Joint open letter to the Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Minister of Labour in Thailand, the Minister of Interior in Thailand, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT), the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the President of the National [ 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 ]

COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc throughout Southeast Asia. The health crisis has also catalysed the rise of authoritarianism, the over-securitisation of societies, and systemic efforts to suppress democracy, human rights, and fundamental freedoms in the region. Hence, it is critical to activate, strengthen and protect spaces and mechanisms for civil society to defend human rights [ Read more ]

Thailand: End the use of disproportionate and unnecessary force against protesters (30 August 2021, Jakarta) ‒ Thailand should respect, protect and fulfil the right of its people to peaceful assembly and expression, and must immediately end the use of disproportionate and unnecessary force against protesters, said the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) [ Read more ]

Following the use of disproportionate force against protestors on 7 August, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) said: Despite its obligations under international human rights law to respect, protect and fulfill the right to freedom of assembly, the government of Thailand has continued to use disproportionate force against protestors by firing water [ Read more ]

In response to police violence against peaceful protesters  on 1 August, FORUM-ASIA Executive Director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu said As signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Thailand has an obligation to ensure the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including by abstaining from violent means of dispersal and proactively facilitating assemblies. Reports of police using tear gas and rubber bullets against [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 2 April 2021) The Thai authorities’ adoption of a draft law to regulate non-profit groups would strike a severe blow to human rights in Thailand, several international organizations said today. The bill is the latest effort by the Thai government to pass repressive legislation to muzzle civil society groups and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The [ Read more ]

On the deteriorating health of Thai pro-democracy activists Parit ‘Penguin’ Chiwarak and Panusaya ‘Rung’ Sithijirawattanak, FORUM-ASIA Executive Director Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthi said: The Court must immediately grant bail to human rights activists Parit ‘Penguin’ Chiwarak and Panusaya ‘Rung’ Sithijirawattanak, who are facing deteriorating health issues after 47 and 32 days of hunger strike, respectively. While [ Read more ]