Human Rights Defenders call on ASEAN and the international community to hold the junta accountable for grave human rights violations and atrocity crimes in Myanmar ‘ASEAN must urgently step up to address the atrocities in Myanmar,’ said human rights defenders from Myanmar and Indonesia in a press briefing held to mark the one year anniversary [ Read more ]

Date: Monday, 31 January 2022 Time: 10.00 – 11.30 AM (GMT+7) Register here: l.forum-asia.org/MM1YrPressBriefing Live via: Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter   As of 21 January 2022, the junta has killed 1,488, arrested 11,665 and systematically committed atrocities such as torture, sexual abuse, arbitrary detention. It has done these despite international condemnation. This violence has led to a deteriorating [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA and the Indonesia Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) are proud to present Going Nowhere: Fact-finding Mission Report on Indigenous Communities, Fisherfolk: Harassment, Poverty and Climate Change in Indonesia. This report is a continuation of FORUM-ASIA’s exploratory research designed to deepen its understanding of the interconnections between climate change, poverty, and human rights. Focusing on three [ Read more ]

Regarding today’s forced summons of human rights defenders Fatia Maulidiyanti and Haris Azhar, FORUM-ASIA Executive Director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said: The harassment of Fatia and Haris earlier today reflects the Indonesian government’s continuous use of reprisals against human rights defenders. Approximately 8:00 am, five police officers arrived at Fatia’s residence, and another four arrived at [ Read more ]

Jakarta, 14 January 2022 – We, the undersigned civil society organisations in Indonesia, and organisations with presence in Indonesia, express solidarity with the people of Myanmar and condemn the ongoing grave violations committed by the military junta. We reiterate our commitment to call on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the international community [ Read more ]

The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) launched the ANNI Report 2020 on the Performance of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), that critically assesses the performance of NHRIs against the Paris Principles in 2020. The Paris Principles are the minimum international standards for ensuring independent, effective, and credible NHRIs for the promotion [ Read more ]

Over the past two years, human rights defenders (HRDs) have faced unprecedented challenges in Asia, where existing risks were exacerbated, while new threats have emerged. Governments enacted and used repressive laws, online harassment became widespread, and Asian HRDs have seen their families and loved ones increasingly subjected to harassment and threats. The COVID-19 pandemic has [ Read more ]

Date: Friday, 15 October 2021 Time: 1.00 – 2.15 PM (GMT+7) Register here: l.forum-asia.org/ACSCAPF21 Live via: Zoom   This year’s ASEAN Civil Society Conference / ASEAN Peoples’ Forum eclipses a challenging era for the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) as it deals with the spillover effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worsening crisis in Myanmar. Eight [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA is proud to present its new publication, “Summary Report: 9th Asian Human Rights Defenders Forum”, an abridgement from an event that facilitates human rights defenders (HRDs) and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) to discuss work and advocacy efforts, and share the experiences and challenges they face. From 2019 to date, the situation of defenders [ Read more ]

Executive Summary On August 9 and 10, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) conducted the Human Rights in the Time of COVID-19: Addressing the Crisis in Southeast Asia, which was graced by over 75 participants from the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of [ Read more ]