March 10-16, 2025

NORTHEAST ASIA

Defending U.N. against defunding 

Japan’s recent decision to block funds from reaching a key U.N. human rights body has raised alarms about the growing trend of powerful states weakening international mechanisms for protecting rights.

In a joint statement on March 11,Human Rights Watch (HRW) Asia division program officer Teppei Kansai and U.N. deputy director Lucy McKernan warned against Japan’s request that none of its voluntary financial contributions be allocated to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), saying it sets a dangerous precedent and may embolden other governments to retaliate against U.N. bodies whose findings they oppose. 

In October 2024 the committee recommended that Japan revise its Imperial House Law, which currently limits succession to male heirs only. Japan’s government protested, arguing that succession to the throne is not a basic human right, and cancelled a planned visit by CEDAW representatives to Japan later this year.

“While the Japanese government insists its actions against the Committee were largely symbolic, they risk emboldening other governments to lash out against the U.N. human rights system at a time when powerful states are already undermining its effectiveness,” they said the joint statement.

FAST FACTS

• Japan, the only Asian member in the powerful G7 bloc composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, is the third largest contributor, at 8.03%, to the U.N.’s regular budget and peacekeeping operations, next to the United States (26.95%) and China (18.69%). It also contributes around 20 million yen ($130,000) to the U.N. human rights office of which CEDAW is a part. 
• This is not the first time that Japan has run afoul of the CEDAW committee, which has consistently raised the issue of comfort women raped by Japanese imperial soldiers in South Korea and Philippines during wartime. 
• Japan has consistently claimed it has “fully resolved” the problem with the affected countries even though it has not offered full reparations and official apology.  
• Japan’s move is part of a broader pattern of governments seeking to defund or weaken U.N. human rights bodies. Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump made massive cuts to its U.N. funding amid pending legislation to pull the country out of the international body completely, while China has notoriously shot down U.N. resolutions against its interests, as was the case with the Uyghur situation in Xinjiang.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

Kansai and McKernan have urged Japan to: 

• Reverse its decision to block funding to the CEDAW Committee.
• Step up amid the gap left behind by the United States and China and support the U.N. system

SOUTHEAST ASIA

Railing against cuts that hurt

Within just four months of his administration, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has already issued troubling policies that undermine rights and freedoms, not least of which is a drastic decision to slash $19 billion from the annual budget and divert the savings to a new sovereign wealth fund (SWF).

The unprecedented cuts – seen to impact health, education, and social protection programs –  stoked concerns about Prabowo’s proclivity for “viral-based policies” – public policies adopted or discarded based largely on the prevailing sentiments or opinions of netizens.    

The ensuing student-led protests, dubbed Dark Indonesia Student Movement, were met with state force, prompting rights groups led by the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development to call on the government for restraint and to instead review its national budget cuts. 

“Within just four months, the Prabowo administration has issued troubling policies that undermine fundamental rights and freedoms,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA. “We stand with the Dark Indonesia Student Movement and call on the government to heed the voices of its people.”

FAST FACTS

• Danantara, a new national investment agency created to manage state assets, was inspired by Singapore’s own Temasek Holdings ostensibly to boost the nation’s economy. Its goal is to consolidate funds from state-owned enterprises and channel them to strategic projects. 
• To fund the new SWF, Prabowo made massive cuts to the annual budget affecting the Education Ministry (25%), National Commission on Human Rights (46%), Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (50%), and Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (58%), among others. 
• These deep cuts have affected these agencies’ critical work, and even essentials for day-to-day operations like toiletries and water. 
• Elsewhere in Asia, SWFs have long been flagged as conduits for corruption while crippling social protection programs.

• The students behind the Dark Indonesia movement are concerned not just about the education cuts but also about its broader economic and social implications at a time when costs of living have skyrocketed and living standards are declining for the youth.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

• FORUM-ASIA urged Prabowo to review and repeal budget cuts that undermine human rights institutions, education, healthcare, and social welfare programs.
• It also called to investigate all documented cases of violence, harassment, and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters.
• The students meanwhile are calling on the government to prioritize education through higher funding and upgrade to school facilities.

SOUTH ASIA

Unshackling the chains of religious persecution

Violations of religious freedom and belief remain rampant in Pakistan with 2023/24 marked by increased violence, discrimination against, and institutional neglect of, marginalized religious communities. 

A new report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) details widespread abuses, including mob attacks, misuse of blasphemy laws, forced conversions, and targeted killings, particularly affecting Christian, Ahmadiyya, Hindu, Sikh, and Shia communities.

HRCP said the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion has been “hijacked by the far right” and called on the Pakistani government to take immediate, concrete steps to end religiously motivated violence, and halt misuse of blasphemy laws.

In Pakistan, far-right groups typically pertain to religious and Islamist extremist groups, including the far-right Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the largest militant organization in the country which also wields considerable political influence.

FAST FACTS

• Pakistan, founded as a Muslim homeland in the Indian subcontinent, has long struggled with sectarian violence which deepened after former dictator Zia-ul-Haq enacted several policies that essentially “Islamized” the country. 
• Marginalized minorities – including Ahmadis, Christians, and Hindus – are prime targets of violations, the report said. These include forced conversions, targeted violence, attacks on places of worship, and discriminatory laws that restrict their freedom to religion.
• Hindu and Christian women and girls, particularly in Sindh, remain highly vulnerable to forced conversions and abductions. Meanwhile, Ahmadiyya communities faced systematic targeting, including bans on religious practices during Eid-al-Azha. 
• Sectarian violence, especially against Shia communities, has intensified in regions such as Kurram, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Karachi, while Sikh communities face risks of forced migration and discrimination.
• Human rights defenders and civil society groups advocating for freedom of religion or belief (FORB) also face funding restrictions, increased surveillance, and legal harassment, the report said.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

The NHRCP recommends that the Pakistani government: 

• Immediately investigate and prosecute individuals, including far-right groups and clergy, who incite violence, hate speech, and mob attacks against religious minorities.
• Hold accountable law enforcement agencies for failing to prevent mob violence and for enabling the misuse of blasphemy laws to persecute marginalized communities.
• Urge the judiciary and law enforcement to take action against fabricated blasphemy cases, prosecute those responsible for filing false accusations, and expedite the release and rehabilitation of wrongfully accused individuals.

GLOBAL / REGIONAL

Closing funding shortfalls to stave off hunger 

Escalating conflict, mass displacement, and access restrictions in Myanmar have significantly increased the need for food assistance. Despite this however, over 1 million people in the Southeast Asian country will be cut off from food aid starting April while 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face reduced food rations amid severe funding shortages.

Humanitarian organizations like the World Food Programme and Save the Children are calling on international donors to boost urgently needed support for these people, warning that failure to act may trigger worsening hunger crises, increased displacement, and even greater instability in the region. 

“WFP is calling on all partners to identify additional funding to meet the needs in Myanmar as the situation across the country continues to deteriorate,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Myanmar. 

Save the Children Bangladesh director Shumon Sengupta made a similar appeal: “We urge donors and the public to step up funding to the Rohingya refugee response now so that we can prevent a hunger crisis that could push more families to send their children away on dangerous boat journeys. Without sustained financial backing, a broader humanitarian crisis may be around the corner.”

FAST FACTS

• Aid agencies’ calls for increased funding comes as U.S. President Donald Trump announced massive cuts to the country’s U.N. funding. WFP, a U.N. body, specifically appealed for $21.1 billion to assist 150 million food-insecure people but secured only $9.75 billion last year.
• The funding shortfalls have forced the agency to make ration cuts in critical areas including Bangladesh, home to a million Rohingya refugees, Kenya, and Djibouti, Devex reports. Without new funding, WFP predicts it can only extend aid to just 35,000 of the most vulnerable, and would impact nearly 100,000 internally displaced people in conflict-riven Rakhine State. 
• In Bangladesh, Save the Children is also sounding the alarm for food rations for Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar. Such assistance is expected to be reduced by half in April for lack of funding just as refugees prepare to mark Eid at the end of Ramadan.
• This could worsen the already deteriorating situation of the over half a million children in the refugee camps, of which 15% of children under five suffer from malnutrition as reported by UNICEF this month.
• Escalating insecurity, violence, and extreme poverty in refugee camps for Rohingya are driving a dramatic rise in dangerous sea voyages. Save the Children noted, for example, that 395 refugees, including 173 children, from Bangladesh fled to Indonesia by boat in October 2024 – a sharp rise from 49 in 2023.

ACTIONS SOUGHT

Both WFP and Save the Children urge: 

• The international donor community to immediately mobilize additional financial support to close the funding gap in Myanmar and continue food assistance.
• The United Nations and humanitarian agencies to advocate for sustained funding to prevent a worsening hunger crisis.