Workshop on Research and Documentation of Civic Space and Repressive Laws in East and Southeast Asia
2nd November, 13:30 – 15:30 pm, Room: Kristal 1&2
Background: Prior to the global crises ensuing from the COVID-19 Pandemic, CIVICUS has reported a crisis of Civic Space around the world. Within the Asia-Pacific Region, fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association were consistently under attack. Based on their recent findings in 2022, one of the top civic space violations in Asia region is the use of restrictive laws against human rights defenders and civil society actors. This include; (1) fabricated charges of terrorism, incitement and sedition used by the junta to jail thousands of activists in Myanmar; (2) the use of anti terrorist financing law to persecute humanitarian workers and activists in the Philippines; (3) criminalisation of labour activists and environmental human rights defenders in Cambodia and Vietnam; (4) heightened online restriction in Indonesia and Singapore; and (5) the use of National Security Law and colonial-era sedition law deployed to arrest and imprison activists in Hong Kong, to name a few.
Within the East and Southeast Asia sub-region, the use of restrictive laws was amplified during the COVID-19 Pandemic, exacerbating the crises on Civic Space even beyond the pandemic itself. Measures imposed to curb spread of COVID-19 instead became opportunities for authoritarian and some democratic governments to stifle civil society including youth movements, deepen marginalization against minority groups and strengthen their grip on power. In Cambodia, the government enacted COVID measures that grants itself extensive powers to restrict and ban distribution of information, conduct monitoring and surveillance; and impose up to 20-year prison terms for gathering. In Malaysia, 31 vigil attendees for COVID-19 victims who were mostly youths were arbitrarily arrested. In Myanmar, the junta’s various arbitrary legal modifications during the attempted coup particularly the revision to the Penal Code under Article 505(A) has paved the way for hundreds of youth involved in the anti-junta movement to be detained, tortured and killed. In Indonesia, the government swiftly passed a new criminal code which significantly infringed upon the rights of women, religious minorities, LGBTQIA+ community and undermine freedom of expression. These instances are mere examples of multiple harassments and violations faced by individuals particularly those who are expressing dissent and defenders of fundamental rights.
Given the rampant effect of restrictive laws being deployed against dissenters, those who speak of human rights violations, journalists, academia, and its long-term effect on civic and democratic freedom in general, there is a necessity to build a collective documentation based on an intersectional approach of how these restrictions are being used across the region. Further, it is also important to build collective advocacy together in this area, by finding commonalities and strategies to build solidarity across the region to hold the Asian governments accountable of its commitment to international human rights standard and principle. With the view to achieve this objective, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development is organizing a capacity building workshop on on Documentation and Advocacy on Repressive Laws as part of the Asian Human Rights Defenders Forum 2023.
Objectives
- To build a collective documentation of how restrictive laws being used across the region to undermine civic and fundamental freedoms.
- Increase the capacities of FORUM-ASIA members and partners to conduct monitoring and documentation of repressive laws.
- Create a collective group for research and advocacy to monitor the use of restrictive laws in Asia.
This post was originally published on FORUM-ASIA.
