Regional conference on policing in Southeast Asia calls for human rights-based policing
Civil society activists and human rights lawyers from Indonesia, Malaysia , the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste are demanding effective accountability mechanisms to deal with police abuse in their countries. The weaknesses of current mechanisms have contributed to a culture of impunity allowing for human rights violations by law enforcement...
Myanmar: Resettle Political Refugees in Third Countries: Rights Group
A human rights organization said some Burmese former political prisoners in Thailand should be resettled in third countries, as they do not want to return to Burma.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said ex-prisoners could face serious challenges or potential punishment if they are forced to return to...
Special Report: Social Development and Human Security Ministry plans to eradicate violence against women in Thailand
Women’s networks in Thailand are calling for more stringent measures to tackle violence against women which is considered the most widespread human rights violation in the world.
Friends of Women Foundation manager Jadet Chaovilai and other activists have submitted a petition against maltreatment of women in the country on the...
Islam permits freedom of speech
PETALING JAYA: Islam supports freedom of speech and a nation which permits this basic principle of human rights will also help the growth of Islam, said independent Islamic teacher Ustaz Wan Ji Wan Hussein.
Citing examples from western countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia, Wan Ji said countries...
Indonesia: Victims of human rights abuse to share their stories
The Coalition for Justice and Revelation of Truth (KKPK) will hold a five-day-public discussion featuring testimony from the victims of human right violations during the 1965-2005 period, a move that is intended to break the chain of violence in Indonesia by exposing the ongoing pattern of human rights violations...
Indonesia official says he’ll let boats continue to Australia
A senior Indonesian immigration official says he will no longer take measures to stop asylum seekers attempting to take boats to Australia as the fallout over the spying scandal continues.
The comments, from the head of immigration at the Law and Human Rights Agency in Medan, come as asylum seekers...
UN Asks Myanmar to Refund Citizenship Rights of Muslims
(GENEVA) - Third Committee of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, which is responsible for social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues, asked Myanmar to refund citizenship rights of the Muslim minority.
The third Committee consensually approved a draft resolution concerning human rights violation in Myanmar. The Myanmar government was...
Myanmar gov’t: UN can’t force Rohingya citizenship
A Myanmar government spokesman says the country will not be pressured by a U.N. resolution calling on it to grant citizenship to members of the Muslim ethnic minority that identify themselves as Rohingya.
Presidential spokesman Ye Htut insisted on his Facebook page Thursday that the government does not recognize Rohingya...
Cambodian activist released on bail
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia’s highest court released an activist on bail Friday after she served more than a year in prison on charges widely condemned as trumped up to silence a government critic.
The Supreme Court sent Yorm Bopha’s case back to the Appeals Court for further investigation and...
Singaporeans have ‘duty to be kind to foreign workers’
Singapore has laws to protect foreign workers' rights but citizens also have a responsibility to be kind and humane towards them, said Professor Chan Heng Chee yesterday.
Most people here already have a sense of decency, she said in opening remarks at a migrant workers' group event, and would help...
