News from SAHR Desk

Sri Lankan Gets UNDP Peace Award

Sri Lanka’s Shreen Abdul Saroor, founder of the Mannar Women’s Development Federation and Mannar Women for Human Rights and Democracy in Sri Lanka was among the four winners to the first N-Peace award of the UNDP.

The award acknowledges the leadership of women in building peace, empowering their communities their communities and in preventing conflicts.

Four women peace advocates from some of the most conflict affected countries in Asia received the first N-PEACE, the UNDP Colombo office said.

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South Asian human rights forum condemns Hazare arrest

MUMBAI: South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) has condemned the arrest of social activist Anna Hazare and others before they launched their agitation for an effective Lokpal bill as “ultra vires” of the Indian constitution.

SAHR chairperson Hina Jilani of Pakistan said in a statement that in a democracy all citizens have a right to protest peacefully and the government must uphold the citizens’ fundamental right of speech and expression.

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Status of Minorities in Pakistan in 2010

The traditional threats and discrimination faced by members of the minority and vulnerable communities in Pakistan have steadily aggravated in the last few years in conjunction with militancy, growing intolerance and the occupation of Pakistan by violent extremists. That has left these…

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SAHR worried at govt support for Rab action

The South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) has expressed concern over government’s continued statements defending the Rab shooting of college student Limon Hossain into disability.

“We believe such statements of advisers and ministers of the government only serve to provide continuing patronage and protection to Rab from the legal consequences of its extrajudicial and indiscriminate shooting at ordinary people of the country,” a SAHR press release said yesterday.

It also mentioned people in the government repeatedly termed Limon a criminal without giving any evidence extracted through any “acceptable and credible” investigation.

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Parliament Watch – Maldives 2010 Report

The ratification of a new constitution on 7th August 2008 began Maldives’ tumultuous process of transition from autocracy to democracy. The new constitution enshrined and guaranteed civil and personal liberties and established Maldives’ first independent courts, state oversight bodies and guaranteed separation…

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