The people’s uprising against the Indonesian military dictatorship in 1998 was a good lesson-learned for most Indonesian citizens. In Burma, a similar situation is unfolding as people rise against the military junta. We strongly urge the Indonesian government to be more proactive in its role as a member of the Security Council and ASEAN in [ Read more ]

In advance of the UN Human Rights Council’s special session on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, FORUM-ASIA and 16 other NGOs with ECOSOC status submitted a written statement calling on the Council to take action, in the form of a high-level fact-finding mission and the establishment of a monitoring presence on the ground [ Read more ]

On 30 September 2007, FORUM-ASIA and four organisations released an urgent appeal to all Asian governments. The appeal welcomes the decision of the UN Human Rights Council to convene a special session on the situation of human rights in Burma, but calls for an action-oriented resolution. To : All Asian governments Sub.: Urgent Appeal to [ Read more ]

The signing of the ASEAN Charter in November threatens to become nothing more than a tragic farce unless ASEAN’s leaders start to propose concrete action to help prevent a human rights catastrophe from occurring within Burma. The timeliness of yesterday’s scheduled meeting in New York of ASEAN’s foreign ministers with the drafters of ASEAN’s Charter [ Read more ]

The signing of the ASEAN Charter in November threatens to become nothing more than a tragic farce unless ASEAN’s leaders start to propose concrete action to help prevent a human rights catastrophe from occurring within Burma. The timeliness of yesterday’s scheduled meeting in New York of ASEAN’s foreign ministers with the drafters of ASEAN’s Charter [ Read more ]

The eight-minute video clip recording of Malaysian senior lawyer in a phone conversation with the then-Chief Judge of Malaya Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who now serves as the Chief Justice has sparked another conundrum in Malaysia’s judicial history. The misconduct not only questioned the weakening judiciary system under Badawi’s administration but whither the rule [ Read more ]

Few weeks after the first protest against the fuel price increase, the people of Burma continue marching on the street against the military government’s unannounced decision – making life harder for the ordinary people. Buddhist monks joined the peaceful demonstration defying order to return to monasteries. FORUM-ASIA continuously urge ASEAN governments to engage immediately and [ Read more ]

The continued reluctance of the Government of Nepal to establish a mechanism to hold accountable even a single perpetrator of  enforced disappearance perpetuates  impunity and threatens rule of law, which  in turn contributes to current failures in the field  of law and order in Nepal. The Government of Nepal is reluctant to establish any constructive [ Read more ]

In the second half of the Durban series, the obligations that states have agreed to will be explored. The Durban Review Conference is scheduled for 2009, but will states have progress to report?   Before the Decade dedicated to peace and children is complete, the United Nations General Assembly, at its sixty-first session in November 2006, [ Read more ]

Few weeks after the first protest against the fuel price increase, the people of Burma continue marching on the street against the military government’s unannounced decision – making life harder for the ordinary people. Buddhist monks joined the peaceful demonstration defying order to return to monasteries. FORUM-ASIA continuously urge ASEAN governments to engage immediately and [ Read more ]