We work alongside local and international organizations and human rights defenders to protect civic space and promote accountability for serious human rights violations in South and South East Asia. From advocating for freedom of expression and the right to protest to an end to the use of torture, enforced disappearance, and arbitrary detention, we support international justice efforts.
Tags Share Bangladeshi authorities must end reprisals against Odhikar and its leadership and respect the fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression. Those working to document and expose human rights violations should be able to conduct their important work without fear of harassment, intimidation, and reprisals. The case of human rights organization Odhikar is…
Tags Share In our most recent Human Rights Defender speaker series event, Dr. Jongwoo Han, President of the Korean War Veterans Digital Memorial Foundation, shared the history of comfort women during World War II, emphasizing education as an important way to heal historical harm and end conflict-related sexual violence. Lead educator Mona Al-Hayani, a history…
Tags Share Sent by email Mr. Asaduzzaman Khan, MPMinister of Home AffairsPeople’s Republic of Bangladeshminister@mha.gov.bd Mr. Zahid Maleque, MPMinister of Health and Family WelfarePeople’s Republic of Bangladeshminister@mohfw.gov.bd Dear Ministers Khan and Maleque, We, the undersigned press freedom and human rights groups, write to seek your leadership in ensuring an immediate end to the harassment of…
Tags Share Angelita Baeyens, our VP of International Advocacy & Litigation, speaks with Voice of America about the harassment and intimidation of two well-known human rights groups in Bangladesh. She notes, “The persecution and criminalization of Odhikar executives, one of the most prestigious human rights organizations in the country, shows an intentional effort by the…
Tags Share Ka Hsaw Wa’s interview with Kerry Kennedy I’ve been doing this for eleven years. Most of the time I coordinate fieldwork, collect information, conduct fact-finding missions, and train my staff to do the same, specifically in the pipeline area of the U.S. oil company Unocal. We currently have a lawsuit pending against Unocal.…
Tags Share (BANGKOK, January 24, 2023)—Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants from Myanmar filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction against senior Myanmar military generals and others for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Fortify Rights announced today. The 215-page complaint and more…
Tags Share Kuala Lumpur/ Hong Kong/ Manila/ Bangkok/ Paris/Dhaka /Geneva /Johannesburg /Washington DC, 09 December 2022: The undersigned human rights organizations commemorate all victims of human rights violations and stand in solidarity with the victims’ families in Bangladesh and across the world. This year’s International Human Rights Day’s slogan is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for…
Tags Share UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet should publicly call for an immediate end to serious abuses including extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances during her upcoming visit to Bangladesh, nine human rights organizations said today. Bachelet will visit Bangladesh from August 14-18, 2022. During the trip, she will meet with government…
Tags Share Myanmar’s military junta announced July 25 it had executed four pro-democracy activists: Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Ko Jimmy), Phyo Zeya Thaw, Hla Myo Aung, and Aung Thura Zaw. These are the first executions in Myanmar in more than three decades. Their executions follow a series of politically motivated trials in secretive…
Tags Share Bangladeshi authorities should immediately reverse their decision to deregister prominent human rights organization, Odhikar, eleven organizations said today. Human rights defenders should be allowed to conduct their work without fear of reprisals, intimidation, and harassment from the authorities. On June 5, 2022, Bangladesh’s Non-Governmental Organization Affairs Bureau sent a letter to Odhikar, denying…
Tags Share Bangladesh’s government must urgently take steps to support the community-led learning facilities in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar and strengthen their resources in line with the country’s international commitment to protect children’s right to education, 25 undersigned organizations said in a statement today. About 30 community-led schools have been shut down…
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