Tag: Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Philippines: drop charges against indigenous protesters

KasibuHuman Rights Watch urged Philippine authorities to drop charges against 11 indigenous rights protesters arrested during a police operation to clear an anti-mining blockade in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya province. At the center of the dispute is an exploration permit by the North Luzon Mineral Resources Corp (NLMRC) and competing claims concerning land rights and consultation. Members of the Bugkalot and other indigenous communities erected barricades in May to block NLMRC's activities, before being cleared by the National Police. Prosecutors charged the protesters with "resistance and disobedience," offenses that carry potential prison terms of up to six months. (Photo: Altermidya Network via LicasNews)

Southeast Asia

Thailand: halt deportation of Karen refugees

PhetchaburiHuman Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thai authorities to halt the deportation of ethnic Karen villagers from Thailand's Phetchaburi province to Burma, citing grave risks to their safety if returned, and urging their immediate release from immigration detention. HRW reported that Thai security forces raided the Karen community living within Phetchaburi's Kaeng Krachan National Park, targeting those without proof of Thai citizenship, and arresting 26 villagers before placing them into the custody of the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok. The organization stated that deporting the Karen villagers to Burma would expose them to severe risk given the Burmese military junta's record of ethnically targeted attacks and abuses, including mass killings, torture and arbitrary arrests. (Map: Google)

Southeast Asia

Thai rights defenders face online death threats

Angkhana NeelaphaijitHuman Rights Watch called on authorities in Thailand to take urgent measures to address a wave of online death threats and harassment against members of parliament Angkhana Neelaphaijit and Romadon Panjor, as well as human rights activist Anchana Heemmina, after they voiced their disapproval of actions of the Thai military and expressed their support for the Muslim community in the country's Deep South. The online campaign of threats and disinformation comes as the long-simmering insurgency in the Deep South is again escalating. (Photo: Front Line Defenders)

Southeast Asia

Extrajudicial killings continue in Philippines

PhilippinesHuman Rights Watch (HRW) reported that authorities in the Philippines continue to conduct extrajudicial killings, with no accountability, as part of the government's anti-drug campaign. Ten years after then-President Rodrigo Duterte launched his brutal "war on drugs," serious human rights violations remain ongoing. According to HRW, the number of killings in the anti-drug campaign has reached 1,273 since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became president in 2022. The report noted a decline in the number of extrajudicial killings compared to rates under Duterte's presidency, but found that illegal arrests have significantly increased. In 2025, Duterte was arrested under an International Criminal Court warrant for crimes against humanity related to his "war on drugs." The trial is scheduled for November. (Image: Grunge Love via Flickr)

Southeast Asia

Philippines urged to arrest fugitive senator

ICCAmnesty International called on the Philippines to apprehend Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, expressing deep concern over reports that he fled the Senate building to evade an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. Following reports that a warrant had been issued for his arrest for crimes against humanity, dela Rosa disappeared from public view, re-emerging this week to participate in a Senate leadership vote. He apparently fled the chamber after spotting Philippine government agents waiting to arrest him, and spent two days barricaded in the Senate building. He escaped the building after gunfire erupted, and his present whereabouts are unknown. (Photo: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons)

Southeast Asia

UN: ‘wicked’ trafficking for cyber-scam ops

scam centersThe UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report warning that the rapid expansion of cyber-fraud compounds in Southeast Asia has resulted in widespread human rights abuses. At least 300,000 people originating from 66 countries are currently forced to work in these operations, primarily in Burma and Cambodia. The OHCHR described the phenomenon as a "wicked problem" requiring coordinated, human rights-based responses rather than enforcement-only crackdowns. Yet national government have responded with air-strikes on the compounds, endangering the exploited workers being held at the facilities. (Image: OHCHR) 

Southeast Asia

Burma begins defense in ICJ genocide case

RohingyaBurma began its defense before the International Court of Justice in the ground-breaking genocide case brought by the Gambia, rejecting all allegations of genocide against the Muslim Rohingya minority. The case opened in November 2019, when the Gambia brought proceedings against Burma under to the Genocide Convention. In 2020, Burma was ordered to halt and prevent all genocidal acts against the Rohingya. The Gambia's case against Burma is the first instance in which a state not affected by the facts at issue has brought proceedings under the Genocide Convention. The case serves as important precedent for South Africa's application against Israel, which charges that Israel's actions against Palestinians amount to genocide. (Photo: VOA via Jurist)

Southeast Asia

UN: Burma election plans entrench repression

RakhineThe UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned that the Burma military junta's planned elections this month are a military-controlled process conducted in an environment "rife with threats and violence." OHCHR stated: "Far from leading a political transition from crisis to stability or restoring democratic and civilian rule, this process will almost certainly deepen insecurity, fear, and polarization throughout the country." (Photo: Burmese Border Guard officer with IDPs in Rakhine state. Credit: Daniel Schearf & Zinlat Aung/VOA via Wikimedia Commons)

Southeast Asia

ICC prosecutors bring charges against Duterte

ICCInternational Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors brought charges against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for crimes against humanity, alleging he orchestrated thousands of murders during the grisly anti-drug campaign that has come to define his legacy. The prosecutors accuse Duterte of directing killings from 2011 to 2019, first as mayor of Davao City and later as president. They allege that as mayor he established "liquidation squads," collectively known as the Davao Death Squad, and expanded such operations nationwide after taking office as president in 2016. (Photo: OSeveno/WikiMedia)

Southeast Asia

Thailand urged to drop charges against war objector

ThaiAmnesty International condemned the charges against Thai activist and conscientious objector Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, who is facing trial for refusing military conscription. The group demanded that Thailand's government drop all charges, asserting that the prosecution violates international human rights law. Netiwit, a former Amnesty International Thailand board member, faces three years in prison under 1954 Military Conscription Act. (Photo: Khaosod. Signs read "Change Thailand" and "Change military conscription")

Southeast Asia

Police automotive terror sparks Indonesia uprising

JakartaDays of popular protest in Indonesia exploded into violence after Affan Kurniawan, a motorbike delivery worker, was fatally struck by a police vehicle in Jakarta. The worker had not even been participating in the protest when armored vehicles ploughed into the crowd, mowing him down. Kurniawan's helmet, lying in the rainy street after he was struck, has become an online viral image that fueled further demonstrations across the country. Six were killed and the army called to the streets before the protests were called off when the government agreed to revoke controversial perks for lawmakers, including lavish housing allowances. But the underlying grievances of unemployment and inflation remain. (Image via Twitter)

Southeast Asia

Vietnam: Khmer Krom people face escalating repression

Khmer KromUN human rights experts condemned what they described as escalating repression against the Khmer Krom people in Vietnam, urging authorities to cease targeting minority communities through security laws, and to release those detained for peaceful activity. The experts reported that Khmer Krom rights defenders, including Theravada Buddhist monks, face systematic harassment and criminalization for peaceful efforts to promote indigenous identity, cultural expression and religious freedom. The experts further condemned government claims that indigenous and minority cultural identity threaten national security and public order. (Image: Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization-UNPO)