Your Excellency, ­­­­As you will be aware, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) will face its third review under the UN’s UPR mechanism on 21 January 2020. Following its last review in 2015, the government of Lao PDR committed to reassess the policy framework and restrictions on domestic and international civil society organisations and facilitate [ Read more ]

Phnom Penh, 22 December 2019 – We, the undersigned media institutions and local and international civil society organizations call for charges against two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists, Mr. Uon Chhin and Mr. Yeang Sothearin (known as Yeang Sochea Meta), to be dropped. We also call on the government to take immediate action to [ Read more ]

Joint civil society statement on outcomes of the UNGA’s Third Committee  The undersigned civil society organisations mark the conclusion of the UNGA’s 74th Third Committee session, with the following observations on both thematic and country-specific resolutions. We welcome the first joint statement on reprisals at the Third Committee led by the United Kingdom and joined by a [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 17 December 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) unequivocally condemns the irresponsible and unprofessional conduct of the Delhi Police and the Union Government in orchestrating violent attacks against protesting students of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia University on 15 December 2019. FORUM-ASIA believes these were deliberate attempts [ Read more ]

15 December 2019: On the seventh anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned organizations, urge the Lao and Thai governments to investigate enforced disappearances, and demand Vientiane finally reveal Sombath’s whereabouts and ensure justice for him and his family. Considering the Lao police’s protracted failure to effectively [ Read more ]

On Human Rights Day, the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights together with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and a group of civil society organizations[1] are highlighting a key message from the recent UN Forum on Business and Human Rights (Geneva, 25-27 November 2019): that the international [ Read more ]

A prominent Filipino journalist arrested for the second time as she returns to her country. A group of satirical poets in Myanmar sentenced for a year for criticising the country’s military. A Lao woman sentenced for five years for a Facebook post criticising the Government. These are just some of the scenes we saw this [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 19 November 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) strongly condemns the excessive use of force against the demonstrators in Hong Kong. It calls on the Government of Hong Kong to maintain restraint and initiate a negotiated settlement to the grievances of its people. Over recent days, protesters and the [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 14 November 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), together with its members Pusat KOMAS and Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) from Malaysia, and Komisi untuk Orang Hilang dan Korban Tindak Kekerasan (KontraS) from Indonesia, strongly condemns the recent tactics used by the Cambodian Government to repress the fundamental freedoms of [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Geneva/Kathmandu/Paris, 6 November 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – a partnership between International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) – strongly condemn the decision on 5 November 2019 of the Maldivian authorities to [ Read more ]