Strong monitoring by Supreme Court only way to prevent further backsliding of police reforms: CHRI

Sept 22, 2020 New Delhi, India The seven directives on police reforms, delivered by the Supreme Court of India on this day in 2006, implemented in earnest, can address common ills that give rise to poor police performance and unaccountable law enforcement.

CHRI delivers an oral statement on Contemporary Forms of Slavery at The 45th Regular Session Of The UN Human Rights Council

16 September 2020, Geneva: CHRI delivered a video oral statement in the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences (Agenda Item 3) at the 45th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Madras HC Order Reignites Demand for Holding Officers Rejecting RTI Queries Accountable

Madras high court. Credit: Wikimedia Commons RTI activists have long insisted that an imposition of penalties and payment of compensation to applicants can be used as tools for ensuring adherence to the norms of providing information within a reasonable time frame.

SAMDEN urges Pakistan govt to act swiftly in killing of TV anchor

Sept 8, 2020 New Delhi, India The South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN) today called on Pakistani authorities to take firm action in the killing of Shaheena Shaheen, a TV talk show host and editor, in Balochistan province.

PRESS STATEMENT ON PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS RESPONSES TO REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION UNDER THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2019 (ACT 989)

Ghana Sept 03, 2020 The Coalition on the Right to Information, Ghana (RTI Coalition) is troubled and disappointed with the kind of responses received by institutions and individuals seeking information from some public institutions under the RTI Act.

Consultancy with Prison Reforms Programme

The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)'s Prison Reforms Programme is looking for a consultant to conduct research and draft a Guide on Defending Children in Detention who are Asylum Seekers or Refugees in India.

North East India's oldest broadsheet is victim of pandemic, SAMDEN urges need to ensure no other extraneous factors barring health in closure

Aug 25, 2020 New Delhi,India Last week, COVID-19 claimed an unlikely victim: The Shillong Times, North East India’s oldest broadsheet newspaper, was ordered by the Government of Meghalaya, under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and the Meghalaya Epidemic Diseases, Regulations 2020, to clo

Prashant Bhushan case reflects state of free speech in India: CHRI

Aug 16, 2020 New Delhi, India The Supreme Court verdict slamming senior lawyer and human rights advocate Prashant Bhushan's critical tweets of it is “a sign of the current deterioration in the state of free speech in the country,” the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)

Explained: Who is Assamese? A proposed definition, and several questions

Aug 13, 2020 Indian Express Sanjoy Hazarika, CHRI's International Director, is quoted in this Indian Express piece which explains the challenges and controversy over issue of the Assamese identity and how it is linked to the larger question of citizenship and residency The question,