News from SAHR Desk

Academics and rights activists on Monday called for instituting some tools for implementing the SAARC charter of democracy by the member states.

They came up with the view at a consultation on SAARC Democracy Charter Citizen’s Initiative which was drafted from citizen’s perspective by think tanks in South Asian nations in addition to the SAARC charter of democracy.

The South Asians for Human Rights organised the consultation at Dhaka University Senate Bhaban.

By Dr. Vijaya Samaraweera Religious belief is readily acknowledged to be a purely personal matter. Yet, the social nature of religion transforms religious beliefs into distinguishing social markers, and when religions enter the political space and acquire influence and power,…

Kathmandu, 27-29 November 2010

South Asians for Human rights (SAHR), a network of independent human rights activists from eight countries, noted with concern the lack of transparency of democratic institutions, and the exclusion of citizen’s participation in legislation and policy making.

The meeting welcomed the SAARC Summit initiative for a Charter of Democracy but were concerned that the draft of the charter was limited to a bureaucratic exercise and did not ensure that citizen’s voices be heard.

SAHR recognises that the people of South Asia share common bonds of culture, history and geography but notes with concern that government visa regulations have restricted freedom of movement within the region.  This has frequently led to cross border killings by security forces and detention of foreigners in prison in neighbouring countries.

SAHR notes with concern the threats to people’s sovereignty due to increased militarization, anti-terrorist and security laws which give impunity for violations of the right to life, liberty and freedom of torture, erosion of secularism, and dominance of majoritarian interests in political decision making. The upsurge of extremist violence and obscurantism has encouraged customary practices which are a threat to women’s rights to movement, choice and security.

UNITED NATIONS: One of Pakistan’s leading human rights defenders, Asma Jahangir, was Tuesday named as this year’s winner of a UN award that recognizes outstanding individual contribution to promoting a culture of human rights around the world.

The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), Irina Bokova, nominated Ms. Jahangir as laureate of this year’s Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights in recognition of her work in Pakistan’s Supreme Court where she championed the rights of religious minorities, women and children, according to a UN press release issued at UN Headquarters in New York.

Ms. Jahangir is the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan, a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and served as its Secretary-General and chairperson.

Constitutional lawyer and human rights advocate J. C. Weliamuna has been elected to the Board of Directors of Transparency International (TI) at the Annual Membership Meeting of the leading global movement against corruption, held in Bangkok.

Obtaining nearly 75% of the votes of the delegates representing 100 countries, he was first in the four-member contest. Two directors were elected on Tuesday. Jacques Terray of France was the other.

Weliamuna is the first Sri Lankan to be elected to this prestigious position at TI’s highest policy making body. As an anti-corruption activist, he steered TI’s national chapter – Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) as Executive Director for eight years.

By Muhammad Akram

LAHORE: Asma Jahangir’s election as president of the Supreme Court Bar Association is a success for democratic forces in the country and is bound to strengthen the human rights movement in the country, which she is spearheading as an undisputed icon.

Asma Jahangir represents modern, progressive and forward-looking sections of Pakistani society across the globe. Her election to the office is bound to bring about a sea change in Pakistan’s perception around the world, as a state of strife struggling to counter the menace of Talibanisation of society.

The verdict by the lawyers’ community is itself an expression of not succumbing any longer to the hangover of lawyers’ movement that helped restore the sacked judiciary headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. Asma Jahangir has defeated, though with a narrow margin of 35 votes, the so-called champion of lawyers’ movement, the Hamid Khan group, despite the fact that she was known for her critical views of numerous judgements by the “independent” yet pro-active judiciary. The verdict by the top lawyers of the country is reflective of the suppressed expression on the conduct of the bar and bench vis-à-vis the nascent democracy struggling to get rooted against a barrage of suo motu notices on issues that need to be purely addressed by the executive.

By Kuldip Nayar

South Asian Human Rights (SAHR) is a body comprising activists from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Maldives. They celebrated the tenth anniversary of SAHR at New Delhi a few days ago. Kamal Hussain, first Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, was there. So were I. A Rehman, a human rights exponent, from Pakistan and P Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives from Sri Lanka, sensitive and independent editor Maitur Rahman from Dhaka was also present. His paper was the best.

The Indian media, inured to paid news, did not give even one word to the three-day conference. Knowing that New Delhi is too absorbed in projecting the image of being a great power to pay heed to the aspirations of small neighbouring countries, SAHR still decided to meet in India because it sees it as an oasis in the desert that still emits some optimism.