21 Sep 2021 Myanmar’s extreme Buddhist nationalists Amresh Lavan Gunasingham The release of hard-line Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu bodes ill for the rights of the country's religious minorities.
17 Aug 2021 What to do after the Taliban take-over Susanne Schmeidl The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility.
12 Aug 2021 Syria: The consequences of intellectual failure and moral neglect Bob Bowker No Western government should abide policy goals that in practice are pursued via collective punishment of Syrian people.
15 Jun 2021 Beijing could easily encourage people to have more children, but won’t Yaqiu Wang However China frames its population policy, birth limits fundamentally infringe on women’s reproductive rights.
7 Jun 2021 The authoritarian threat of Indonesia’s latest internet bill Eduard Lazarus Pending legislation would require online service providers to remove or block content by government demand.
2 Jun 2021 R2P: An idea whose time never comes Catherine Renshaw The doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect was meant to stop atrocities. Instead, it has become another empty mantra.
1 Jun 2021 Gab’s gift to the far right Jordan McSwiney , Greta Jasser , Ed Pertwee Social media giants may be trying to squelch hate speech and conspiracy mongering, but alt-tech offers them safe space.
25 May 2021 PNG can’t turn a blind eye to the conflict next door Leanne Jorari As popular support for West Papua grows more vocal, PNG officials walk a diplomatic tightrope.
12 May 2021 Andrew Peacock’s Timor legacy Peter Job Remembered as a principled defender of human rights, the late foreign minister took a different tack with Suharto.
29 Apr 2021 Some reflections on the “anonymous Xinjiang paper” Michael Clarke We should debate those we disagree with. But engagement must be based on a good faith assessment of evidence.
29 Apr 2021 Response to Myanmar coup shows need for UN reform Rebecca Barber Veto power on the Security Council too often obstructs action in the face of atrocities. Here are some ways around it.
26 Apr 2021 Indonesia raises ASEAN’s bar on Myanmar Ben Bland President Joko Widodo had nothing to gain domestically in calling a special summit. But in not failing, he succeeded.
15 Apr 2021 Thailand’s sweeping associations law courts disaster Michael Altman-Lupu , Matthew Bugher Draft legislation to strictly control all kinds of groups could crush civil society and drive out foreign organisations.
8 Apr 2021 Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan Akimoto Daisuke A court ruling has thrown down the challenge to Japanese politicians to ensure equality before the law.
7 Apr 2021 In Singapore, Covid vs privacy is no contest Kirsten Han The pandemic has shown how easily most people accept surveillance, and the government’s enthusiasm for new forms of it.
2 Apr 2021 With Xinjiang cotton, Beijing is taking on the world Holmes Chan , Kris Cheng The latest “us-versus-them” drama shows China sees little chance of mending ties with the West, for now at least.
25 Mar 2021 Afghanistan: When a song is not just a song Susanne Schmeidl , Gillian Howell , Jawed Nader A move to prohibit girls singing was met with a big backlash on social media – a sign of the times, old and new.
25 Mar 2021 Female genital mutilation is still a risk – especially in a pandemic Kit Catterson Could lockdowns and travel restrictions have led the practice of female genital mutilation to increase in Australia?
11 Mar 2021 When will PNG establish a National Human Rights Commission? Moses Sakai Papua New Guinea has launched a commission to fight corruption. Now it needs to do the same to protect human rights.
22 Feb 2021 Are Indonesia’s “rubber” laws limiting freedom of speech? Jim Nolan Jokowi’s call for “improved supervision” of criminal defamation laws won’t lead the media to stop the presses just yet.
15 Feb 2021 The power of example: America’s presence in Diego Garcia Blake Herzinger US claims to upholding the rules-based order don’t square with its silence on Mauritian sovereignty in the Chagos.
3 Feb 2021 A “beggar-thy-neighbour” approach keeps seafarers stranded Sandra Tsui Some countries have banned crew rotations. Some have tight limits. A few are open. So a crisis continues.
28 Jan 2021 Australia in focus at the UN Human Rights Council Shannon Maree Torrens Despite Australia’s history of support for human rights, a formal review offers a serious reality check.
11 Dec 2020 PNG and the politics of the death penalty Moses Sakai Why have a costly public consultation when it’s already abundantly clear capital punishment has little support?
8 Dec 2020 China’s online meddling goes beyond the Great Firewall Yaqiu Wang Human rights movements still suffer from falsehoods and misinformation even on social media platforms banned by Beijing.
3 Dec 2020 In the Philippines, a label can take your life Michael Beltran Accusation as a communist – “red-tagging” – is a potential death sentence, which doesn’t stop some from using it.
10 Nov 2020 Small hope for justice in Mexico’s deadly “war on drugs” Ann Deslandes Outrage over the 2014 disappearance of 43 students and the demand for national reckoning has far-reaching implications.
5 Nov 2020 A backlash against the Women, Peace and Security agenda? Jacqui True , Irine Hiraswari Gayatri , Nuri Widiastuti Veronika , Patricia Salas Sanchez Power politics overshadow progress at the UN Security Council as Resolution 1325 celebrates its 20th anniversary.
26 Oct 2020 Crew-change crisis risks supply chains – and lives Christiaan De Beukelaer Some 400,000 seafarers are currently stuck on ships, past the end of their contracts, unable to go home.
15 Oct 2020 If Duterte likes his human rights record, he can let others look Shannon Maree Torrens An international investigation is the best way to address concern about the “war on drugs” in the Philippines.
12 Oct 2020 Why Myanmar’s elections won’t be free, fair or safe Melissa Crouch The polls should be delayed. The danger of spreading the virus is one reason. Ongoing disenfranchisement is another.
30 Sep 2020 Duterte’s vaccine promise is a political placebo Michael Beltran The Philippine president has pinned hopes on a miracle solution to the Covid crisis while gutting effective responses.
25 Sep 2020 Colonialism and cultural erasure in Xinjiang Michael Clarke The ideology behind the CCP’s “re-education” of the Uighur shares in the history of subjugating indigenous populations.
24 Sep 2020 Francis Fukuyama in Minsk Mark Beeson The outcry for liberal freedoms on display in Belarus suggests “The end of history” wasn’t all wrong.
16 Sep 2020 Bangladesh: Fight the power or shut up? Mubashar Hasan In a climate of fear and repression, Bangladeshi hip-hop artists are caught between self-expression and survival.
28 Aug 2020 Understanding the full spectrum of hate Matteo Vergani Extreme violence garners most attention, but the problems arise much earlier – both online and in the real world.
25 Aug 2020 The killings in the Philippines grow more brazen Nick Aspinwall The recent murder of a well-known activist signals a turning point in the campaign to eliminate dissent.
7 Aug 2020 The Beirut explosion and the plight of Syrian refugees Erin Watson-Lynn The blast that killed over 100 and injured thousands is also a reminder of the fragile existence of millions.
28 Jul 2020 UN report on US killing of Iranian commander misses the mark Alison Pert The drone strike on Qasem Soleimani was unlawful, the report finds, but weak analysis undercuts its conclusion.
3 Jul 2020 Southeast Asian democracies in declining health amid Covid-19 Melissa Crouch An illiberal turn across the region has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Australia should take note.
23 Jun 2020 Culture, constitution and controversy in Samoa Penelope Schoeffel , Malama Meleisea What’s behind the proposed bills to codify Samoan customs in law?
17 Jun 2020 ASEAN Summit: A chance to engage on the Rohingya crisis Rebecca Barber , Sarah Teitt The regional body has been notably silent on genocide in Myanmar, ducking behind the myth of non-interference.
12 Jun 2020 Thailand: Another dissenter disappears Craig Keating A fresh abduction case raises serious questions, not for the first time, about the reach of Thai authorities.
10 Jun 2020 In Yemen, a deadly concoction of arms sales, conflict and Covid-19 Rebecca Barber Without a ceasefire, a humanitarian catastrophe fuelled by Western arms shipments is about to get much worse.
6 Jun 2020 In the US, a week of protests and a tidal wave of history Erin Hurley The killing of George Floyd snapped America awake to racism – again. The problem runs deeper than a rogue president.
3 Jun 2020 In India and Africa, women farmers lack land rights Vani Swarupa Murali Despite significant participation in agriculture, women across both regions face similar obstacles to ownership.
29 May 2020 Are African nations putting policing over public health? Nicholas Bugeja Across the continent, measures to keep Covid-19 at bay have been accompanied by strict and sometimes brutal tactics.
27 May 2020 Rohingya in Malaysia, doubly trapped JJ Rose Panics have a way of seeking out victims, and the Rohingya in Malaysia have been easy targets during the pandemic.
20 May 2020 West Papua: Looking for an opening Johnny Blades Allowing more access would be an important first step to ending human rights abuses in the troubled Indonesian province.
14 May 2020 Covid-19 and the acceleration of state surveillance Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman The pandemic has suddenly made the unthinkable acceptable. Data and privacy may never be the same.