February 24-March 2, 2025

NORTHEAST ASIA

Vigilance on digital rights 

While digital rights are eroding globally, Taiwan stands as a notable exception, maintaining a relatively open online space. However, rights advocates urge vigilance, particularly against increasing cross-border surveillance by other authoritarian governments and China’s relentless disinformation campaigns targeting cyberspace to promote unification propaganda. 

During the 13th edition of RightsCon, the global digital rights conference which Taiwan hosted this year, civil society organizations called on the government to, among others, adopt a comprehensive “Digital Bill of Rights” and stronger regulatory measures to protect personal data, internet freedoms, and artificial intelligence governance.

Led by Judicial Reform Foundation, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Amnesty International Taiwan, and Open Culture Foundation, the groups stressed that Taiwan’s commitment to digital governance and democracy must be reflected in concrete policy actions.

“When this government came to power, it promised to uphold and respect digital rights. It must live up to it,” said Eeling Chiu, Amnesty International Taiwan Director.

“A crucial step would be to improve regulations on personal data protection by adopting and following sound privacy protection principles that give individuals consent over how their personal data is used and the right to retain control over it.”

FAST FACTS

• Freedom House’s newly released Freedom in the World 2025 report gave Taiwan a stellar 94/100 score on political and civil liberties, ranking the highest in Asia.  
• On March 1 ARTICLE 19 released a report that lauded Taiwan as one of the few countries that are “well-versed in responding to China’s cyberattacks and resisting its cybernorms.” The same report urged the international community to “increase its engagement with Taiwan” and to emulate the island-nation if it wishes to resist “China’s repressive global ambitions.” 
• Taiwan’s government touts itself as a pioneer in digital democracy, saying it uses technology to “promote social trust, universal connectivity, and digital equity” by collaborating with civil tech groups and communities to advance democratic freedoms. 
• Still, experts raise concerns over the still incomplete draft bill for artificial intelligence regulations, as well as the lack of an independent commission to regulate data privacy. At the same time, Taiwan is also the prime target of Chinese cyberwarfare operations as the latter propagates pro-Chinese propaganda and its hackers target Taiwan’s cyberinfrastructure by a whopping 2 million attacks per day. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT 

The signatory organizations call on the Taiwan government to:

• Enact the Digital Bill of Rights to establish clear legal protections for digital freedoms.
• Form an independent Personal Data Protection Commission with regulatory powers equivalent to a second-tier government agency.
• Increase transparency and accountability in internet content regulation, ensuring independent oversight of content takedown requests.
• Implement human rights safeguards in artificial intelligence governance, including legal disclosure requirements and human rights impact assessments.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Scrapping colonial-era laws

Stark reminders that the Malaysian government continues to wield outdated laws to suppress dissent came into sharp focus with the recent harassment of two rights activists who were attempting to submit a statement on detainee rights. They were consequently charged with illegal entry into the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

In separate statements, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and ARTICLE 19 called on Malaysia to drop all charges against Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) Executive Director Sevan Doraisamy and Program Officer Azura Nasron, who claimed they were slapped with an arrest warrant when they presented themselves to police for a different matter. 

Police later claimed they only took Doraisamy’s statement but it was confirmed they would be slapped with trespassing charges.

“The real issue at hand is not trespassing – it is the government’s lack of transparency regarding the deportation of refugees,” said Wong Chen, APHR Board Member and Malaysian Member of Parliament.

Echoed ARTICLE 19 Senior Malaysia Programme Officer Nalini Elumalai: “Malaysia must end its reliance on outdated laws to suppress dissent and drop all charges against SUARAM and other individuals and allow human rights defenders to advocate freely without fear of reprisal.”

FAST FACTS

• The charges stem from a Feb. 12 incident where Sevan and Azura waited for more than two hours at the Ministry of Home Affairs to enter the building to report on the detention conditions of nine detainees who were charged with the 2012 Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act, and who staged a hunger strike to protest the rejection of their visit applications by prison authorities. 
• Doraisamy and Nasron were later charged under Section 5 of the Protected Areas and Protected Places Act (PAPA) 1959 for allegedly entering a restricted area. 
• The colonial-era PAPA is among Malaysia’s laws denounced by rights activists for their potential to be weaponized against dissent. In 2023 alone, according to Suaram, there were 28 activists charged with the sedition law alone, showcasing precisely why the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has been long calling for its repeal.
• This is separate from Malaysia’s alleged abusive detention practices targeting migrants and refugees.

ACTIONS SOUGHT 

APHR and ARTICLE 19 are urging the Malaysian government to:

• Drop all charges against Doraisamy, Nasron, and other individuals facing prosecution for human rights advocacy, and
• End the misuse of outdated laws to silence dissent.

SOUTH ASIA

Mayday in Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s escalating humanitarian crisis fueled by the Taliban’s repressive policies and the increasing detention of aid workers, has prompted the United Nations and other advocates to demand urgent intervention.

Roza Otunbayeva, the U.N.’s special representative for Afghanistan, has stressed the urgent need for food aid, especially for Afghan women amid alarmingly high maternal and child mortality rates. This was in line with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ recent report, which found that 14.8 million people face food insecurity. Yet only US$9.8 million of the projected US$1.09 billion aid needed was secured. 

“The most important thing right now is to feed the nation,” Otunbayeva said during a talk at Princeton University’s Robertson Hall on Feb. 28.

As the country struggles with one of the world’s worst humanitarian challenges, the fate of a British humanitarian couple who ran education programs in central Afghanistan before they were arrested recently by the Taliban remains unknown. 

Their daughter has appealed to the British government to pressure the country’s de facto rulers to release them. 

“Our parents have always sought to honour the Taliban, so we wanted to give them the opportunity to explain their reasons for this detention. However, after more than three weeks of silence, we can no longer wait,” said their daughter Sarah Entwistle.

FAST FACTS

• Since the Taliban took over in 2021, the U.N. has identified Afghanistan’s worsening food insecurity as a major crisis, with millions facing hunger. The influx of Afghan migrants returning from Pakistan has also placed an additional strain on an already fragile economy.
• Delivering humanitarian aid has become increasingly difficult under Taliban rule, especially after the international community withdrew or became reluctant to provide assistance that could be seen as legitimizing Taliban rule. 
• Otunbayeva said the U.N. has been trying to mobilize the entire donor community “to provide seeds to farmers, not to the Taliban…There is a lack of everything.”
• The rampant detention or blocking of foreign aid and humanitarian workers – especially women – underscores the dangers faced by those providing assistance. 
• The case of British couple Barbie and Peter Reynolds, who have operated education programs in Afghanistan for 18 years, demonstrates this stark reality. They, along with a Chinese-American friend and a translator, were reportedly arrested in Bamiyan province on Feb. 1 after using a plane without informing local authorities.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• The U.N. urges international assistance to address Afghanistan’s severe food crisis.
• The family of the British couple is asking the British government to intervene for the safe release of the detained humanitarian workers.

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

Unfreezing life-saving aid 

For decades now, the United States has been the world’s largest donor, propping up key humanitarian, security, and health programs across the world. But President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy – that includes massive foreign aid cuts – is threatening to undo years of progress and cause devastating consequences for millions worldwide.

U.N. secretary general Antonio Guterres echoed this warning and urged the U.S. government to reverse course as this would “make the world less healthy, less safe, and less prosperous.

“These cuts impact a wide range of critical programmes,” he told reporters at the U.N. Headquarters in New York. “The consequences will be especially devastating for vulnerable people around the world.” 

His comment follows weeks of fear and uncertainty among humanitarian workers hit by one of Trump’s first orders of office when he retook the Oval Office in late January.

A 90-day suspension of all foreign aid pending review came soon after. Since then, several NGOs and civil society groups have either closed, downsized, or suspended their operations, with no clarity about their future.

FAST FACTS

• The U.S. is the world’s largest humanitarian donor, supporting over 100 million people annually. In 2023 alone, the country provided US$9.48 million in humanitarian aid, topping the world’s list. 

World’s largest donors of humanitarian aid in 2023, by country

Source: Statista

• • The fund freeze impact is already being felt in countries like Afghanistan, which has received the highest amount of U.S. aid in Asia, and where 9 million people risk losing access to healthcare. 
  • The cuts are also expected to impact the Rohingya population in Bangladesh, which heavily rely on aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
  • A separate report by the Lowy Institute warns that the aid freeze could have serious repercussions in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, particularly in Myanmar and Cambodia, where it plays a crucial role in health and education.
  • Globally, the unprecedented suspension also threatens health initiatives like HIV/AIDS treatments, which serve 20 million people. Funding for governance and civil society initiatives are also suffering, as experts fear deteriorating democratic institutions worldwide. 

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• Guterres urged the U.S. government to reconsider and reverse the aid suspension.
• The Lowy Institute called on Australia, Japan, South Korea and Europe to step up and fill America’s gap.