June 11-17, 2024

NORTHEAST ASIA

Saving North Korea’s defectors

A North Korean defector delivered a powerful plea before the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) last week, urging the international community to act more decisively in putting an end to the abuses of the totalitarian regime under Kim Jong-un’s reign.

Gumhyok Kim – who presents himself as the representative of “millions of North Koreans denied humankind’s most basic freedoms” – condemned the government’s focus on military spending while its people face starvation and suffer severe oppression.

Speaking before the UNSC in Geneva on June 12, Kim described a country where basic freedoms are repressed, citizens face arbitrary detention and torture, and families are torn apart – dismal realities that have long defined the isolationist country and that have been previously flagged by rights groups and organizations, including the U.N. Human Rights Council itself.

“If they developed the economy instead of missiles, there would be no need for any North Koreans to starve to death,” Kim said. “If North Korea were a normal State, it would contribute to world peace rather than threatening it.”

Kim’s statement is part of the UNSC annual briefing on the human rights situation in North Korea as the country continues to pursue its nuclear program while neglecting its own citizens and depriving them of freedoms.

Reports estimate that many of the country’s 9.66 million rural residents are starving while Kim doggedly pursues a costly military buildup, which in itself has driven abuses like forced labor and child labor.

In 2023 Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. independent human rights expert on North Korea, reported that the country’s leaders had repeatedly demanded that citizens “tighten their belts” to the point of starvation “so that the available resources could be used to fund the nuclear and missile programmes.” 

Human Rights Watch calls North Korea’s dire situation a “forgotten human rights crisis,” in large part because international attention to the isolationist country has waned in recent years. In fact, 10 years ago, the U.N. convened a commission of inquiry that recommended North Korea be hauled before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Nothing has happened since. 

It has not helped that the UNSC has been deadlocked on what action to take in the country because Pyongyang’s biggest allies, Russia and China, have vetoed what would have been significant efforts to improve the country’s rights record. 

Just last March, Russia vetoed the renewal of the mandate of the Security Council’s Panel of Experts. HRW senior Asia researcher Lina Yoon described the move as akin to “drawing the shades on North Korea sanctions violations.” 

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Human rights above all in new capital

As Indonesian President Joko Widodo prepares to leave office by October, a new report from the national human rights commission highlights human rights abuses linked to Nusantara, a city on the east coast of the island of Borneo, which is expected to rise as Indonesia’s new capital.

Rights advocates like Arip Yogiawan have urged the national government to prioritize human rights in its development projects, or otherwise send the signal that investment takes precedence over human rights.  

“This needs to be a reference since development has the potential to change the landscape and displace people, which impacts the lives of affected residents,” said Arip, the campaign and public engagement head of the environmental advocacy group Trend Asia, in an interview with Benar News.

A new report by the national human rights commission (Komnas HAM) details over 535 cases in the past three years linked to the construction of Nusantara, the new capital in East Kalimantan, and other national projects. These abuses cover land disputes, environmental damage, and the displacement of local communities.

Komnas HAM Commissioner Hari Kurniawan noted that these were “violations of the right to welfare, the right to justice, and instances of arbitrary actions by authorities.”

While the report does not specify cases, these are not unknown to the public. Just last March, South China Morning Post reported that hundreds of households in Sepaku District, East Kalimantan, supposedly received letters signaling that the government would demolish their homes and take over the land. 

The US$30 billion Nusantara project, envisioned as a smart and sustainable city, forms a key part of Widodo’s legacy. However, it has been criticized for lacking a thorough social, economic, technological, and environmental analysis. 

According to the Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance of Nusantara, at least 20,000 Indigenous people – called Dayak – could be displaced by the project and rendered virtually homeless as they do not have legal certificates over the land. 

Recent resignations by top officials overseeing the project have also raised questions. Nikkei Asia suggests that what were otherwise cited as “personal reasons” for these officials’ departure could be related to the project’s rushed pace and the unresolved land claims of local and Indigenous people in the designated area.

SOUTH ASIA

Rectifying a flawed media bill

A Nepali advocacy group for freedom of expression is calling on lawmakers to amend the Media Council Bill currently under consideration by the National Assembly, citing the draft law’s contentious provisions that undermine press freedom.

On June 11, the Freedom Forum said they had submitted a 24-point recommendation list to lawmakers and the parliament secretariat in a bid to ensure that the current version of the bill protects freedom of expression, particularly for journalists and online media.

Among the Forum’s proposals are the modernization of the current Press Council structure; changing the composition of the recommendation committee that would select members of the council; encouraging self- over government regulation, and emphasizing the independence of the proposed council from state interference.

Freedom Forum Executive Chief Taranath Dahal said that while there has been a “slight improvement in the bill as compared to the previous initiatives, lawmakers could still forward some recommendations to make the Bill FoE-friendly….The Act should come in a way as to foster journalistic practices and values rather than to impose code by the government.”

First proposed in 2019, the Media Council Bill aims to regulate the media landscape in the country, encompassing online, print, radio, and television. It also seeks to replace the existing Press Council and will be led by a chair and 10 other members.

An earlier version of the bill gave the government significant power over the media council and included harsh penalties for journalists publishing content deemed offensive. This raised concerns that the government could use the bill to stifle dissent.

As of April, the government has removed some of the most controversial provisions of the original bill, including the mandatory journalist licensing and equipment confiscation. 

However, media groups continue to oppose a retained provision that allows the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Secretary, instead of an independent panel, to choose the council chair, who will essentially have the same status as a Supreme Court Justice. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists has flagged other contentious bills feared to negatively affect the press and which are now pending in parliament: the Advertisement Regulation Bill, which would make publishers accountable for content in advertisements; and the Information Technology Bill. 

This is on top of reports of self-censorship among journalists because of pressures from both the state and advertisers as well as their limited access to information. This picture places Nepal in the 74th position in the 2024 Press Freedom Index — though still topping the rest of the South Asian region.

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

A much-needed pivot to gender parity

While the world has collectively made significant progress in improving gender equality, current data show that it would still take 134 years to reach full parity – or roughly five generations later than the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal target. 

The latest World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap 2024 report is thus urging governments around the world to recognize gender parity not just as a social justice issue but as a powerful driver of economic growth and societal progress.

“Where diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are longer lasting, the returns follow: increased productivity, adaptability to change, and stronger innovation outcomes,” the report said.

A similar finding by a 2024 World Bank report argued that women “have the power to turbocharge the sputtering global economy … yet all over the world, discriminatory laws and practices prevent women from working or starting businesses on an equal footing with men.” 

Still, this year’s index, which examined 146 countries, does show some meaningful results. For instance, while no country has achieved 100% gender parity, 97% of the governments have closed over 60% of their gap compared to 85% in 2006.

No Asian countries have landed in the Top 10 this year, a feat accomplished solely by the Philippines from 2006 to 2018 before finally dropping to 25th this year. The Southeast Asian country, however, is still the highest-ranked Asian country in the index, with Thailand trailing at 65th. 

Global Gender Gap Index by region, 2024

Source: World Economic Forum

At the current rate of progress, the U.N. Women warned that more than 340 million women and girls would still live in poverty by 2030, and close to one in four will experience moderate or severe food insecurity. 

Other dimensions of gender equality have yet to be achieved, the agency said. For example, no country is still within reach of eradicating intimate partner violence – a suffering mostly endured by women – and girls’ education remains below the universal mark for completion rates, the agency added.