(Kathmandu/Bangkok, 18 April 2024) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned over India’s forthcoming six-week-long 2024 General Elections scheduled to begin on 19 April 2024. The troubling pattern of diminishing democratic freedoms has heightened assaults against human rights defenders (HRDs), journalists, civil society organisations (CSOs), and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). This has also led to the widespread erosion of people’s freedoms of association, expression, and peaceful assembly. Under the current leadership of the Bharatiya Janata P ..read more

The failure of States to pay their membership dues to the United Nations (UN) in full and on time is causing a financial liquidity crisis for the organisation. According to the UN Secretary-General, the UN faced the highest level of arrears in its history at the end of 2023, the impacts of which are being felt by victims and survivors of human rights violations and abuses. As of 15 April 2024, only 100 UN member States have paid their dues in full. Human rights groups call on all member States to pay their contributions in line with their legal obligations under the UN ..read more

This article was written by a woman human rights defender (WHRD) from Kachin State. She was among recipients of the 2023 Fellowship for Social Justice Leaders in Southeast Asia. Her name is not disclosed due to security reasons. All interviewees’ names have also been anonymized for the same reason.  Background Since the resumption of armed conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) in 2011, over 100,000 people in Kachin State have been internally displaced. The ongoing conflict has ravaged Kachin State as well as  the northern regions of t ..read more

8 April 2024 The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Athan, RW Welfare Society, and Progressive Voice welcome the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on the human rights situation in Myanmar. While the adoption of the resolution by consensus represents an important step in further cementing the Myanmar military’s lack of legitimacy, the resolution falls short in key areas in addressing the ongoing atrocities and ensuring justice and accountability in Myanmar. The resolution, adopted by consensus at the end of the 55th regular session of the Human Rights Council (HR ..read more

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the arrests of three Hazara women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Afghanistan. The arrests happened amidst the Taliban’s ongoing gender apartheid and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities. On 28 March 2024, the Taliban arrested and detained WHRDs Azada Rezaei, Nadia Rezaei,  and Elaha Rezaei  alongside their brother, Yahya Rezaei. Two of the sisters are minors. In 2022, their sister Tamana was also detained for 29 days. The Rezaeis’ whereabouts are currently unknown. Taliban representatives hav ..read more

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is delighted to announce the call for applications for the 2024 ASEAN Human Rights Advocacy Academy. The Academy is a capacity building platform for youth activists in Southeast Asia to gauge a strong understanding and skills to engage with the ASEAN Human Rights mechanism. Since 2005, FORUM-ASIA has been actively engaged in the development and strengthening of the ASEAN human rights mechanisms. Against the backdrop of a global shrinking civic-space due to the rise of authoritarianism and a lack of capacities for civil society to me ..read more

From January 2022 to June 2023, challenges to human rights and democracy in Asia persisted, marked by recurrent repression and emerging trends in violations against human rights defenders (HRDs). Amid legal vacuums and accountability deficits among de facto authorities, HRDs stood as frontline champions of human rights and democratic values, facing various forms of attacks and harassment across the region. Conflict zones and post-conflict areas, such as Myanmar, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and West Papua, remained particularly perilous for civil society actors, including HRDs. In these regions, hea ..read more

The ASEAN Fellowship for Social Justice Leaders (the “Fellowship”) is an initiative developed jointly by a group of human rights organisations in Thailand for temporary relocation of Southeast Asian human rights defenders/ social justice leaders to Bangkok, Thailand. The Fellowship is designed to provide fellows with opportunities for rest and respite, capacity building and networking with other defenders and organisations in Thailand and in Asia. Through this Fellowship, each fellow will be matched with a human rights organisation in Thailand that fits their profile and interest and carry out ..read more

The Civil Society Group for the ICCPR Review in Indonesia, consisting of Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), Amnesty International Indonesia, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS), KontraS Aceh, Transmen Indonesia, and the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), has conveyed the situation following the session on the Implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), led by the ICCPR Committee ..read more

The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) alongside the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) strongly condemns the acts of torture committed by the Indonesian National Army against an indigenous Papuan man in the Gome district’s military post.  Indonesian soldiers–who are reportedly part of the 300th Braja Wijaya Infantry Battalion from West Java–have allegedly taunted, beaten, and slashed the victim as he was placed inside an oil barrel. The incident was captured on video and became viral on social media in March 2024. The incident itself, however, happened in Febr ..read more