human rights


East Asia  / Japan  / United States
Okinawa and the Osprey: A Human Rights Perspective 
Posted On October 10, 2022
This October marks the 10th anniversary of the arrival in Okinawa of the MV-22B Osprey, a unique yet troubled tiltrotor aircraft. Based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma on the island of Okinawa, the aircraft, which boasts vertical and short takeoff and landing capabilities, was supposed to revolutionize humanitarian assistance, disaster relief capacities, and troop transportation in the region. Normally viewed as part of the larger context of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and the increased Chinese aggression in the East China Sea, the deployment of the Osprey also factors heavily in the broader Okinawan human rights landscape. Two issues are driving local concerns over the Osprey, which were captured by Okinawan civil society submissions to Japan’s 2017 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
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China  / United Nations
The United Nations Is Having a Very Bad Year
September 24, 2022

As world leaders gather in New York for the seventy-seventh United Nations (UN) General Assembly, the global body has never been more divided, challenged, or starved for leadership. Fundamental reforms promised since Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ first term, have been absent. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are failing, the UN Human Rights Office has arguably bent to the will of China, and humanitarian and climate change-related emergencies are overwhelming UN agencies. Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine reminded member states of dysfunction in the Security Council, as Russia vetoed a resolution that would have mandated that it immediately halt its attack and withdraw all troops, with China, India, and the United Arab Emirates abstaining.


China  / East Asia  / United Nations
Michelle Bachelet’s Spectacular Fall From Grace
August 31, 2022

Michelle Bachelet came to the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights with an impressive political and personal résumé. Her father, Chilean Air Force Gen. Alberto Bachelet, was arrested by the notorious dictator Augusto Pinochet, and was tortured and died behind bars for opposing the coup that brought an end to the presidency of Salvador Allende. Bachelet and her mother were also arrested when she was 23, and endured torture herself at the hands of the regime. Returning from exile, she rose to the top of the Socialist Party in Chile and positioned herself as a key member of a coalition that governed the country for almost two decades after the end of the Pinochet era.


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Chadchart should work to widen Bangkok’s civic spaces
June 29, 2022

Last week, newly-elected Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt signed an order that declared seven public areas as suitable venues for public demonstrations, including the Bangkok Youth Center, Lan Khon Mueang Town Square, an area under the Ratchavipha Bridge, and four others. Chadchart had suggested that designating the seven areas would both ease the impacts of protests on Bangkok’s commuters, as well as keep protesters safe. Protesters would need to give at least 24 hours notice before the city can authorize and prepare for them.


China  / East Asia  / Hong Kong  / United Nations
China: Failed UN Visit Comes at Heavy Cost
June 7, 2022

For UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, a visit to China has been in the works for years, and with it comes high stakes. Responding to reports that in the western Chinese province of Xinjiang, more than one million Uyghur Muslims had been subject to torture as well as imprisoned in so-called re-education camps, the United Nations requested direct access to Chinese facilities as early as 2018. Despite the fact that information has been slow to trickle out of authoritarian China due to strict control over national media, international researchers and human rights activists gathered convincing evidence, calling out the deplorable conditions facing the Uyghur Muslim population, from prolonged detainment, mass surveillance, forced sterilization, to the accusation of cultural genocide. A trove of data recently obtained by hackers includes 2,800 photographs, hundreds of spreadsheets, and speeches that link Chinese President Xi Jinping directly with abusive policies aimed at the Uyghur population.


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Eight disastrous years with a dictator and a tyrant
May 23, 2022

Eight years ago this past Sunday, General Prayut Chan-ocha staged a coup against the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra. It would be Thailand’s 12th coup since the 1932 revolution. Since the coup, Thailand has undergone profound change and under Prayut most of it has been reprehensible.  His first year in power was akin to a scene from a dystopian novel. Prayut promised to “return happiness” to the Thai people, while promising to vanquish its enemies, namely supporters of the former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. Aided by a partially compliant public, who posed for photographs with soldiers on the streets after a declaration of martial law, the military junta banned literature it deemed controversial, banned people from gathering in small groups, and replaced civilian courts with military tribunals. Even the Hunger Games movie, a film about a grim future under totalitarian rule was banned. 


Myanmar  / Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Protesters and media platforms must evolve to protect political speech in Thailand
March 28, 2022

Narin Kulpongsathron, a 33-year old activist, was recently convicted under Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code on March 4 for defacing a portrait of Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn. Otherwise known as lèse majesté, which prohibits the defamation of the Thai royal family, convictions can come with sentences of up to 15 years. His was related to a pro-reform protest in September 2020, on the anniversary of the military coup d’état that overthrew former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. 


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Abuse in Thai schools requires a long, hard look in the mirror
March 7, 2022

In the Muang Sam Sip District of Ubon Ratchathani, an 11-year old boy was recently the victim of physical harm at the hands of his teacher. In demanding that the child cut his hair, which in the teacher’s estimation violated school policy, the Grade 5 teacher struck the boy with a stick six times along his calves. Reminiscing about the past, the boy’s father said that the worst thing used to happen was that the teacher would cut a small slice of hair from a student and inform them that it had to be cut to the required length. Strikes such as those given to his son, clearly crossed a red line. 


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Human rights and democracy remain an elusive combination in Thailand
December 10, 2021

The United Nations signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and now marks the event annually on 10 December with the commemoration of Human Rights Day.  As this day passes year after year, however, the environment for human rights in Thailand continues to degrade. A torrent of recent news underscores how alarming conditions in the country have become. 


Southeast Asia  / Thailand
Thailand’s disappointing UPR highlights the need for reform
November 29, 2021

Each member state of the United Nations takes part in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process every five years. The aims are simple enough: evaluate and improve the human rights situations in all 193 UN countries and assist the fulfilment of each state’s human rights obligations through an objective, transparent, constructive process.