December 9-15, 2024

NORTHEAST ASIA

Putting women’s health needs front and center

In patriarchal Japan, the government is taking long-overdue steps to bolster women’s rights in the workplace by focusing on their health and well-being. 

The health ministry announced plans to introduce a new measure urging companies supportive of women’s health to disclose their efforts to support women’s health, such as allowing “period leaves” or establishing consultation desks. The measure is consistent with the existing women’s professional life promotion law, which requires businesses with at least 101 employees to create “general employer action plans.”

While companies are already required by law to disclose numerical data on gender disparities, such as wage gaps and leadership positions, they will not be required to disclose specific data on women’s health. Instead, companies will be allowed to voluntarily disclose information about the systems and policies they have implemented to support women’s health.

FAST FACTS

• Such a measure, if institutionalized, would help address the unique health needs of working women and create a more equitable and inclusive workplace. While Japan has witnessed a rise in women’s labor force participation over the past 15 years, women’s overall economic impact remains limited due to persistent wage gaps and underrepresentation in managerial positions, according to East Asia Forum. 
• In the 2024 Global Gender Gap Report  by the World Economic Forum, Japan ranked 118th out of 146 countries. While this is an improvement from the previous year’s ranking (125th), it still places Japan among the lowest-ranked among the G7 nations in terms of gender equality. 
• A February 2024 report from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry revealed the economic losses from unaddressed issues of women’s health. Menopausal symptoms, for example, accounted for over 50% of the estimated  ¥3.4 trillion (US$22.1 billion) economic losses resulting from women’s health issues.
• Nevertheless, Japan is one of only eight countries in the world that recognizes the need for paid menstrual leave. The others are Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, Zambia, Taiwan, Philippines, and Spain. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

The proposed health ministry’s measures will enjoin companies to:

• Provide education and awareness programs on women’s health issues;
• Offer leave options that accommodate various health needs, including menstrual and menopausal issues; and
• Establish confidential consultation services for women employees to discuss their health concerns.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Finding Sombath

December 15 marks the 12th anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, whose whereabouts remain unknown despite years of global advocacy and calls for justice. His case, in fact, has been highlighted in previous Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycles, with multiple countries expressing their worry and issuing recommendations.

As the United Nations prepares to review Laos’s human rights record in April/May 2025, 78 civil society organizations and several individuals worldwide are urging member states to press the Lao government anew for answers. 

“Amid the serious constraints and repression faced by independent civil society organizations and human rights defenders in Laos, and the continued silence of donors, development agencies, and diplomats in the country, concerned international attention remains the primary hope for finding Sombath and delivering justice to him and his family,” the groups said in an open letter. 

FAST FACTS

• Sombath, a prominent Laotian civil society leader and community development worker, was forcibly disappeared on Dec. 15, 2012, from a busy street in the capital Vientiane. Closed-circuit television footage showed him being stopped at a police checkpoint, before being forced into a pickup truck by unidentified men. 
• In 2015 and 2020, Sombath’s case was a sticking point in the Universal Periodic Review of Laos’s human rights record. The Lao government’s repeated claims of ongoing investigations proved to be empty promises, and to date no perpetrators have been brought to justice.
• Rights groups have repeatedly raised alarms against the continued enforced disappearances of activists and human rights defenders in Laos, both of local activists or of activists who sought refuge in Laos, as the government uses this to silence dissenters.
• During a visit to Laos in June 2024, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged the Laotian government to intensify its investigations into cases of enforced disappearance, including Sombath’s case. Türk also called on Laos to ratify the U.N. Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
• While Laos has signed the Convention, it has yet to ratify it, leaving a significant gap in its commitment to protecting human rights.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

Apart from asking the international community to pressure the Lao government, civil society groups and Sombath’s supporters also called on the Lao government to:

• Provide a thorough and effective investigation into Sombath’s disappearance, and to
• Ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance without reservations and fully implement its provisions.

SOUTH ASIA

Justice for journalists

Ranked 150th among 180 countries in the world in terms of press freedom, Sri Lanka remains one of the most dangerous places for journalists. It is even more so for those who covered the protracted civil war (1983-2009) that led to thousands killed and disappeared. 

Many of these journalists ended up getting killed or forcibly disappeared. For instance, Prageeth Eknaligoda, a political columnist and cartoonist believed abducted in 2010, remains missing. Nine Sri Lankan military intelligence officers have been charged in connection with his abduction, but the case has been plagued by delays. 

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s South Asia Desk Head Célia Mercier called on the new Sri Lankan government to ensure a “transparent and impartial” judicial process and called for protection measures for witnesses and investigators. 

“Prageeth Eknaligoda’s family has been waiting desperately for answers on his disappearance for 14 years,” she said. “Those responsible for this crime must be prosecuted, regardless of their political affiliations or their links with the army.”

FAST FACTS

• Eknaligoda, a political columnist and cartoonist for Lanka-e-news, disappeared just days before the re-election of then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa. His family alleged he was abducted by pro-government forces because he was investigating their alleged use of chemical weapons, which was denied by the government at the time. 
• His disappearance became a symbol of the suppression of dissent during the Rajapaksa era (2005-2015), often referred to as the “Black Decade” for its brutal suppression of the Tamil separatist movement and crackdown on journalists.
• In 2015, after Mahinda Rajapaksa left office, the investigation into Eknaligoda’s disappearance was reopened, revealing that he was last seen detained at a military camp. The arrested nine soldiers charged in connection with Eknaligoda’s disappearance were eventually released on bail, and the trial remains unresolved. Hearings however resumed last Dec. 6 – but his case so far is the only ongoing prosecution for serious crimes against journalists in Sri Lanka.

Disappeared journalists in Sri Lanka, 1990-2024

• The current government, led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has pledged to resolve cases of political killings and abductions, including of journalists.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• RSF’s Mercier called on the Dissayanake government to make sure that those responsible are prosecuted; and to institute protection for witnesses and investigators. 

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

Stepping up global humanitarian fund

As global conflicts and climate disasters continue to plunge millions of people into humanitarian crises in different parts of the world, the United Nations has issued a desperate plea for increased funding for its emergency response efforts as current contributions fail to keep pace with humanitarian needs. 

During an annual pledging event on the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) live-streamed on Dec. 10, U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres stressed the need for more support for the humanitarian fund, considered as a critical lifeline for areas affected by crises.

“Now more than ever, we need a global humanitarian system that is prepared, empowered and well-funded to meet the challenges before us,” said Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher. “CERF is vital to this mission. Whether it succeeds or not depends on how generous the international community wants to be.”

FAST FACTS

• The CERF has been crucial in responding to climate-induced disasters, such as floods, droughts, and cyclones. But as the scale of humanitarian needs continues to grow, CERF faces a daunting challenge. 
• The U.N. is appealing for a record US$47 billion in 2025 to assist 190 million people. Despite a US$351 million pledge from 45 donors for 2025, the U.N. warns that this is significantly less than last year’s total and falls far short of the increasing humanitarian needs. 

CERF funding in the last five years

• Last month, Fletcher said it would be “ruthless” in terms of how it would prioritize spending money especially following the reelection of Donald Trump in the United States, its single biggest donor. “I choose that word carefully, because it’s a judgement call — that ruthlessness — about prioritizing where the funding goes and where we can have the greatest impact,” he said. 
• 2024 is considered the deadliest year for humanitarian workers, due in large part to Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip, Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, and the junta’s continued hold on Myanmar. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum estimates that over 299 million people needed humanitarian assistance in 2024.
• CERF is not the only U.N. mechanism threatened by lack of funding. Last April, the U.N. committee of independent child rights experts had to cancel a series of meetings due to a funding shortfall caused by countries who did not pay their dues. Human Rights Watch said this was a stark example of the U.N.’s “human rights monitoring role being undermined by a lack of budgeted funds.”

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• The U.N. officials are asking its donors to pledge more money to CERF in order to support life-saving interventions and help those affected by conflicts, climate disasters, and other emergencies.