Asia And The Pacific 2024
Political turmoil, repression and armed conflict contributed to a worrying human rights picture in the region. Yet despite huge risks, human rights defenders and activists continued to claim their rights and speak out against oppression.
New laws curtailed rights further, including to freedom of expression. Protests were frequently responded to with unlawful force often resulting in casualties. Political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists and others were subjected to surveillance, arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment and unlawful killing. These and other violations were facilitated by impunity, although a court decision and truth commission recommendations offered hope of reparations for victims in Japan and South Korea.
Extreme weather, rising sea levels and other slow onset events caused more devastation, yet governments again failed to take the urgent action needed to tackle climate change and adapt to climate-related harms.
A significant escalation in the armed conflict in Myanmar resulted in further grave violations of international law. Rights, particularly those of women and girls, became even more restricted under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and severe repression of dissent continued in China and North Korea.
There was progress towards recognition of LGBTI rights in some countries. However, systematic gender-based discrimination and violence against women, girls and LGBTI people remained pervasive. The rights of Indigenous Peoples and of ethnic and descent-based minorities were routinely ignored during extraction and development projects. Violations of economic and social rights, including to housing and education, remained high. People fleeing conflict and repression were too often put at risk by forcible deportations or indefinite arbitrary detention.
Freedom of expression
The space for freedom of expression continued to shrink across the region. In countries including Indonesia, Nepal and Papua New Guinea, media workers faced violence and intimidation. In Afghanistan, more media outlets were banned, including two private TV stations that were suspended for criticizing the Taliban. Journalists in Myanmar were sentenced to long prison sentences. In Pakistan, at least seven journalists were killed in targeted attacks and dozens of others were arrested and charged under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act.
New laws restricting the right to freedom of expression came into effect in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan and Viet Nam. Sri Lanka’s new Online Safety Act contained vaguely defined crimes and broad powers leading to fears that it would be used to further restrict free speech. In India, new laws replacing colonial-era legislation were also restrictive and the crime of sedition, used to suppress government critics, was retained. The Chinese government introduced new measures to prevent mainland internet users from using slang and other “obscure expressions” to evade online censorship. In Hong Kong, authorities rubber-stamped the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance which introduced broad definitions of “national security” and “state secrets” already applied in mainland China, along with stronger enforcement powers and harsher penalties.
Government critics faced prosecution in many countries. In Thailand, trials and imprisonment of pro-democracy activists under lese-majesty and other restrictive laws continued. In Cambodia, a journalist, internationally recognized for exposing human rights abuses in cyber scam compounds, was arrested and charged with incitement. In Singapore, government critics, including opponents of the death penalty, were required to post “corrections” for spreading “online falsehoods”. In Laos, two artists were detained for satirical social media posts criticizing poor road conditions, while in China, a renowned artist was detained for decades-old works criticizing the Communist Party leadership.
Tight control over on- and offline communications in some countries further restricted access to information and excessively limited freedom of expression. The North Korean government’s ban on contact with the outside world continued. Arbitrary internet restrictions were imposed in Pakistan. In Bangladesh and India authorities imposed temporary internet blackouts ostensibly to maintain law and order, but in practice they were used to suppress dissent. In Malaysia, two filmmakers of a previously banned film were charged with “wounding religious feelings”.
Concerns about the use of surveillance technologies continued. In Indonesia, Amnesty International documented the extensive sale and deployment of highly invasive spyware to and by state agencies and private companies. In Thailand, a court dismissed a case brought by a pro-democracy activist against cyber intelligence company NSO Group for its role in facilitating the use of its Pegasus spyware to hack his phone.
Attempts to silence critics abroad by some governments became more pervasive. Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students studying overseas continued to be subjected to surveillance. Hong Kong authorities issued further arrest warrants and cancelled the passports of pro-democracy activists living overseas, and offered financial rewards for information which could lead to arrests. A human rights lawyer who worked on political cases and was forcibly returned to China from Laos in 2023, was detained pending trial.
Governments must repeal or amend laws that violate the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, take measures to protect the expression of political and other opinions, including to safeguard media freedoms.
Freedom of assembly and association
Governments in the region responded to protests with repression. In Bangladesh, student protests sparked by the reinstatement of a law reserving a quota of government jobs for descendants of independence war veterans, were met with unlawful force. As anti-government demonstrations spread, the armed forces were deployed and “shoot-on-sight” orders issued, resulting in close to a thousand deaths – many more were injured. In Indonesia, police used excessive and unnecessary force against crowds protesting against changes to the election law. Although the proposed amendments were subsequently withdrawn, many demonstrators were injured and hundreds arbitrarily arrested.
In Nepal, protests were forcibly dispersed and peaceful demonstrators detained. Police in the capital, Kathmandu, used tear gas and water cannons to break up demonstrations on several occasions. In India, excessive force by police against farmers’ protests resulted in at least one death. Hong Kong authorities deployed police to prevent commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. As in previous years, several people were arrested for participating in such events. In Papua New Guinea, police arrested and charged several men protesting against their eviction from an informal settlement in the capital, Port Moresby. Following a declaration of martial law by the president of South Korea, fundamental rights including the right to assembly were suspended – a move that was quickly reversed by the National Assembly. He was subsequently suspended from office and a warrant for his arrest was issued at the end of December.
Advocates for an end to the war in Gaza and Palestinian rights faced harassment and arrest. In Fiji, police banned demonstrators from carrying Israeli and Palestinian flags and intimidated peaceful protesters. Authorities in Singapore investigated several people for protesting against arms sales to Israel and charged three others who were attempting to deliver a petition against the war to the Presidential Palace. In the Maldives, two women were arrested at demonstrations demanding boycotts on Israeli products. In Malaysia, police detained pro-Palestinian protesters outside the US embassy in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.
The right to freedom of association also came under further attack. In Thailand, a court ordered the disbandment of the opposition Move Forward Party, which had won the highest number of seats in the 2023 parliamentary elections. Eleven of the party’s executives were also banned from running for office. In the Philippines, the government continued to target “red-tagged” activists and organizations accused of links to banned communist groups by charging them with terrorism-related offences. In Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, garment workers were prevented from exercising their right to freedom of association to address low wages and extreme informalization of labour. In Bangladesh, at least one garment worker was killed and dozens of others injured when police fired on a protest for higher wages.
Governments should ensure the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association are protected. Unlawful use of force against protesters must be prevented and laws, policies and practices that violate the rights of peaceful assembly and association reviewed and changed.
Right to a healthy environment
Extreme weather, slow onset events and toxic air pollution exacerbated by climate change had devastating consequences across the region, disproportionately affecting the poorest and most marginalized. High income, high emitting countries in the region worked with other higher income countries to block agreement at COP29 on an adequate level of climate finance that was being demanded by lower income countries.
South Asia was again impacted by extreme heat and severe floods which affected the lives of millions. In India’s Assam state, floods resulted in the deaths of at least 113 people. In Bangladesh, 500,000 people were displaced. Flooding and landslides in Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan also resulted in hundreds of deaths and displaced thousands. Air pollution in India’s capital, Delhi, and in cities in Pakistan reached record levels causing deaths in both countries, particularly among members of marginalized communities.
Some progress towards reducing carbon emissions or improving environmental protections was evident, but overall, the regional response to climate change and environmental degradation was insufficient. In China, capacity to generate energy from non-fossil fuel sources exceeded that from fossil fuels for the first time. However, the pace of China’s construction of coal-fired power plants abroad remained concerning. In Papua New Guinea, 30% of land was allocated for conservation, although the country remained heavily reliant on fossil fuels. A landmark court decision in South Korea required the government to revise greenhouse emissions targets to protect the rights of future generations. Pacific Island nations supported the start of hearings by the International Court of Justice on states’ obligations and responsibilities surrounding climate change.
Many other governments failed to meet fossil fuel reduction and other targets, even when they had committed to them. Japan’s investment in overseas liquefied natural gas projects continued to undermine global efforts to reduce fossil fuel use. Australia undermined progress with its plans to increase, rather than scale down, coal and gas production by 2030. A new law in New Zealand weakened environmental protections, and a draft energy law and regulation in Indonesia were criticized for failing to facilitate the transition to net zero emissions. Despite suffering severe climate-induced harms, India’s climate change targets continued to be rated “highly insufficient”.
Environmental human rights defenders continued to be targeted for their work. They included a leading figure in the climate change movement imprisoned in Viet Nam, who went on hunger strike for the third time to protest against deplorable detention conditions. In Cambodia, 10 environmental activists associated with the Mother Nature movement were convicted of “plotting” and “insulting the King”.
Governments must increase investment in disaster preparedness and adaptation and prioritize the protection of marginalized and other groups disproportionately affected by the climate crisis, including by seeking international assistance and climate finance, if needed. Higher income and other high-emitting countries must take the lead in climate mitigation, including by stopping the expansion of fossil fuel production, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and ensuring that their climate policies are consistent with keeping global warming within 1.5°C.
Arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture and other ill-treatment
Human rights defenders, political activists and others were subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention in many countries in the region. Those detained often faced torture and other ill-treatment.
In Afghanistan, more than 20,000 people, including 1,500 women, were reportedly imprisoned. They included perceived political opponents and individuals accused of violating the Taliban’s morality code. Detainees were at risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Extrajudicial killings of detainees were also reported. North Korean authorities continued to hold thousands of people in political prison camps, where they faced inhuman conditions and torture and other ill-treatment including sexual violence.
In China, labour rights activists and citizen journalists were among those sentenced to prison terms for advocating for human rights. In Hong Kong, 45 pro-democracy activists were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of “conspiring to commit subversion” for organizing unofficial election primaries. Prisoners in Viet Nam serving long sentences for opposing the government suffered ill health and were denied access to medical care. In Pakistan, more than 100 civilians were held in military custody for participating in protests against the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in 2023; 85 were sentenced to prison terms by military courts. Senior opposition leaders remained in detention awaiting trial. The Sri Lankan government’s much criticized and highly abusive anti-drugs campaign continued, leading to the arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of people, mainly from marginalized socio-economic groups.
Authorities must refrain from misusing the justice system against political opponents and others exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, peaceful protest and other human rights. States must release and compensate those who are arbitrarily detained and prohibit and criminalize torture and other acts of ill-treatment.
Impunity and the right to truth, justice and reparation
Despite some progress towards justice for victims of human rights violations in several countries, impunity continued to be the norm in the region and fuelled further violations.
In Pakistan and the Philippines, where there has been little or no accountability for long-standing patterns of enforced disappearances, labour and land rights activists, political opponents and journalists were among those forcibly disappeared during the year. Lack of access to justice in Afghanistan further enabled the culture of impunity and continued human rights violations. The Chinese government took no steps towards establishing accountability for possible crimes against humanity against members of Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Indian government not only failed to intervene to stop ethnic violence in the state of Manipur, but also did not pursue prosecutions against members of armed vigilante groups responsible for human rights abuses during the violence. In Papua, Indonesia, unlawful killings of civilians continued with impunity in the context of the armed separatist struggle.
There were also moments of hope. In Japan, the Supreme Court ruled that victims of a former “eugenics” law, under which more than 16,000 people with disabilities or chronic illnesses were forcibly sterilized, should receive compensation. A report issued by a truth commission in South Korea on the coerced adoption of thousands of babies between 1961 and 1987 recommended reparations for victims. In Bangladesh, the new interim government established a commission of inquiry to investigate enforced disappearances of activists, political opponents and others between 2009 and 2024.
However, justice efforts faltered elsewhere. In Nepal, newly adopted legislation intended to advance justice for atrocities committed during the armed conflict era was not fully consistent with international standards and could shield some perpetrators from prosecution. In Sri Lanka, civil society rejected proposed legislation to establish a new truth and reconciliation commission, including because of lack of meaningful consultation with victims, and the government’s failure to implement recommendations made by previous investigative bodies.
Governments must strengthen efforts to fight impunity by undertaking prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into crimes under international law and other serious human rights abuses, bringing suspected perpetrators to justice, and ensuring effective remedy for victims.
Violations of international humanitarian law
As the armed conflict in Myanmar escalated, the military and some armed opposition groups were accused of committing war crimes and other serious violations of international humanitarian law. The military campaign of indiscriminate and direct attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure intensified bringing the death toll to over 6,000 since the 2021 coup. Shipments of aviation fuel continued to reach the military despite international measures to halt supplies. The armed opposition group Arakan Army was accused of burning the homes of and killing Rohingya civilians, causing many to flee their homeland in Rakhine State.
In Afghanistan, attacks by armed groups including the Islamic State of Khorasan Province, predominantly targeting Shia-Hazara communities, resulted in more civilian casualties. Civilian casualties were also reported following Pakistan military aerial bombardments of Taliban positions along the border.
All parties to armed conflicts must respect international humanitarian law, including by ending direct attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and indiscriminate attacks.
Economic, social and cultural rights
The humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan worsened. According to the UN, over half the population required humanitarian assistance, with 85% living on under USD 1 a day. Access to healthcare was a problem for all, but especially for women and girls with the EU warning that only 10% had access to basic health services. In North Korea, 40% of the population was reportedly undernourished. Taliban and North Korean government policies and actions were a significant contributory factor to these dire humanitarian situations.
Authorities in several countries continued to carry out forced evictions and house demolitions in violation of the right to housing. In India the Supreme Court ruled that forced demolition of property was illegal, but only after thousands of homes had been destroyed in previous years in a continuing government campaign to “punish” Muslims for past communal violence. In Mongolia, authorities forcibly evicted almost 2,000 households from land in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. In Nepal, families, often from marginalized Dalit and Tharu communities, living in informal settlements were forcibly evicted. There was no remedy for thousands of people forcibly evicted from the Angkor World Heritage site in Cambodia in previous years. Many others continued to live under the threat of eviction.
Tens of millions of children in the region continued to be denied their right to education. The Taliban maintained their ban on girls’ education beyond primary school. Millions of children in Myanmar were out of school because of the armed conflict and deliberate attacks by the military on education facilities. Further school closures by the Chinese government threatened Tibetan culture and language. Reduced spending on the education sector was among the concerns raised by OHCHR, the UN Human Rights Office, in relation to declining public investment in social services in Laos.
Reports of forced labour and poor working conditions also continued. The UN described forced labour in North Korea as widespread and institutionalized and said that the systematic use of forced labour in prisons may amount to the crime against humanity of enslavement. Malaiyaha Tamil tea plantation workers accused the Sri Lankan government of failing to protect workers from forced labour, debt bondage and other human rights abuses.
Governments must act to ensure economic, social and cultural rights, including to food, healthcare, housing and education to all people without discrimination, and end the practice of forced labour.
Women’s and girls’ rights
Gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls was pervasive across the region. In Afghanistan, where women and girls were already experiencing the crime against humanity of gender persecution, the Taliban imposed yet more restrictions effectively limiting all aspects of their life. Many were arrested for non-compliance with dress codes and there were reports of rape and other forms of sexual violence against detained women and girls. Levels of gender-based violence increased sharply; women’s rights groups reported that more than 300 women and girls were killed during the year.
Elsewhere, governments failed to take adequate action to address high rates of rape, sexual abuse and harassment, and other forms of violence against women and girls. In South Korea, the growth of online deepfake non-consensual images and videos was deemed by women’s groups to constitute a “national emergency”. In the Maldives, the government failed to act on UN treaty body recommendations to make female genital mutilation and domestic violence specific crimes.
In India, the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in her workplace sparked nationwide protests. Caste-based discrimination in India also continued to fuel sexual and other violence against Dalit women. In one instance a woman was burnt alive after she filed a sexual harassment complaint in Madya Pradesh state. Impunity for violence against Dalit women and girls also persisted in Nepal.
Governments must implement comprehensive measures to address discrimination and gender-based violence against women and girls, including by tackling root causes of intersectional gender-based discrimination, ensuring access to justice, protection and other support for survivors, and ending impunity for perpetrators.
LGBTI people’s rights
Thailand became the first country in South-east Asia to achieve marriage equality for LGBTI people; court rulings in several other countries also advanced LGBTI rights. In South Korea, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples were entitled to the same healthcare as heterosexual couples. In China, a court awarded child visiting rights to a woman in a same-sex relationship. In Japan, two separate high court decisions ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. In Nepal, a Supreme Court ruling recognized the right of a transgender woman to have her gender identity recognized in official documents.
However, LGBTI people continued to be subjected to violence, discrimination and, in some countries, criminalization. Consensual same-sex sexual relations remained punishable by death in Afghanistan. In China, LGBTI activists were at risk of arbitrary detention. Transgender people remained at particular risk of violence. In Fiji, there was outcry by human rights groups when the authorities failed to effectively investigate the death of a transgender sex worker after she was kidnapped and violently assaulted.
Governments should strengthen protections for LGBTI people, including by decriminalizing consensual same-sex sexual relations, adopting comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, and ensuring access to legal gender recognition. All reports of violence and other abuses against LGBTI people should be effectively investigated and perpetrators brought to justice.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and ethnic and descent-based discrimination
Indigenous Peoples’ rights suffered setbacks in several countries and Indigenous Peoples and ethnic and descent-based minorities continued to be disproportionately affected by marginalization and discrimination across the region.
In a positive step, Indigenous Peoples in Taiwan won the right to use their Indigenous names, rather than Mandarin language versions, in official documents. In contrast, the New Zealand government enacted new laws and proposed others that undermined the rights of Māori, prompting countrywide protests. In other countries, including Indonesia and Malaysia, development projects on land claimed by Indigenous Peoples continued without their free, prior and informed consent. In Mongolia, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples expressed concern about the negative impact of mining activities on the lives and livelihoods of herder communities.
In Australia and New Zealand, Indigenous Peoples were significantly over-represented in the criminal justice system. In the former, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children suffered high rates of incarceration – three Aboriginal boys were reported to have died in detention in Western Australia. In Viet Nam, Montagnard Indigenous Peoples continued to face discrimination, and more than 100 were convicted of terrorism charges in unfair trials in relation to attacks on police posts in 2023.
The Chinese government continued its repression of non-Han ethnic groups, including by arbitrarily detaining cultural and religious figures. Hundreds of hate crimes were reported against Muslims and other religious minorities in India, where over 100 people were convicted of torching Dalit homes in 2014.
Authorities must take concrete measures to guarantee the rights of Indigenous Peoples as well as those of ethnic and descent-based minorities, including by repealing or amending legislation and policies that discriminate against them, prioritizing policies and programmes to eliminate structural discrimination in the criminal justice system and elsewhere, and ensuring meaningful consultation on and free prior and informed consent for development and other projects and decisions that affect them.
Refugees’ and migrants’ rights
Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand were among the countries that continued to allow the indefinite arbitrary detention of refugees and migrants. In Malaysia, concerns were raised about the continued detention of children and there were ongoing reports of dire conditions and abuse in immigration detention centres. In Thailand, the UN found that the appalling detention conditions of a group of more than 40 Uyghur asylum seekers, who had been held for over 10 years, could amount to torture or other ill-treatment.
People fleeing armed conflict and repression were at risk of forcible return. Border guards in Bangladesh unlawfully returned Rohingya people fleeing armed conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine State; Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh continued to suffer appalling conditions. Thai authorities were suspected of collaborating with the Vietnamese government to arrest several Montagnard refugees, including one human rights defender who faced potential deportation to Viet Nam where he would be at risk of human rights violations. Pakistan authorities pursued a deportation policy, forcibly returning hundreds of thousands of refugees to Afghanistan despite calls to provide international protection to Afghans fleeing systematic discrimination and oppression there.
Migrant workers in several countries lived and worked in unsafe conditions. Human trafficking also remained a concern in the region. In South Korea, a factory fire killed 23 people, mostly migrant workers. In Taiwan, Indonesian workers were found to have worked on a fishing vessel for over a year without pay or contact with the outside world before the authorities intervened. In Cambodia, concerns persisted about human trafficking and forced labour in scam compounds, while a UN treaty body raised concerns of sex trafficking in Laos.
Governments must cease detaining asylum seekers simply on the basis of their immigration status and allow them to seek international protection. Unlawful deportations should be immediately halted and the principle of non-refoulement respected. Protections against human trafficking and forced labour should be strengthened and survivors of human trafficking provided with legal and other support.
Death penalty
Pressure for the abolition of the death penalty in Japan intensified after the death sentence of an 88-year-old man, who had spent more than 45 years on death row, was overturned after a judge found that evidence in his original trial for murder was fabricated. Public executions continued in Afghanistan, and there were reports that the Taliban may resume the stoning to death of women for “adultery”.
Executions of people convicted of drug-related offences continued in several countries, including China and Singapore. The extent to which the death penalty was used in China, North Korea and Viet Nam remained unknown, but was believed to be extensive. A new law in China placed further restrictions on disclosing information about the practice and new judicial guidance encouraged the use of the death penalty against individuals supporting Taiwanese independence.
Governments retaining the death penalty must take urgent steps to abolish it and, in the meantime, establish an official moratorium on executions.