Search Results for: Southeast Asia

Three years have passed since Beijing enacted the National Security Law of Hong Kong (NSL). And throughout this period, the city’s authorities have been using the law in parallel with established laws, such as one prohibiting “seditious intent,” to target dissidents. As of July 2023, 71 arrests had been made based on the sedition law, [...]

The UN Human Rights Office released a report Monday that assessed the impact of digital border technologies on human rights, finding that border surveillance technology and decision algorithms may violate the human rights of migrants. While the report acknowledged that digital technologies aid states in achieving security objectives, it also alleged that digital technologies result [...]

The United Nations Human Rights Office said in a new report on Tuesday that criminal syndicates in Southeast Asia are forcing hundreds of thousands of individuals into online criminal activity, including operating fraudulent investment schemes and facilitating unlawful gambling.  While the scale of internet-based fraud in Southeast Asia is difficult to estimate, the report offers [...]

The Malaysian government announced on Friday that it would take legal action against Facebook parent company Meta for its failure to remove “harmful” content relating to race and religion. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the public body regulating communications and multimedia in Malaysia, published an official statement on its website with resentments. It [...]

Malaysia’s Parliament Tuesday passed two bills reforming death penalty sentencing and abolishing the mandatory death penalty for certain offenses. Human rights groups welcomed the move as a step towards abolishing capital punishment entirely. The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 and the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life Bill 2023 [...]

Last month, Indonesia made headlines by passing a new criminal code known as the Rivisi Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana (RKUHP). The code includes a number of controversial provisions, including outlawing acts such as defaming the president and expressing views antithetical to state ideology. However, the provision that has received the most attention is the criminalization [...]

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Tuesday urged countries in Andaman Sea region to step up for helping rescue Rohingya Muslims stranded at sea. In contrast, the UNHCR welcomed Indonesian fishermen’s–in concert with local authorities’–actions which saved 58 people Sunday and 174 people Monday. UNHCR Representative to Indonesia, Ann Maymann, thanked the local communities [...]

In the United States and throughout the Global North, people generally take for granted that law means state courts and legal institutions. Sure, people may opt out of certain government regulations, for example, by signing an arbitration agreement, but state courts can still step in if deemed necessary. This may all seem intuitive but globally [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk Friday condemned military courts in Myanmar for handing out over 130 death sentences in proceedings not accessible to the public. Seven college students were sentenced to death on November 30, and the UN is working to confirm four additional death sentences against youth activists on December 1.< [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Tuesday urged governments attending Asian summits in November to support tougher sanctions to curb human rights abuses by Myanmar’s junta. The Myanmar junta seized power in February 2021 and has since then committed “widespread and systematic abuses,” according to HRW. International leaders will gather for a series of summits in Asia [...]