August 19-25, 2024

NORTHEAST ASIA

An earnest appeal for unification as ties sour  

South Korea’s unification minister has appealed anew to North Korea to engage in working-level consultations as part of Seoul’s effort to “return to the path of dialogue” between the two Koreas. This, amid heightened nuclear tensions in the peninsula as North Korea pursues its provocative weapons tests. 

During a press conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul on Aug. 22, Minister Kim Yung-ho echoed President Yoon Suk-yeol’s proposal last Aug. 15 to establish a working-level consultative body with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea’s official name) on how to restart political and economic cooperation. 

FAST FACTS

• Yoon envisions this consultative body as a fresh start for unification, a long-standing goal of the South Korean government toward “peaceful reunification.” 
• The historic summits between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, as well as with former U.S. President Donald Trump, marked a significant turning point for such efforts. But subsequent negotiations fell apart due to disagreements over the scope of denuclearization, sanctions relief, and security guarantees. 
• Observers, however, say a unified Korea now appears unlikely as relations between the two neighbors have plunged to a historic low in decades. As North Korea ratchets up its nuclear and missile capabilities, Pyongyang’s Kim declared unification “no longer possible” and even proposed that their constitution be amended to name South Korea as its “primary foe and invariable principal enemy.” 
• Support for unification has slowly declined over the years, with only 44 percent of South Korean respondents believing that it is necessary, according to a 2023 survey, down from 63.8 percent in 2007. Experts ascribe this to the “psychological distance” between the two Koreas, with many young South Koreans viewing North Korea as hostile and backward. 

Necessity of unification between North and South Korea, 2007-2023

• Yoon’s newly unveiled unification plan seeks “a unified, free and democratic nation … across the entire Korean peninsula.”
• Critics said Yoon’s vision lacks a concrete action plan to bring it to fruition.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• Kim urged North Korea to “carefully consider our proposal and return to the path of dialogue.” 
• He also called on the next U.S. administration to prioritize the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. 

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Probe police use of excessive force against peaceful protests 

A group of ASEAN parliamentarians has called for a thorough investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of the violent crackdown on Indonesians who took to the streets on Aug. 22 to protest the House of Representatives’ (DPR) proposed amendments to Indonesia’s regional elections law.

In its statement, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) voiced concern over  “excessive use of force such as violence, rubber bullets, tear gas, water cannons, or batons” against the protesters in Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, and Makassar. 

Citing data from Advocacy Team for Democracy (TAUD), APHR said 50 demonstrators in Jakarta, six of whom were minors, were arrested and questioned without legal representation on Aug. 23. A total of 105 people arrested in West Jakarta were freed by Aug. 23. 

FAST FACTS

• The protests were in response to DPR’s legislative proposals seeking to reverse a Constitutional Court order on candidate age requirements for the upcoming regional polls, superseding a ruling declaring President Joko Widodo’s youngest son, 29-year-old Kaesang Pangarep, ineligible to run as deputy governor of Jakarta. He will turn 30 after the Nov. 27 elections. 
• The governorship of Jakarta – which remains the center of Indonesia’s economy, business, and education – is a highly prized post and therefore a stepping stone to the presidency.
• A similar ruling in 2023 allowed outgoing President Joko Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, to successfully run as vice president. 
• Indonesia’s parliament has since dropped the planned reversal of the court ruling as a result of massive protests in multiple cities in Indonesia.
• The planned legislation was widely seen as a political maneuver to secure Widodo’s political interests while undermining the reelection chances of Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan, a government critic. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• APHR urges the government to respect human rights, including the right to peaceful assembly, and to create an environment conducive to the exercise of these rights.
• It also urged the Indonesian government to observe “to maintain integrity, independence, and impartiality in carrying out state duties and the people’s mandate following the Constitution.”

SOUTH ASIA

Delivering genuine transitional justice 

While Nepal's newly passed transitional justice law offers some semblance of hope for the victims of the country's civil war, international watchdogs Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) expressed fears that some of its provisions could undermine its potential to deliver genuine justice. 

In a joint statement on Aug. 20, the groups emphasized the need for Nepal’s lawmakers to address these shortcomings to ensure they deliver genuine justice, accountability and redress. 

FAST FACTS

• The newly minted law, introduced in March 2023 and passed in the lower house, was commended by the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights as a “powerful instrument to break cycles of violence and impunity.”
• The law was nonetheless deemed flawed for its contentious provisions and lack of public consultations, particularly with civil society and the victims of Nepal’s protracted armed conflict (1996-2006), in the course of its drafting.

Contentious provisions of Nepal’s new transitional justice law

Sources: HRW, Amnesty International, ICJ

• Nepal has been seeking transitional justice since the end of its decade-long civil war in 2006. The conflict, which pitted the government against Maoist rebels, resulted in 13,000 people killed and 1,300 missing.
• The comprehensive peace agreement that ended the conflict paved the way for the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons (CIEDP)¹ in 2014 to investigate human rights violations and provide recommendations.
• Despite their establishment, the commissions made limited progress in investigating cases and providing justice to victims. Not a single investigation was completed, and no perpetrator was indicted.  
• A previous attempt to amend the Truth and Reconciliation Law that established the two commissions was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015 for offering potential amnesties for serious crimes, violating the country's international human rights obligations.
• Nepalese civil society groups appealed to the United Nations to convince the government to ensure a victim-centric and credible transitional justice process. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• HRW, Amnesty, and ICJ highlighted the importance of appointing “highly qualified and independent commissioners, and of the TRC secretary” who are trusted by the victims so their work could be credible. 
• The groups urged donors and the Nepali authorities to develop and implement a system for oversight of the management of funds to support transitional justice.

¹Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) and Commissions to Investigate Disappeared Persons (CIDPs) are both designed to address human rights abuses. TRCs have a broader focus, investigating various abuses, while CIDPs specifically investigate enforced disappearances.

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

Reining in transnational repression

Cambodia is under increasing pressure to halt its transnational repression of activists following the arrest of the brother of a Cambodian political activist exiled in Japan. 

Activist Vanna Hay – whose brother Vannith Hay was arrested at the Poi Pet border in northwestern Cambodia on Aug. 16 – and Human Rights Watch see the Cambodian action as an act of retribution by the Hun Manet government in the face of the activist's criticisms of the Cambodian government.

“My brother has nothing to do with my political advocacy,’’ Hay told VOA on Aug. 20, four days after his brother was arrested. ‘’He’s a scholar, public servant and a professor at [the] National Institute of Public Health.”

FAST FACTS

• Hay is a prominent Cambodian activist who has opposed the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle Development Area (CLV), an economic development plan involving the border provinces of the three countries. 
• Both Hay and HRW believe that he is being targeted as part of former Prime Minister Hun Sen’s crackdown on CLV critics, even personally threatening the project critics with arrests if they continue with a planned Aug. 18 demonstration against the project. The protest eventually did not push through.
• Soon after Hun Manet’s appeal, Cambodian authorities detained 60 people between Aug. 14 and 19 who were protesting the development plan, says HRW. 
• While Cambodia has had a long record of repressing activists abroad, it is especially wary of perceived dissidents who carry out their activism in Japan, its biggest aid donor. No less than sitting Prime Minister Hun Manet himself made this clear, as he said in a speech on Aug. 15: “Does Japan support the use of its territory as a base for leading protests and overthrowing [the government]?”
• Sun Chanthy, the head of the opposition National Power Party, was arrested last May after returning from Japan, where he gave a speech to supporters urging the Cambodian government to allow opposition parties to operate freely. Two months later, a Cambodian court found Teav Vannol, who leads the opposition Candlelight Party, guilty of defamation and fined him US$1.5 million after he criticized the Huns in a media interview in Tokyo.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• HRW urged Japan to publicly call out Cambodian authorities to immediately stop intimidating critics both at home and abroad and to release those wrongfully detained for exercising their rights.
• Vanna Hay called on the Cambodian government to release his brother.