Declaration of human rights need insight
Civil Rights Defenders has together with 13 other international human rights organisations, urged AICHR to immediately publicize the draft of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.
Southeast Asia
We are seeking to establish a program in support of human rights defenders in Southeast Asia. In countries such as Burma, Laos and Vietnam, no independent human rights organisations are allowed to operate, and those who dare to defy the restrictions do so at great personal risk. Our aim is to strengthen those who seek to monitor and defend human rights, including networks and civil society groups. Read about the current human rights situation in our country report Human rights in Southeast Asia
Select archive for specific country: Burma | Cambodia | Thailand | Vietnam
Buddhist monk finalist for award
Buddhist monk Venerable Luon Sovath is one of three finalists for the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders, announced on 24 April in Geneva. Venerable Sovath was nominated by Civil Rights Defenders, WITNESS and Freedom House.
Chiranuch Premchaiporn in Swedish Radio
Hear the radio interview with Chiranuch Premchaiporn, human rights defender and editor of the news platform Prachatai. She is accused of crimes under lèse majesté, for not deleting comments on her news site quickly enough. If convicted she risks 20 years in prison.
April 17: Internet activism censored
Chiranuch Premchaiporn is one of many independent voices who have fallen victim to tighter restrictions and control of internet activism in Thailand. Chiranuch is accused of crimes under lèse majesté. If convicted she risks 20 years in prison. Listen to Chiranuch telling her – and others’ – stories from a Thailand we rarely have access to.
Human rights defender of the month – Nguyen Van Hai aka Dieu Cay
Through promoting human rights and criticism of the Vietnamese government, Nguyen Van Hai (alias Dieu Cay) has drawn the ire of the government. He has been behind bars since 2008 and his family and lawyers have had no access to him during the past 18 months. In April he is once again brought to trial, now for under national security legislation for his peaceful blogging.
International Women’s Day Film Screening
The lack of rule of law can lead to unforeseen consequences for a woman living in a repressive regime, as displayed in Jens Assur’s latest film Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys. In order to highlight the International Women’s Day we will show the film at the National Historical Museum in Stockholm on March 8. A conversation about fair trials follows the film.
Drop charges against Chiranuch Premchaiporn
We urge the Thai Government to drop charges against Chiranuch Premchaiporn. Chiranuch faces trial this month following charges of the lèse majesté law, a law that seriously infringes on fundamental freedoms and is used in dubious ways against human rights defenders.
Protect civil society – stop NGO law
The Cambodian government should abandon the fourth draft law on NGOs. Read the statement we signed together with a group of international human rights organisations.
Popular protest against NGO law
On December 20, Cambodians from the country’s 24 provinces carried a 230 meter long “kramar”, a traditional scarf, with over 10,000 signatures requesting the Parliament to stop the bill that restricts civil rights and freedoms.
Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys – an evening about opportunities and pitfalls of digital technology
Welcome to a crash course in digital self-defense and a conversation about the cat and mouse game going on in many countries, between authorities and advocates for free speech.
Stop NGO law
We urge the Cambodian authorities to immediately withdraw the drafted NGO law. The law violates the rights to freedom of association and expression, Civil Rights Defenders and several other human rights organsiations say in a joint statement.
Ashton’s reply regarding NGO law
The EU has demanded from the Cambodian Government to ensure that a law on NGOs encourages, rather than restricts, the growth of civil society, says Catherine Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Human rights violations in Burma must be stopped
The fact that Sweden has so far refused to support a UN-led Commission of Inquiry on human rights violations in Burma is absolutely staggering for a country that claims to stand up for human rights worldwide, said Civil Rights Defenders and several other human rights organisations in SvD.
Letter to Carl Bildt on Cambodian Law on NGO:s
In an open letter we urge Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt to increase the pressure on the Cambodian government to abandon plans for a repressive law on NGO:s. We have previously warned that the law’s real purpose is to give the government a tool to silence inconvenient voices.
New law could silence inconvenient voices in Cambodia
On August 2 the authorities closed down Sahmakum Teang Tnaut that works on land and housing rights. About a hundred protesting farmers were interrogated by the police, and on TV a smearing campaign was launched against NGO:s. Simultaneously a new law is prepared that will give the government a tool to silence inconvenient voices.
Leaving the closet
Leaving the closet – Civil Rights Defenders bjuder in till ett samtal om hur det är att arbeta för hbt-personers rättigheter i olika delar av världen. Tio aktivister från Östeuropa, Sydostasien och Centralasien delar med sig av sina erfarenheter och diskuterar hur vi tillsammans kan stärka kampen för öppenhet och tolerans.
Courage to leave the closet
Human Rights Defenders and LGBT activists from all over the world gather in Stockholm during Pride. We have invited ten activists from six countries with the aim to support their struggle against discrimination and their quest for the rights that some of us take for granted.
Burma – status report six months after the election
More than six months have passed since Burma elected a civilian government. In practice, the referendum yielded no support for democratic reforms. Rather the military’s grip on power was strengthened. Just days after the referendum Aung San Suu Kyi was released, but around 2,200 political prisoners remain imprisoned. What has happened to the respect and [...]
Where is the blogger Dieu Cay?
On World Press Freedom Day we want to draw attention to Dieu Cay, who was Vietnam’s most influential bloggers when he was arrested in April 2008. His voice for democracy in Vietnam and against widespread corruption was silenced. Today, nobody knows where he is being held.
Women human rights defenders are tortured and raped
The world must pay attention to the brave Burmese women whose struggle for human rights places their lives and health at risk. On the International women’s day we urge the international community not to reconsider its stance against the Burmese government too soon.
Human rights in Southeast Asia
Human rights defenders across Southeast Asia’s lower Mekong countries are fighting against restrictions on freedom of expression. The situation, however, is extremely varied across the nations: while there is widespread fear and over 2,000 activists in prison in Burma, activists in Thailand are able to publicly discuss and criticise restrictions on peaceful free expression. Democracy [...]
Aung San Suu Kyi freed but not free
Civil Rights Defenders welcomes the release of the Burmese Nobel Peace laureate and opposition’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Saturday. She was released when her house arrest expired, just days after Burma’s first election in over 20 years, a process that lacked a democratic foundation.
Human rights in Vietnam
Our guest speaker in this spring’s last seminar in the series “One hour of human rights,” talks about the human rights situation in Vietnam. What issues are most important? How is the civil society organized in the country and how much do ordinary people know about human rights? Giang Nguyen was born in Vietnam and [...]
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