<p>Southeast Asian governments must immediately launch search and rescue operations for likely hundreds of Rohingya languishing at sea, amid mounting reports of vessels attempting dangerous trips in search of safety, said Amnesty International on Saturday (18 April).</p>

<p>The ICJ today called on States in Southeast Asia to respect and protect human rights online and offline, in accordance with their obligations under international law, as they take steps to stop the spread of COVID-19. It urged States to ensure that avoiding adverse impacts on the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, information and privacy are front and center when implementing measures to counter misinformation about the virus.</p>

<p>A wave of youth-led protests across Asia is defying escalating repression and a continent-wide crackdown on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, Amnesty International said today (29 January) as it published its annual report on human rights in the region.</p>

<div> <div>Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has condemned a report on the human rights situation for having a ‘political bias,’ while a Thai anti-corruption organisation has decided to opt out of Transparency International.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 24 January 2018, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) released a <a href="http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/news3/6886/86001-Thailand%E2%80%99s-comments-on-Annual-World-Report-of-Huma.html">press statement</a> condemning the 2018 World Report of Human Rights Watch (HRW) for carrying “obvious political bias.”</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“We do not co </div></div>

<p>In a move that raised eyebrows among human right advocates, the junta announced on 21 November, after three years in power, that human rights would be incorporated into the regime’s so-called Thailand 4.0 sustainable development initiative.</p> <p></p>

<p>President Trump has just been to China.</p> <p>Just before he arrived, the trial of Taiwanese NGO worker Lee Ming-cheh was streamed online from Yueyang City Intermediate People’s Court in Hunan province. Lee had been arrested on 19 March when he crossed the border from Macau.&nbsp; He then disappeared into the gulag that is the Chinese judicial system. He had not been seen for 6 months before his trial for “subverting state power” under a new Foreign NGO Management Law.</p>

<div>A UN rapporteur argues that Southeast Asian countries are undermining their economic potential due to the lack of freedom of expression, adding that social media companies should be more concerned about protecting customers’ privacy.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Average annual GDP growth in the Southeast Asian region for 2017 is forecast by the ADB at 5.0%. </div>

<div title="Page 1"> <div> <div> <div> <p>Amnesty International urges US officials to press Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha to roll back restrictions on human rights during his visit to Washington DC. As Prayut’s government extends repressive measures in the lead up to elections planned for next year, it is essential that the US government is firm in its support for human rights in Thailand.</p> </div></div></div></div>

<p>The defence lawyer of Jatuphat ‘Pai Dao Din’ Boonpattararaksa has revealed that the renowned democracy activist chose to plead guilty because he was being tried in camera, with observers and the media not allowed into the courtroom.</p> <p>After standing firm behind bars for almost eight months, the abrupt decision of Jatuphat, a law student and key democracy activist, to&nbsp;<a href="http://prachatai.org/english/node/7327">plead guilty</a>&nbsp;took many people by surprise.</p>

<p>ASEAN lawmakers urged regional governments today to do more to protect migrant workers and refugees, arguing that all members of the ASEAN community are entitled to basic rights and deserve to have their dignity and humanity respected.&nbsp;</p>