|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
NORTHEAST ASIA
Time for a fresh review
Ten years after a groundbreaking U.N. report exposed grave human rights violations in North Korea, experts are urging renewed scrutiny into the country’s human rights record as well as ongoing abuses under Kim Jong-un’s rule.
On Feb. 7 – a week before the 10th anniversary of the U.N.-mandated inquiry into the human rights record of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea’s official name) – former Commission on Inquiry (COI) chair Michael Kirby, former U.S. special envoy to North Korea Robert King, and human rights advocate Roberta Cohen said it was critical that the U.N. determine the impact of the 2014 landmark U.N. report on the extent of abuses in the DPRK under supreme leader Kim Jong-un.
“Our report, unlike many reports of the United Nations, was extremely readable,” said Kirby, who had led the 2014 inquiry. “But getting a report is only the first step. It’s then necessary to take steps to ensure that the report is implemented.”
Echoed Kirby: “This is not something that [you] do once and it’s done. This is going to require continued work.”
The 2014 report, “which remained the most exhaustive account of abuses in North Korea,” detailed a wide range of human rights abuses committed in the country, including an “almost complete denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, as well as of the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, information and association.”
The report came out less than three years after Kim began his reign, having succeeded his father Kim Il-sung after his death in 2011. Since then, groups like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have kept the world updated on how Kim consolidated his power since by continuing his brutal policy of torture, starvation, and repression of freedom of thought and movement in the isolated country.
His stringent COVID-19 measures worsened people’s suffering by limiting their movement as well as access to food and healthcare.
The U.N. report would have been an early opportunity for other member states to challenge these policies before the International Criminal Court, but they have failed to act. Plus, China – wielding veto power in the Security Council and a vital lifeline for North Korea – had outright rejected its findings.
Additionally, changes in U.S. and South Korean administrations posed challenges. Both former U.S. President Donald Trump and former South Korean President Moon Jae-in attempted peace talks with Kim, but negotiations collapsed when Kim refused to commit to denuclearization.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Yet another lawfare tactic
The rising number of defamation charges in Cambodia under the six-month-old regime of its premier Hun Manet has raised concerns among rights advocates, who worry about their impact on political dissidents and the conditions they face in detention.
Specifically, the case of detained social commentator Ny Nak, who was suddenly transferred to a remote prison while he awaits trial for defamation, prompted rights advocates to call on Manet to stop throwing its citizens in jail simply for criticizing the government or raising awareness on issues.
“To throw Ny Nak in prison again over Facebook comments, and then transfer him to a prison far away from his family, is an abuse of the legal system,” said Naly Pilorge, outreach director of local human rights group LICADHO.
Nak, 46, was arrested on Jan. 5 after he made Facebook comments accusing Labor Minister Heng Sour of being given a 91-hectare parcel of land based on a report by the exiled Cambodia Daily.
Before that, he was beaten up by unknown assailants. Sour then filed defamation charges – punishable by up to three years of jail time – against Nak for supposedly disseminating “untrue information with ill intention to incite and confuse public opinion.”
Nak – who served 18 months in prison in 2019 for criticizing Hun Sen’s COVID-19 policies – is the latest to be hauled to court for voicing criticism. Just last Feb. 7, lawyers of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party filed defamation charges against leading rights activist Soeng Senkaruna over an interview he gave to Cambodia Daily accusing the CPP of using the courts to pressure political opponents.
The charges were supposedly on the orders of Manet’s father and longtime premier Hun Sen.
In October 2022, opposition party Candlelight vice president Son Chhay was also convicted of defaming the CPP for claiming that the June 2022 commune elections were marred by fraud.
According to Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, this move suggests Hun Manet’s alignment with the policies of his father, longtime premier Hun Sen. Opposition figures say democracy in Cambodia has further weakened under Hun Manet’s administration.
In an interview with Nikkei Asia, Candlelight Party chair Teav Yannol said that Hun Manet imposed “even tighter” controls on his opponents compared to his father. Ahead of the upcoming Feb. 25 Senate elections, many Candlelight members have reported being threatened, surveilled, or arrested.
SOUTH ASIA
Cutting Nepal’s losses
As Russia continues to wage its war in Ukraine, an unlikely casualty has emerged: Nepali citizens.
On Feb. 5, ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Nepali rights group Human Rights and Peace Society (HURPES) urged the Russian embassy in the capital Kathmandu to stop conscripting their citizens and to ensure the safe return of those who were recruited.
“The Russian Government should ensure the safe return of these individuals to Nepal. We are here today to create pressure and convey our message,” said HURPES member Ram Krishna Baral.
Their letter comes a month after Nepal, which lies between China and India, stopped issuing work permits to Russia and Ukraine after 10 Nepali soldiers who joined the Russian army were killed. It also demanded that Moscow return their men, and compensation for those killed in combat.
Nepali soldiers, called Gurkhas, are known for their bravery and fighting skills honed in the brutal landscape of the Himalayas. The Gurkhas are often recruited into the British and Indian Army or the Singaporean police.
The Gurkha Welfare Trust, which provides social support for veterans and their families, said no active Gurkhas were fighting in Russia, and that many of those recruited into Russia were destitute young men who either failed the rigorous Gurkha exam or have chosen to take up the call to arms from Russia instead.
Apart from Nepalis, Central Asians – especially Kyrygystanis with dual Russian citizenship – are said to be recruited to help fight in the frontlines, though Moscow has denied this.
Currently, Nepalis are allowed to sign up for foreign combat only in Britain and India on the basis of a tripartite agreement. However, at least 15,000 Nepalis were recruited into the Russia-Ukraine war – lured by the Kremlin’s promised monthly US$2,000 salary and a fast track to Russian citizenship, or duped by smugglers and traffickers.
Moreover, Nepal’s poverty forces men to seek risky foreign work and lacks power to stop them, says human rights expert Dipendra Bahadur Singh.
At least 12 Nepalis have already been killed in the war zone, while five are held as prisoners of war by Ukraine. Nepalese soldiers are often sent to the frontlines, in areas where the fighting and bombing are heaviest, armed only with the barest minimum.
In October 2022 Nepal voted in favor of a U.N. resolution condemning Russia’s attempt to annex four Ukrainian regions.
GLOBAL/REGIONAL
Eradicating FGM to protect women
While girls of today are less likely to be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) compared to 30 years ago, much still remains to be done for the world to meet its target of total elimination of the practice by 2030.
In fact, by the U.N.’s estimates, progress needs to be “10 times faster” to be able to achieve this sustainable development goal in the next seven years. This includes more funding for community engagement initiatives led by survivors, and sexual education as well as care for those who suffer its consequences.
“We need urgent investments to reach the target set in the Sustainable Development Goals of eliminating female genital mutilation by 2030. And we need to amplify the voices of survivors and support their efforts to reclaim their lives, based on their bodily autonomy,” said U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM on Feb. 6.
The U.N. estimates that at least 200 million girls and women worldwide are survivors of FGM, or the practice of altering the female genitalia for nonmedical reasons. Rights advocates have been calling for its complete eradication as this could cause lasting damage to women’s reproductive, sexual, and mental health.
While the practice appears to be heavily concentrated now in 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, it remains a major problem in Asia. And if left uncurbed, 4.4 million girls will remain at risk of this practice, the U.N. said.
| Country | Details |
| Brunei | Believed to be practiced among its Muslim community where it is “sunat” (obligatory religious rite) |
| India | Known to be practiced by the minority Shia Muslim Bohra community, which accounts for 2 million of India’s whole population |
| Indonesia | Affects half of the country’s women as part of the “khitan” or “sunat perempuan” ritual |
| Pakistan | Known to be practiced by the Dawoodi Bohra community |
| Philippines | Still practiced in small pockets of Muslim communities in the Mindanao region |
| Thailand | Practiced by its minority Muslim communities in Yala, Narathiwat, and Puttani provinces |
Source: Equality Now, Orchid Project, UN Dark, The Conversation (2016 and 2023), Benar News
According to Plan International, it is important to empower communities to change their perception of women’s sexuality, and to educate girls on their right to decide on their body.
