WUNRN
Ms. Asma Jahangir is the former UN
Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Attached is the Flyer
from the WUNRN coordinated Panel at the UN Human Rights Council, Geneva, in
March of 2010 on WOMEN - RELIGION or BELIEF - HUMAN RIGHTS, for which Ms. Asma
Jahangir as Special Rapporteur, was Keynote Speaker.
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Asian Human Rights Commission - AHRC
November 2, 2010
of the Supreme Court
of
The Asian Human
Rights Commission extends its congratulation to Ms. Asma Jahangir and her
colleagues for their victory of different offices at the Supreme Court Bar
Association elections.
Asma Jahangir’s victory as the president of the highest bar
association of
From 1998 to 2004, Ms. Jahangir served as the UN Special Rapporteur on
extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. From 2004 until July 2010, she
was the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. She resigned as
chairperson of the human rights commission of
The AHRC sincerely hopes that she would continue to contribute to the
improvement of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary in
We hope that Ms Jahangir will take decisive steps to create a legal aid system
that will ensure access to justice for all, particularly the poor and the under
privileged.
The survival of the rule of law and the independence of judiciary requires
overcoming such problems as the undue delays in adjudication and the
inefficiencies in the administration of justice inherited from the past. If
this is to happen there needs to be the proper allocation of budget for the
administration of justice by the government. When adequate funds are not
available for the proper functioning of all sections of the justice mechanism
people are deprived of justice. The defects of the justice mechanism gives rise
to the many abuses which end in problems such as forced disappearances and
other gross abuses of human rights.
Today leadership is required from the bar as well as from the judiciary to deal
with these problems so as to ensure the benefits of a modernised system of
justice for the people of
We trust that Ms. Jahangir will give expression to the aspirations and inspire
the bar as well as the judiciary to pursue this objective.
AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a
regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights
issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
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International Crisis Group
“This is a very important step in the reinforcement of constitutionalism and
the rule of law in
Ms. Jahangir has previously served as an advocate to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and co-chair of South Asians for Human Rights, among many other prominent positions. In 1998, she was appointed the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions and later served as the United Nations Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief. She has been on the Board of the International Crisis Group since 2002.
As an attorney, Ms. Jahangir has fought for the rights of labourers,
imprisoned minorities, women and children. In the 1990s, she was influential in
passing legislation to improve the condition of bonded workers. She is a
staunch critic of the country's Hudood Ordinance and blasphemy laws that were
put in place under General Zia-ul-Haq. For her advocacy, Ms. Jahangir has
endured house arrest and imprisonment. Most recently, she was confined to her
home after
Ms. Jahangir is recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Sitara-I-Imtiaz in 1995, the American Bar Association International Human Rights Award in 1992 and the Martin Ennals Award and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1995.
“Asma Jahangir’s election to the Supreme Court Bar Association could be a
game changer in the relationship within