December 29, 2024-January 4, 2025

NORTHEAST ASIA

Long-awaited data on coronavirus origins  

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the world is still grappling with its origins though well aware of its unprecedented impact including on the global economy. 

On Dec. 31 – exactly five years since China first reported about a “viral pneumonia” in Wuhan city in central Hubei province  – the World Health Organization (WHO) reiterated its call on China to share data and information about the origins of COVID-19 to plug the world’s gaps in preventing future outbreaks. 

“This is a moral and scientific imperative. Without transparency, sharing, and cooperation among countries, the world cannot adequately prevent and prepare for future epidemics and pandemics,” the U.N. agency said in a statement. 

FAST FACTS

• There have been over 7 million recorded deaths from the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus by the end of 2023. But the actual death toll may actually be closer to 21 million, according to WHO. Many countries, especially those in Asia, do not have a robust data collection system on deaths and causes of deaths. 
• In January 2024, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce published a report accusing China of possibly knowing about the virus earlier than it let on and then withholding critical information in its earliest days, hampering proactive response. 
• This is not the first time China is accused of withholding data during epidemics. During the SARS epidemic in the 2000s, China imposed a news blackout on the growing number of cases and withheld data from the WHO for months. 
• Even today, epidemics and pandemics remain among the most significant threats to global health and security. While established health threats like cholera, measles, Ebola, and malaria continue to afflict millions worldwide, the emergence of novel infectious diseases like COVID-19 has shown it could reverse decades of progress across almost all sectors: health, education, poverty, with the poorest often the most affected. 
• Studies have shown that pandemics are likely to increase in frequency in the coming years. The convergence of human-wildlife interactions, climate change, globalization, antimicrobial resistance, and weakened public health systems creates a perfect storm for the emergence and rapid spread of infectious diseases.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• The WHO urged China to share access to information about the origins of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.
• It also called for more transparency, data sharing, and international cooperation to prevent future pandemics. 

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Shielding satirists from blowback

In Malaysia, even satirists are not safe from repressive acts by a government that has often targeted journalists, activists, and rights defenders. 

On Dec. 30, authorities arrested artist-activist Fahmi Reza for a satirical artwork criticizing the appointment of a politician with a controversial past as the state governor of Sabah. The arrest – done under charges of, among others, violating Malaysia’s controversial Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act (CMA) – drew swift condemnation from opposition parties and free speech advocates, who accused the government of stifling dissent and of weaponizing its laws. 

“Such high-handed action conflicts with the spirit of political reforms that the people have long sought. … “People have a constitutional right to peacefully express their concerns about such public interest issues, as Fahmi has done through his art. said rights group Aliran. 

“Fahmi’s detention foreshadows the worsening weaponization of laws, including the Sedition Act and the CMA, to stifle freedom of expression and suppress critical voices,” echoed rights group Suaram.

FAST FACTS

• Fahmi was detained under three laws, including the colonial-era Sedition Act, which criminalizes speech deemed insulting to the royalty or inciting racial or religious tensions. The arrest came despite Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim publicly stating that he did not support prosecuting Fahmi for his artwork.
• Fahmi’s sketch depicted Musa Aman, a former Sabah chief minister facing corruption allegations, as the new governor with a 100-ringgit note clenched between his teeth. Musa is accused of receiving kickbacks in timber concession contracts in Sabah but was controversially acquitted of corruption charges in 2020, a decision that sparked widespread criticism.
• This is not the first time the government has gone after artists and satirists who criticize the government or powerful figures in Malaysia. Another prominent cartoonist, Zunar, has faced numerous charges under the Sedition Act for his satirical work criticizing government policies and politicians. He has been repeatedly investigated, detained, and faced travel bans before he was eventually acquitted of all charges in 2018.
• Both the Sedition Act and the CMA Act are long flagged by rights groups for their broad and ambiguous wording, which allows the government to target dissent and intimidate critics of the government. 
• Last month, parliament proposed and passed amendments to the 1998 CMA law, which rights groups say would significantly expand its powers to regulate online content and impose harsher penalties. 

ACTION SOUGHT

• Both Aliran and Suaram called for all charges against Fahmi to be dropped and urged the government to impose a moratorium on the use of the Sedition Act and the CMA. 

SOUTH ASIA

Let them sail back home

For decades, hundreds of fishermen from India find themselves arrested at sea for crossing an invisible, tenuous maritime boundary between their home country and neighboring Pakistan. These fishermen – who are often impoverished – then end up in Pakistani jails where they languish in terrible conditions. 

On Jan. 1 Indian authorities appealed to Pakistan to expedite the release of 183 fishermen and civilians who had already completed their sentence. The request was made during both countries’ exchange of prisoner lists on Jan. 1 and July 1 of every year ever since they signed a 2008 consular treaty. 

“Pakistan has been asked to expedite the release and repatriation of 183 Indian fishermen and civilian prisoners, who have completed their sentence,” said the government of India in a statement.  

FAST FACTS

• India and Pakistan’s maritime border in the Arabian Sea has remained undefined since Pakistan attained independence over 70 years ago. At the heart of their dispute is Sir Creek near the Indian state of Gujarat and the Pakistani province of Sindh, which both countries have declared a no-fishing zone but also happens to be a rich fishing ground.
• In search of fish, many fisherfolk inadvertently cross this boundary, leading to their arrest. 
• At least 26 Indian fishermen died in Pakistani custody from 2014 to 2023, according to the Indian Commission in Islamabad. At the time the report was released, the family of a Gujarat fisherman who died in prison waited for a month to receive his remains. 
• A separate report by the Human Rights Initiative in 2023 found that while the Pakistani government has been releasing prisoners from time to time, “the absolute number of Indian nationals who are languishing in various prisons across Pakistan has only risen.” 

Fast figures on the situation of Indian nationals in Pakistan

Source: India Ministry of External Affairs

ACTION SOUGHT

• The Indian government asked Pakistan to ensure the safety, security, and welfare of all Indian national prisoners and to expedite their release and repatriation to India. 

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

35 years on, the irony of the Convention on the Rights of Child  

The 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 2024 should have heralded progress made in improving the plight of children across the world. 

What comes to the fore, however, is a stark reminder that much more needs to be done to ensure that children, especially those caught in conflict, are not deprived of their fundamental freedoms. 

A newly released U.N. report paints this grim reality, with potentially unprecedented numbers of children having been killed, injured, or displaced by conflict in 2024. 

On Dec. 31, the U.N. Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict reiterated her call for a stronger global commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of children in conflict zones, including the provision of humanitarian access, upholding international law, and prohibiting the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

“Their pain is a stain on our collective conscience. We must do better, because every moment we delay, another child becomes just another number in the long list of conflict related casualties and violations in the children and armed conflict reports,” said U.N. Special Representative Virginia Gamba.

FAST FACTS

• On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the CRC, UNICEF published a report saying that over 473 million children now live in areas affected by conflict. It added that “more children than ever are estimated to be either living in conflict zones or forcibly displaced due to conflict and violence” especially in Haiti, Lebanon, Myanmar, the State of Palestine, and Sudan.

Fast facts

Source: UNICEF

• In the past year, armed groups were increasingly recruiting and using children as soldiers, including girls who face heightened risks of sexual violence and exploitation. This despite the 2000 Optional Protocol – which entered into force 2002 and now ratified by most countries –  that mandates governments not to recruit children under 18 and to also prevent them from being recruited, even by armed groups.
• Beyond direct conflict impacts, millions of children are denied access to education due to conflict, displacement, and the destruction of schools. “Intentional” deprivation on humanitarian access has also prevented aid organizations from reaching children in need, exacerbating suffering and increasing mortality rates.
• Government forces also contributed to the grim statistics, with increased military operations leading to widespread killings, maiming, and attacks on schools and hospitals.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

.Gamba has called on governments to:

• Ensure aid organizations can reach children in need, especially in conflict zones like Afghanistan and Myanmar; and
• Uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child, International Humanitarian Law, and Human Rights Law.