<p>(12 April 2012, Bangkok) &ndash; The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) renewed its calls for the immediate repeal of Malaysia&rsquo;s Internal Security Act (ISA), and urged the Malaysian government to withdraw the new Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill 2012, tabled in Parliament on 10 April 2012.</p>

<p>Paris-Jakarta-Bangkok, 21 September 2011. The recent spike in violent incidents in Papua in July and August underscore the urgent need for Jakarta to re-assess its military approach to solve the situation of unrest in the region and to place the respect for human rights at the heart of conflict resolution policies and practices, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) today.</p>

<p>(3 August 2011, Bangkok) The lenient sentences of 12 men who were implicated in a brutal mob attack against members of the Ahmadiyah community in Banten, Indonesia will perpetuate impunity of crimes against religious minorities, warned the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a regional human rights organization and its member, Imparsial.</p>

<p>(Bangkok, 29 July 2011) - The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply saddened by the news of the discovery yesterday of a body believed to be that of disappeared Sri Lankan human rights defender, Mr Pattani Razeek.</p>

<p>(Kathmandu, 27 July 2011) The Second Sub-Regional Workshop on Human Rights Mechanism in South Asia concluded with calls for the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to establish an effective regional human rights mechanism, enhance civil society participation in the SAARC processes, and address regional challenges from the human rights based approach.</p>

<p>28 June 2011</p> <p>Your Excellency,</p> <p>Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a membership-based regional human rights organization, is gravely concerned with the failure of Your Excellency&rsquo;s Government on the investigation into the disappearance of Sri Lankan human rights defender, Mr Pattani Razeek, an Executive Committee Member of FORUM-ASIA, who disappeared on 11 February 2010 from Polonnaruwa, a town in the North-Central Province of Sri Lanka.</p>

<p>The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) today joins the international community in commemorating World Press Freedom Day. Our solidarity on this important date comes in the context of the situations of the countries in Asia where members of the press continue to be under attack.&nbsp; These attacks on press freedom further undermine the enjoyment of freedom of expression and access to information by the people and hinder the process of democratization in Asia.</p>

<p>A regional human rights organisation today condemned the terrorist attack apparently targeting on a leading liberal Islamic activist, Mr. Ulil Abshar Abdalla.</p>

<p>(9 February 2011, Bangkok) A regional human rights organization condemned the brutal 6 February attack against members of the Ahmadiyah community in Banten, Indoenesia which killed three members of the said community.</p>

<p>The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and FORUM-ASIA, and the undersigned organizations, are deeply troubled by a Cambodia government plan to pass a restrictive law to regulate the activities of local and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working inside the country.</p>

<p>December 2 , Manila -- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, yesterday urged governments in Asia to recognize and protect persons working on human rights issues as &ldquo;essential&rdquo; to building democracy.</p>

<p>(Bangkok, 10 December 2009) The Asian region is lagging behind other regions in promoting and protecting human rights. It must catch up with others on this front if it is going to ensure human dignity, long lasting peace and sustainable development in the region, says Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) in conjunction with the International Human Rights Day on December 10.</p>