On 8 March, listen to what women have to say Lahore, 8 March 2021. On International Women’s Day, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) joins the global call to recognise, protect and promote women’s rights. Foremost, we demand an end to gender-based violence in all its iterations—from domestic abuse, rape and so-called ‘honour’

For immediate release ‘Rights have been systematically manipulated’: Second Asma Jahangir Memorial Lecture Islamabad, 16 February. Speaking at the annual Asma Jahangir Memorial Lecture instituted by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Senator Raza Rabbani observed that, although the Constitution protected the right to freedom of association, Pakistan had witnessed a systematic and

Joint statement Rights groups laud Supreme Court judgment protecting mentally ill prisoners Lahore, 12 February. We applaud the Supreme Court’s recent judgment protecting severely mentally ill people in our criminal justice system by precluding them from receiving capital punishment. The apex court declared that death row prisoners should not be executed if they are found to

‘She defined courage’: HRCP pays tribute to Asma Jahangir Lahore, 11 February 2021. At a reference held at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) earlier today, rights activists gathered to pay tribute to HRCP’s co-founder and iconic human rights defender, Asma Jahangir. Veteran journalist and former secretary-general I. A. Rehman said that Ms

For immediate release I. A. Rehman Research Grant awarded to Farieha Aziz Lahore, 6 January 2021. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is delighted to announce that Farieha Aziz has been awarded the first I. A. Rehman Research Grant. Ms Aziz will be studying the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 and its

Karachi’s urban flooding a consequence of multiple jurisdictions Empowered local government suggested as solution Lahore, 20 December. A fact-finding report released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) points to the city’s peculiar political geography where various jurisdictions—local, provincial, federal and cantonment—coexist, often at cross purposes to each other. It recommends making Karachi’s

HRCP dissatisfied with GB polls Lahore, 16 November. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is concerned to learn that independent election observers—including HRCP’s own team of observers in four cases—were not allowed into polling stations in the city of Gilgit during the vote counting process. The Gilgit Union of Journalists has made a

HRCP elects new council Demands that state improve its human rights record Lahore, 9 November. On concluding its 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM), the general body of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called on the state to improve its human rights record—in particular to protect freedom of expression and to ensure

Government must assume mature leadership role Lahore, 5 November. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is concerned that the federal government appears increasingly unable or unwilling to assume a leadership role by putting the greater interest of a stable, inclusive democracy above its political differences. Rather than creating cohesion and building consensus across

Freedom of assembly: A right, not a privilege Lahore, 17 October. While the political rally organised by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) alliance in Gujranwala was not marked by flagrant violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) remains concerned by earlier reports indicating state-sanctioned attempts