne l'abbattimento. Al tentativo delle forze dell'ordine di eseguire l'evacuazione sono seguiti violenti scontri in cui dozzine di persone sono rimaste ferite e almeno venti sono stati arrestate.

http://multimedia.lastampa.it/multimedia/nel-mondo/lstp/142840/

 

AI Nepal Activities: 'COMMISSION SHOULD MEET INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS'

Rights Defenders and victims families' single  voice.

Human Rights Defenders and representatives of conflict victim's families emphasized that law or mechanism lacking the minimum international human rights standards aimed at establishing truth and delivering justice will not be acceptable to them.

In a talk program organized by Amnesty International Nepal on the 3rd May 2012 titled 'No Amnesty but Punishment to the Perpetrators: Ensure Justice to the Victims', Chaireerson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Kedar Nath Upadhyaya has urged Government to adopt internationally approved provisions in the soon-to-be formed Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission on Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CID). He said that Government should implement the recommendations made by the NHRC in this regards.

On the occasion, veteran human rights activist and former Chairperson of AI Nepal, Krishna Pahadi said that the present government is like a violator of human rights. He also blamed to the political parties that 'all are forgetting their commitments made by them in front of people.'

Binaya Dhwaj Chand leader of Nepali Congress and conflict victim himself said, "The government and political parties are doing nothing in favour of conflict victims". He further added,' Maoist is main perpetrators of the past conflict but they are getting relief package from the state.

Chairperson of National Network of Families of the Disappeared and Missing (NEFAD), Ram Kumar Bhandari said 'we are not worry on the agreement  to merge TRC and CID but we should get justice. It is the important part.'

He warned 'truth without justice will not only be called into question, but this will not be acceptable to us. The community of victims will be compelled to reject such meaningless transitional justice laws and mechanisms.'

On the occasion, president of Conflict Victim Orphan Society  Suman Adhikari said ' instead of making the bill victim-friendly and that of international standard, the merger of commissions and granting of enormous powers to the commissioners has led to the suspicion that the commission would not be able to address victim’s demand for justice.'

Likewise, Chairperson of AI Nepal Hem Kumar Khadka, Advisors Krishna Kandel and Lokesh Dhakal, Chair person of Human Rights and Peace Society, Hom Kant Choulagain, National Executive Committee Member of AI Nepal Yashoda Kumari Upadhyaya and others also shed light on the subject matter.

http://amnestynepal.org/campaigns/ai-nepal-activities/-commission-should-meet-international-standards-.html

Amnesty, NGOs concerned about Maldives PR “whitewash”: Independent By Minivan News | May 7th, 2012.

An international lobbying firm, based in London, has accepted a commission to boost the reputation of the regime that toppled the first democratically elected President of the Maldives, writes Oliver Wright for the UK’s Independent newspaper.

“Ruder Finn has been condemned for taking the contract – thought to be worth £300,000 – to boost the image of the Maldives in the UK and America.

Mohamed Nasheed, the elected former leader, was made to quit in a military and police coup in February. He was replaced by Mohammed Waheed Hassan – who, it is claimed, is backed by the ex-dictator who ran the Maldives for 30 years.

In the weeks since the change of power, Amnesty International has denounced violence by the security forces against peaceful protesters. In March at least six protesters were injured, some seriously, when police and military officers attacked around 300 MDP protesters in the capital, Malé. Amnesty said this was part of a wider pattern of attacks on supporters of the former President Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party.

In a pitch, won by Ruder Finn, the new Government said it was looking for a firm to provide both lobbying and public relations expertise. The new regime said it wanted to “renew the Maldives image in major countries” and create “an alliance of support for the Maldives.” It wanted to “seed” positive stories about the islands in the media.

It expected the company to “arrange briefings to build links at various levels with the UK, US and major European governments.”

It would also be expected to “leverage outcomes from relationships with governments, academics and NGOs”.

Abbas Faiz, South Asian researcher for Amnesty International, said it had significant concerns about the contract.

“If a government hires any firm to whitewash human rights violations with impunity we would be very concerned. I was in the Maldives in March and the level of atrocity that we witnessed was entirely different from what we were being told by the Government.

“We will be watching the activities of Ruder Finn… if we have concerns about their role we will be raising them.”

http://minivannews.com/news-in-brief/amnesty-ngos-concerned-about-maldives-pr-whitewash-independent-36921

SRI LANKA - Where Being a Journalist Can Be Dangerous to Your Health.

Sri Lanka: Many people died in Sri Lanka’s long civil war, and journalists covering the war and its aftermath have also fallen victim to killings, imprisonment and enforced disappearance.  Government officials have used state-controlled media to assail the country’s journalists as “traitors.”  Journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, whose work was critical of the government, went missing after leaving work one day in 2010.  His wife told the BBC that “he was abducted by people who did not like the truth.”

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/freespeech/5-countries-where-being-a-journalist-can-be-dangerous-to-your-health/

Is the US Abandoning Afghan Women? - By Govind Acharya.

President Obama made an announced visit to Afghanistan on May 1 to sign an agreement intended to lead to a pullback of US troops from Afghanistan by 2014. The document is very specific on issues around the arrangements related to security and interestingly, trade and commerce but inadequate when talk to turns to human rights in general and specifically women’s rights.

READ MORE: http://blog.amnestyusa.org/asia/is-the-us-abandoning-afghan-women/

2 May 2012 - World Press Freedom Day: Attacks against journalists around the world.

Asia-Pacific
 
Pakistan is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the world – with at least 15 killed in 2011 alone.

This year, on 17 January, Mukarram Aatif, a reporter with Dunya TV and Deewa radio, was shot dead by members of the Pakistan Taleban while performing his evening prayers in the town of Shabqada, about 30 kilometres from Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A Taleban spokesperson later said the group had warned Aatif “a number of times to stop anti-Taleban reporting, but he didn't do so. He finally met his fate".

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/world-press-freedom-day-attacks-against-journalists-around-world-2012-05-02