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Sailors from Thailand’s navy shot at ethnic Rohingya “boat people,” causing at least two deaths, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. The international human rights organization said that the Thai government should immediately investigate the incident, and direct the navy to abide by international standards on the use of force.

On February 22th 2013, Thai sailors near a pier in Phang Nga province fired on a group of about 20 Rohingya asylum seekers who had been in navy custody since the previous day, when their boat with about 130 on board had run out of fuel on its journey from Burma to Malaysia.

“Rohingya fleeing Burma should be given protection, not shot at,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Thai government should urgently investigate why sailors opened fire at boat people helpless in the sea and prosecute all those found responsible.”

Survivors told Human Rights Watch that on the morning of February 20th, Thai fishermen helped their drifting boat ashore on Surin Island off the coast of Phang Nga province. On that same day, at about 6:30 p.m., a Thai navy patrol boat numbered TOR214 arrived at the island and towed their boat back to the sea. Navy patrol boat TOR214 and the Rohingya boat arrived near a pier in Kuraburi district of Phang Nga province at around 5 a.m. the next morning. According to the survivors and Thai villagers on the shore, navy personnel from the patrol boat began to divide the Rohingya into small groups in the boat and ordered them to get ready to board smaller boats.

At that point, the Rohingya became uncertain whether they would be taken to immigration detention on the mainland or be pushed back to the sea. When the first group of 20 Rohingya was put on a smaller boat by the Thai navy, some panicked and jumped overboard.

“Navy personnel fired into the air three times and told us not to move,” one survivor told Human Rights Watch. “But we were panicking and jumped off the boat, and then they opened fire at us in the water.”

Four Rohingya who swam to the shore were rescued by local Thai villagers. Thai security forces searched the area for two days after the incident, but the villagers kept the survivors hidden.

The bodies of two Rohingya showing bullet wounds were later pulled from the sea and buried in a Muslim cemetery in Kuraburi district. Thai fishermen told Human Rights Watch they saw more dead bodies in the water but had no more information. The fate of the remaining passengers on the boat remains unknown after it was towed away by the Thai navy.

Human Rights Watch called on the Thai government and the National Human Rights Commission to conduct thorough and transparent investigations into the shooting. If unnecessary or excessive force is found to have been used, all those responsible, including officers who gave orders to fire, should be prosecuted, Human Rights Watch said.

Thai security forces, when performing law enforcement duties, should abide by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Human Rights Watch said. The Basic Principles provide that law enforcement officials shall as far as possible apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force. Whenever the use of force is unavoidable, they must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. The intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.

The Basic Principles also provide that the government shall ensure that superior officers are held responsible if they know, or should have known that personnel under their command have resorted to the unlawful use of firearms, and they “did not take all measures in their power to prevent, suppress or report such use.”

The Thai authorities should also reveal the whereabouts of the remaining Rohingya from the boat, who were last seen in navy custody, and provide unfettered access for investigators to those survivors. The government should grant at least temporary protection to those survivors, permit the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to them, and ensure that none of the survivors are deported or otherwise subject to abuse while investigations are conducted. The government should also provide humanitarian assistance to the survivors and ensure that appropriate compensation is paid to the families of those who died.

Each year tens of thousands of ethnic Rohingya in Burma’s Arakan State set sail to flee persecution by the Burmese government and dire poverty. The situation significantly worsened in 2012 following communal violence in Arakan State in June and October targeting Rohingya and other Muslim groups.

The so-called “help on” policy of the government of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has failed to provide Rohingya asylum seekers with the protections required under international law, and in some cases increases their risk, Human Rights Watch said. Under this policy, the Thai navy is under orders to intercept Rohingya boats that come too close to the Thai coast. Upon intercepting a boat, officials are supposed to provide the boat with fuel, food, water, and other supplies on the condition that the boats sail onward to Malaysia or Indonesia. All passengers must remain on their own boats during the re-supply operation.

Enforcement actions to strictly implement this policy have apparently intensified after the Thai government came under domestic and international pressure to provide temporary, six-month protection for more than 1,700 Rohingya who arrived in Thailand since January 2013.

“The Thai government should scrap its ‘push back’ and ‘help on’ policies that deny Rohingya boat people their right to seek asylum,” Adams said.

Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution. While Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, under customary international law the Thai government has an obligation of “nonrefoulement” – not to return anyone to places where their life or freedom would be at risk. In this regard, UNHCR has the technical expertise to screen for refugee status and the mandate to protect refugees and stateless people. Effective UNHCR screening of all Rohingya boat arrivals would help the Thai government determine who is entitled to refugee status.

“The Thai government should help the oppressed Rohingya from Burma, not worsen their plight,” Adams said. “Thailand should immediately grant the UN refugee agency unhindered access to screen all Rohingya arriving in Thailand to identify and assist those seeking refugee status.”

Violence against women is the most widespread human rights violation in the world today, according to the United Nations. Up to seven in ten women have experienced violence in their lifetime. Today, UN officials today issued a call to governments and citizens across the world to take action to end violence against women in all its forms and in all its contexts. “Look around at the women you are with. Think of those you cherish in your families and your communities, and understand that there is a statistical likelihood that many of them have suffered violence in their lifetime,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message to mark International Women’s Day, observed annually on March 8th.

The focus of the Day this year is on ending violence against women and girls, a problem which pervades all countries, even in the most stable and developed regions. According to UN figures, up to seven in ten women globally will be beaten, raped, abused, or mutilated in their lifetimes, and while some 125 countries have laws that penalize domestic violence, there are still 603 million women that live in countries where it is not a crime. Up to 50% of sexual assaults are committed against girls under the age of 16 and over 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day, “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women” seeks to strengthen international community’s commitment to put an end to violence against women. As part of the effort the UN leads to fight violence against women, Secretary-Generals Ban Ki-moon’s UNiTE campaign calls on all governments, civil society, women’s organizations, men, young people, the private sector, the media and the entire UN system to join forces in addressing this global pandemic.

Lingya Chea, is a 19 year-old resident and leader in the AFESIP Somaly House center in Kampong Cham in Cambodia, who participated in the UNiTE campaign’s Global Youth Forum. AFESIP Cambodia works to care for and secure the rights of those victimized by human trafficking and sex slavery, and to successfully rehabilitate and reintegrate survivors into mainstream society through financial independence in a sustainable and innovative manner.

LingYa Chea, Voices For Change Leader and Survivor in an undated photo. Photo courtesy Somaly Mam Foundation.

Lingya Chea was one of the 40 young men and women who came from all over the world to share with the UN their knowledge, experiences, successes and the challenges they have faced in working to end violence against women and girls. ”Lingya Chea’s personal story, individual courage and her determination to build a safer future for young women in Cambodia touched us all,” recalled UNiTE Campaign Manager Aldijana Sisic.

Ms. Chea shared at the Forum: “My father was a gambler and I didn’t know what they discussed with him. He told me that he wanted me to work in Thailand with those two men. I could not reject his word. He told me to do as I was told. I didn’t know what to do but to follow them. I had no choice, so I went to Thailand with those two men. But when I was brought to the border with Thailand, I didn’t get the job that they promised. They sold me to a brothel while I was only ten.”

Mr. Ban recalled that 2012 was a year of “shocking” crimes of violence against women and girls. “One young woman was gang-raped to death. Another committed suicide out of a sense of shame that should have been attached to the perpetrators. Young teens were shot at close range for daring to seek an education. “These atrocities, which rightly sparked global outrage, were part of a much larger problem that pervades virtually every society and every realm of life,” he said.

According to the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), up to 70 per cent of women in some countries face physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. In many countries, intimate partner violence accounts for 40 to 70 per cent of female murder victims. In addition, some 140 million girls have suffered female genital mutilation and millions more are subjected to forced marriage and trafficking.

UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet (left) and Commission chair, Ambassador Marjon V. Kamara of Liberia, address meeting. Photo courtesy UN/Rick Bajornas.

The Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Michelle Bachelet, welcomed the progress countries have made in the past years to eliminate violence against women, but stressed much more needs to done. “I have hope because awareness and action are rising for women’s rights. A belief is growing that enough is enough,” Ms. Bachelet said in her message. “But I am outraged because women and girls continue to suffer high levels of discrimination, violence, and exclusion. They are routinely blamed and made to feel shame for the violence committed against them, and they too often search in vain for justice.”

She called on governments to keep their promises and protect human rights in line with international agreements and promote a change in attitudes that encourages equal participation and decision-making in their societies. “Women’s issues are global issues that deserve urgent priority. There can be no peace, no progress as long as women live under the fear of violence,” she added.

In her message for the Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay noted that while violence against women is one of the most pervasive violations of human rights, it is often met with indifference by authorities in many countries, leading to a lack of protection of victims and prosecution of perpetrators.

Public outcry is a first step that can lead to change in this regard, Ms. Pillay said, pointing to cases in India, South Africa and Papua New Guinea where public outrage has prompted authorities to act. “Public demands for action to end the routine atrocities so often experienced by women and girls have inspired government leaders to make important statements of intent, and stung apathetic police forces into launching investigations,” Ms. Pillay said.

However, she warned that temporary outrage and passing legislation is not enough, and underlined that eliminating gender violence must be a sustained effort. “We must not allow this attention to fade,” she said. “Each country will need to find its own response to ensure accountability for sexual and gender-based crimes, but continuing to turn our backs on what is happening to millions of women across the world is not the answer.”

UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark said violence against women remains a huge obstacle to equality, peace, and the achievement of the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). “This fight is not just an important end in itself,” she said. “Gender-based violence is a means by which inequalities between men and women are perpetuated throughout the world. As such, it is essential to address if we are to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and accelerate development progress more broadly.”

In addition to immediate health consequences, violence has a long-term impact on women and girls, ranging from education to employment and economic status, to participation in politics, Miss Clark said. It is also costly for countries as responses to survivors and lost productivity and in developing countries, domestic violence also causes a loss in earnings.

On Monday, the United Nations commission focusing on women kicked off its annual session with a call to eliminate violence against women and girls, a global scourge that affects millions around the world. “Ending violence against women is a matter of life and death,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the opening of the two-week session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

Mr. Eliasson stressed that it will take multiple approaches to tackle this issue, from governments implementing policies to empower victims and prosecute perpetrators, to creating a culture where gender stereotypes are broken by encouraging men and boys to take an equal share of responsibilities in their home and families. “Violence against women pervades war zones as well as stable communities, capitals as well as the countryside, public space as well as the private sphere,” Mr. Eliasson said. “Since it is an unacceptable feature of daily life, we have to respond everywhere and on every level.”

Mr. Eliasson underlined that eliminating violence against women and girls is also an issue intricately linked to development and peace. It is critical to achieve the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), he said, as access to sanitation, is essential to guarantee women have safe places to seek privacy. This is not possible when there are currently more than one billion people without access to toilets.

“The same is true for our pursuit of peace. Women are especially vulnerable in conflicts. They are far too often subjected to unspeakable atrocities,” Mr. Eliasson said, noting that sexual violence in conflict has become a weapon of terror to instill fear among women and civilian populations.

The Executive Director of UN Women told the Commission that “the world can no longer afford the costs of violence against women and girls, the social and economic costs and the costs in deep human pain and suffering.”

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) requires that countries party to the Convention take all appropriate steps to end violence.

From China to Costa Rica, from Mali to Malaysia acclaimed singers and musicians, women and men, have come together to spread a message of unity and solidarity: We are “One Woman“, a song which was launched today to spread awareness about violence against women:

Governments around the world have promised to end violence against women and girls. Ask them to fulfill their promise by making a concrete national commitment today. To find out what efforts your government is making, follow this link. You can add your name to the Say NO – UNiTE movement which includes over 5.5 million people including Heads of States and Ministers from 73 Governments and nearly 700 Parliamentarians.

Thich Quang Do on New Year’s Day 2012, Photo courtesy IBIB.

The International Buddhist Information Bureau received a Declaration by the Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, prominent dissident and Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) on political pluralism and multi-party democracy in Vietnam. The Declaration, written on March 5th 2013, was sent clandestinely from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Saigon where the UBCV leader is under effective house arrest.

Entitled “Democracy, the key to sustainable development, can bring prosperity, happiness and freedom to the Vietnamese people,” the Declaration contributes to the public debate following the Communist Party’s canvassing of opinion on reforming the 1992 Constitution which began in January 2013. Thich Quang Do, 84, particularly commended two documents that have emerged from this debate: the “Proposal for Reforming the Constitution” posted on the Bauxite Vietnam blog which began with the signatures of 72 prominent VCP veterans and intellectuals and reached 6,611 signatures by March 5th; and the Declaration of Free Citizens, posted on the site of Danlambao (Citizens’ Journalism) on February 28th, which has over 4,200 signatures.

Inspired by the article of journalist Nguyen Duc Kien, this Declaration makes five proposals: to abolish Article 4 (on the mastery of the Vietnamese Communist Party – VCP) and hold a Congress to establish a new Constitution; support multi-party democracy; separate the powers of the executive, legislative and the judiciary;  de-politicize the military and guarantee freedom of opinion and speech for all.

“On behalf of the UBCV, I warmly welcome these two courageous and timely proposals which reflect the views of over ten thousand people,” wrote Thich Quang Do. “They rub clean the tarnished image of politics as a Machiavellian system bent on upholding the privileges and prerogatives of a minority clique. They reveal an awareness that politics is not just a power-struggle, but the civic responsibility of all citizens to shape a system that cares for the people and protects the nation.”

Thich Quang Do, a 2013 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was among the very first to call publicly for democratic change in Vietnam’s one-Party state. His “Appeal for Democracy” with an 8-point transition plan launched just 11 years ago in February 2001 was followed by a “New Year’s Letter to the Vietnamese Intelligentsia” in 2005 proposing a pluralistic, multi-party system.

“When I launched my Appeal for Democracy in February 2001, and later my New Year’s Letter in 2005, appeals or actions for democracy were few and far between. They were difficult to realize and easy to suppress,” he wrote. Despite this, the Appeal won over 300,000 signatures from Vietnamese people at home and abroad. It was made public by the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva in 2001 with the endorsement of hundreds of international personalities, including 35 members of the US Congress.

Thich Quang Do quoted from the 2005 “New Year’s Letter” in which he urged the VCP to embrace multiparty democracy: “The VCP and the government should not be afraid that freedom and democracy will make them lose power. Not at all! Rather, they should be afraid that they have ruled unjustly and betrayed the people’s confidence. Take the example of communist parties in Eastern Europe. They have embraced democracy and the multi-party system. Yet in countries like the Czech Republic and Poland, people vote freely for the communist party. The important thing is that all parties participate on an equal footing, and people have the freedom to choose between competing political platforms.”

He then suggested a tripartite system, with political parties representing the left, center and right. He also warned Hanoi’s leaders: “The government should not think that because it has prisons, a massive army and a strong police force, it can do whatever it wants. The best way to ensure political stability is to build a regime founded on the support of the people” by means of democratic elections and universal suffrage.

In his most recent declaration, Thich Quang Do called on Hanoi’s Communist leaders to “respect fundamental human rights, so that all sectors of the population may express themselves freely and make constructive proposals for the country’s development. They should not be muzzled by abusive, arbitrary provisions on ‘national security’ which have been regularly and wrongly invoked to arrest and detain Vietnamese patriots over the past years.”

He also urged Vietnamese at home and abroad to join together to forge a “Path of Peace” in the new year: “This Path of Peace is the path of multi-party democracy which will lead our people to stability, development and happiness,” he wrote.

As his contribution to the debate on the Constitution and political reforms, Thich Quang Do recalled the 8-point transition plan in his 2001 Appeal for Democracy. The UBCV’s 11-year-old proposals are still fresh and relevant to the situation in Vietnam today.

Mam Sonando, director of Cambodia’s Beehive Radio in an undated photo. Photo courtesy Index on Censorship.

The Cambodian authorities must free prisoner of conscience and government critic Mam Sonando, urge Amnesty International and other rights groups ahead of his appeal hearing Tuesday in Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.

The 71-year-old journalist and human rights defender was sentenced to 20 years in prison on October 1st 2012 for anti-state offences including instigating “insurrection”.

“Mam Sonando’s 20-year prison sentence was inexplicable and baseless, with no evidence presented at the trial that he initiated a violent uprising against the government,” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Cambodia, who attended the original trial and verdict hearing. “Rather, he has been imprisoned simply for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and must be freed immediately and unconditionally.”

Additionally in breach of the right to freedom of expression, some of his supporters have been told by local authorities to remove Mam Sonando Justice Calendars from display outside their homes. The calendars, which show the number of days Mam Sonando has been imprisoned, are a local campaigning tool by Cambodian activists.

A prominent journalist and the owner of Beehive Radio, one of Cambodia’s few independent radio stations, Mam Sonando is also the head of the Association of Democrats, a popular non-governmental organization that he founded to promote human rights and democracy.

Human Rights Watch said the ruling was a “travesty of justice” and the worst decision by a Cambodian court in two decades. The organization claims the charges against 71-year-old Sonando were intended as political retaliation by Prime Minister Hun Sen for allowing critical views of the government on Sonando’s independent radio station.

His prosecution appears to stem from a speech made by Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on June 26th 2012, in which he accused Mam Sonando and members of the Association of Democrats of being behind a plot for Pro Ma village in Kratie province to secede from Cambodia.

The Prime Minister’s speech came soon after Beehive Radio broadcast a report about a complaint lodged in June 2012 at the International Criminal Court that accuses Cambodia’s government of committing crimes against humanity by displacing thousands of people through forced evictions.

“Mam Sonando’s case is indicative of an extremely worrying trend: the Cambodian courts are being used to silence human rights defenders, particularly in the context of conflicts over land ownership and forced evictions,” Mr. Abbott warned.

In advance of his appeal hearing, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) on Sunday released a legal analysis of his charges and sentencing. CCHR Executive Director Ou Virak stated: “From a careful analysis of the facts and the application of the law, it is clear that the charges against Mam Sonando were seriously flawed and that he has been arbitrarily imprisoned as a result of exercising his rights to freedom of expression and association. While we have been calling for Mam Sonando’s immediate release, we hope that over the next few days the Court of Appeal is allowed to do its job properly and assess the facts, the law and the conclusions reached in the first trial objectively and impartially.” Mr. Virak added that if the Court is allowed to do that, the organization has “no doubt that that Mam Sonando will be acquitted and released very soon.”

Since the beginning of 2012 the authorities have increasingly used harassment, spurious legal action and violence against human rights defenders and others who are peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly.

China’s National People’s Congress should follow through on official statements by putting forward laws to strengthen human rights protections, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping and Congress Chairman Wu Bangguo. The National People’s Congress (NPC), which meets annually and is attended by more than 3,000 delegates, opens in Beijing on March 5th 2013.

Human Rights Watch urged the NPC to take immediate legislative action on four major issues on which there is broad support for reform: abolishing reeducation through labor and the discriminatory household registration system, adopting a comprehensive domestic violence law, and ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The NPC’s annual meeting is a crucial opportunity to make progress on laws to promote human rights in China,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “Key concerns like reeducation through labor, the household registration system, and domestic violence are long overdue for reform.”

Senior officials have stated at times that the government should make progress on these issues, Human Rights Watch said. In January 2013, the Political and Legal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party listed reforming reeducation through labor and household registration, or hukou, as two of its first items of reform. Legislation on domestic violence has been encouraged at the local level, and the All-China Women’s Federation, a quasi-governmental body, has publicly recommended the introduction of a national law since 2008. China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 1998 but has yet to ratify the treaty, claiming for more than a decade to be working on “creating the conditions for ratification.”

The Chinese government should use the NPC’s annual session as an opportunity to demonstrate the new leadership’s depths of official commitment to crucial legislative reforms to improve human rights protections in China, Human Rights Watch said.
In its 2013World Report on human rights around the world, Human Rights Watch said that despite sustained economic growth, urbanization, and China’s rise as a global power, little progress on human rights had been achieved in recent years.

“The full abolition of reeducation through labor and ratification of the ICCPR would send important signals about legal reform and respecting basic rights,” Richardson said. “The government cannot claim to respond to people’s demands while continuing to defer such steps.”

The human rights situation in Cambodia began 2012 teetering on the edge of a precipice, and by the end of the year had fallen off the cliff, according to a new report released this week from LICADHO, the Cambodia League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights.

The past year was the most violent year ever documented in terms of the authorities using lethal force against activists, according to the report Human Rights 2012: The Year in Review. The year also saw four deaths related to conflicts over natural resources, a growing atmosphere of fear and intimidation and the mass arrests of activists.

Independent radio station owner Mam Sonando was sentenced to 20 years in prison on politically-motivated charges. The country’s most prominent environmental activist was shot dead in the forest while investigating illegal logging. A journalist working on logging issues was murdered in Ratanakiri province. A town governor opened fire on protesting garment workers, and charges were dropped before he spent a single day in prison. And 17 leaders from Phnom Penh communities facing eviction spent time in prison.

A one-month period alone in April and May saw 15 human rights defenders jailed, an activist monk detained and threatened with de-frocking, and three people shot dead by state forces. Meanwhile, a three-day period in December saw an NGO staff member summoned to court for questioning on charges related to his work, two land activists sentenced to prison time, and the unfathomable re-conviction of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun – widely acknowledged as scapegoats and already freed once by the Supreme Court – for allegedly murdering unionist Chea Vichea in 2004.

“The sheer volume of shocking turns makes it difficult to choose where to begin a summary of 2012,” said LICADHO Director Naly Pilorge. “And the stage is set for another tense year in 2013, with National Assembly elections coming in July.”

The report provides an narrative and pictorial review of 2012’s key human rights events, from the Borei Keila eviction on January 3rd, to Court of Appeals decision to reinstate the prison sentences of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun on December 26. It also provides an overview of LICADHO’s activities over the past year, from its humanitarian aid to its assistance to women and children to its advocacy work.

“LICADHO recently celebrated its 20th anniversary,” said LICADHO President Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek. “This milestone was of course a joyous occasion, but it was also solemn: Many of the gains achieved by civil society in the past 20 years are being rapidly undone. It is clear that Cambodia still has an acute need for organizations like LICADHO. In fact, our work may now be more important than ever.”

As 2013 begins, at least 12 human rights defenders remain imprisoned, land conflict continues to dominate the human rights agenda, and fear permeates the landscape. The year will also see National Assembly elections in July, an event almost certain to bring increased repression and obstruction of personal freedoms as the ruling Cambodian People’s Party seeks to maintain its grip on power. In light of the events of 2012, and the political importance of 2013, the human rights atmosphere will likely remain tense.

Following the self-immolation of a 102nd Tibetan on February 17th in Tibet, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on Tuesday urged Chinese authorities to immediately take a new stand on Tibet and end, given the scale of the tragedy unfolding in Tibet, what the organization called “oppressive measures and aggressive campaign” against the Tibetan people including the Dalai Lama.

The Paris-based organization is the oldest human rights organization in the world with 144 NGO members. “Our thoughts naturally first go to all families mourning their lost ones. While FIDH calls on Tibetan people to stop resorting to this extreme and more than tragic form of protest that is self-immolation, we firmly denounce the new trend of the Chinese judiciary to criminalize people accused of inciting so desperate actions,” declared Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president.

On January 31st 2013, a court in Sichuan Province sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve one Tibetan and imposed ten years imprisonment to his nephew after declaring them guilty of urging eight people to burn themselves, despite no evidence, as part of a drive to criminalize the self-immolations. Since the start of self-immolations in 2009, 102 Tibetans have set fire to themselves; almost all of them have died.

Namlha Tsering self-immolates on a busy street in the seat of Sangchu county, Feb. 17th 2013. Photo courtesy of a Sangchu resident

A Tibetan man set himself on fire in China’s Gansu province Sunday in protest against Chinese rule in Tibet, bringing the total number of Tibetan self-immolations to 102. Namlha Tsering, 49, set himself on fire in China’s Gansu province on February 17th in the middle of a busy street in Sangchu county, a source inside Tibet told RFA’s Tibetan Service.

“Since the harsh crackdown on protests launched by the Chinese government in March 2008, the repression of the Tibetan people has intensified. Freedom of religion and other fundamental rights and freedoms are severely restricted,” said Vincent Metten, International Campaign for Tibet’s EU Policy Director. “Chinese authorities must stop the oppressive measures that are the root causes of these acts. Self-immolators are asking to stop the repression and allow the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. The answer of Beijing is more repression, which will only exacerbate the tensions and the instability on the Tibetan plateau,” Mr. Metten added.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. UN Photo/JC McIlwaine

Last November the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, expressed her concern for the alarming escalation of “desperate” forms of protest in Tibet, including self-immolation. Ms. Pillay said she was disturbed by “continuing allegations of violence against Tibetans seeking to exercise their fundamental human rights of freedom of expression, association and religion,” and pointed to “reports of detentions and disappearances, of excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators, and curbs on the cultural rights of Tibetans.”

She has had several exchanges with the Chinese Government on these issues, and said the Chinese authorities need to do more to protect human rights and prevent violations. “I call on the Government to respect the rights to peaceful assembly and expression, and to release all individuals detained for merely exercising these universal rights,” she said. She also urged the Government to allow independent and impartial monitors to visit and assess conditions on the ground and to lift restrictions on media access to the region.

On December 14th 2012, the EU High Representative Catherine Ashton released a statement on behalf of the European Union on the self-immolations calling upon ”the Chinese authorities to address the deep-rooted causes of the frustration of the Tibetan people and ensure that their civil, political, economic and social and cultural rights are respected, including their right to enjoy their own culture, to practice their own religion and to use their own language.” Ms. Ashton recognized the increasing despair of Tibetans. ”We are concerned by the restrictions on expressions of Tibetan identity, which appear to be
giving rise to a surge of discontent in the region,” she said.

Numerous Tibetans, mostly monks, have set themselves on fire in the past several months as a way to protest the repressive rule of the Chinese government. You can view a timeline and map of the self-immolations here as well as check out the exclusive RFA video of rare footage that shows a Tibetan protest against Chinese rule in January 2013.

The Cambodian government and bar association should drop their efforts to prohibit lawyers from giving media interviews without the permission of the national bar association, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. On February 8th 2013, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith made public a January 31st instruction to radio and television stations not to invite lawyers to appear on programs without the approval of the Cambodian Bar Association.

International donors should quickly and publicly press the Cambodian government to reverse its latest move against freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said. “Just when you thought the Cambodian government couldn’t think of any new ways to try to muzzle critics, it has imposed an election-year ban on lawyers giving radio and television interviews,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This ban dramatically demonstrates the government’s aim to control the media and the legal profession, but more broadly makes a mockery of free speech in a democratic society.”

The January 31st instruction notes that many radio and television stations have invited lawyers to appear on their programs to interpret and explain the law to the public, and to comment on government policies for legal and judicial reform. It then says: “To avoid the negative consequences upon the people of such legal dissemination programming and to ensure that such dissemination has good consequences, the Ministry of Information instructs all radio and television stations that all invitations to lawyers and other legal professionals to speak as interpreters of the law must be invited via the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia.”

This instruction was coupled with a “letter of warning” from the Cambodian Bar Association, also dated January 31st, which says that “from now on, lawyers must not give interviews or otherwise disseminate information related to their profession as lawyers via any media whatsoever without the authorization of the Bar.” The bar’s order would effectively prevent lawyers from making any statement through the print media as well as broadcast media without the bar’s approval.

The actions of the Information Ministry and the Cambodian Bar Association appear designed to prevent criticism of Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), Human Rights Watch said. Many lawyers have become outspoken critics of the government and courts, which are frequently used to imprison or intimidate critics.

Opposition political party figures, critics of the government, and those resisting CPP-backed abuses, such as land-grabbing, have been increasingly subjected in recent years to groundless prosecutions, judicial investigations, and unfair trials leading to wrongful convictions and prison sentences.

Under the new rules, lawyers will not be allowed to give unapproved media interviews on subjects such as the use of the judiciary against political opponents. Among them are the opposition leader Sam Rainsy, who is in self-imposed exile to avoid a politically motivated conviction, and Mom Sonando, the owner of a radio station that once gave much airtime to critical legal programming. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on false charges of fomenting a supposed armed insurrection.

The rules are also likely to discourage lawyers from using the media to assert the legal rights of groups such as the estimated 700,000 Cambodians who have been adversely affected by land-grabbing.

The new instructions seem particularly aimed at lawyers working for Cambodian human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch said. Hun Sen and senior government officials have frequently attacked domestic human rights groups, accusing them of being members of the political opposition or of causing instability after they have documented government violations.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide that: “Lawyers like other citizens are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly. In particular, they shall have the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights…without suffering professional restrictions by reason of their lawful action.”

“The government treats critics as enemies of the state, but to provide effective representation, lawyers often need to speak out against government policies and practices that violate human rights,” Adams said. “The new censorship regime of the government and bar association attempts to gag some of the most effective and professional government critics.”

A 2005 photo of Sombath Somphone in the Philippines. Photo courtesy his family.

Following a resolution by the European Parliament last Thursday, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organization the Lao Movement for Human Rights (MLDH) renew their call to Lao authorities to further investigate the enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone and facilitate his immediate and safe return. His case has prompted worldwide fear that his disappearance could be a result of his work to advance human rights in Laos.

The European Parliament expressed its deep concerns over Mr. Sombath Somphone’s safety and the lack of progress and information regarding investigations by the Lao authorities. This resolution comes short after the 4th Lao PDR-European Union Working Group on Human Rights and Governance held in Vientiane on February 4th. At that occasion, the European Union had already raised the Sombath’s disapparance and urged Lao authorities to “quickly resolve the case so that Sombath is safely reunited with his family.”

On January 16th, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern over the activist’s disappearance and called on the Lao government to “pursue a transparent investigation of this incident and to do everything in its power to bring about an immediate and safe return home to his family.”

Sombath worked to promote sustainable development in Laos and he inspired a new generation of young leaders. He is the founder and former director of the Participatory Development Training Centre (PADETC) in Laos. Widely respected in the field of education and development not only in his home country, but also across Asia, he was a well-known advocate for poverty reduction. As a result of his work, Sombath received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership, one of Asia’s top civil honors, in 2005 in recognition of his efforts.

On January 18th, FIDH and MLDH joined a groups of 65 NGOs demanding Lao authorities tell the truth about Sombath’s disappearance. He was last seen on December 15th 2012 as he was stopped by police officials at Thadeau police post in Vientiane while driving home from his office. Authorities have constantly denied any involvement in his disappearance.

“As a signatory to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Lao government has the duty to take all possible means to guarantee the safe return of Sombath,” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president.

“Sombath has merely been involved in education and capacity-building programs for the youth, initiating alternative development models to tackle rural poverty. His disappearance therefore sends a chilling message to the fragile civil society in Laos,” said Vanida S. Thephsouvah, President of MLDH. “The European Union, in its engagement with Lao authorities, should continue demanding for more freedom of expression in the country and the cultivation of a more enabling environment for human rights defenders working on economic, social and cultural rights, including development workers,” she added.

“We welcome the EU’s request to the Lao government to facilitate the registration process of domestic NGOs in full transparency. We hope that concrete measures and clear benchmarks will make it possible to monitor progress in this regard,” concluded Ms. Belhassen.

Sombath’s wife, Ng Shui Meng, made a statement posted online on January 3oth that Lao authorities had not provided answers to her inquiries even though she has cooperated with the official investigation. She said the there is great agony in waiting: “I am certain that the Lao government and the security institutions have all the resources available to find Sombath. Hence, the lack of any concrete and credible information related to Sombath’s disappearance after 45 days of investigation is very difficult to understand.”

Pham Van Thu after his arrest in February 2012. He received a life sentence. Photo courtesy Vietnam Committee on Human Rights.

The Vietnam Committee on Human Rights is expressing shock over the harsh sentences handed down to members of a nonviolent group by the People’s Court in Phu Yen on Monday. The group’s leader Phan Van Thu, 65, was condemned to life imprisonment and the other 21 defendants to sentences ranging from 10 to 17 years on charges of “activities aimed at subverting the people’s power.”

“This is another blow to freedom of expression and freedom of conscience in Vietnam,” said VCHR President Vo Van Ai. “Vietnam’s human rights record is abysmal, and it is getting worse. Imprisoning an elderly man for life just because of his nonviolent beliefs is a new low, even by Vietnam’s standards.” Mr. Ai added that the group did not have the right to a fair trial. Their lawyers, who were appointed by the Court, accepted the sentences proposed by the People’s Procuracy without discussion.

The peaceful group, known as the “Bia Son Council for Public Law and Affairs” ran an eco-tourist company at the Da Bia Tourist Resort in Phu Yen Province. They signed a contact with the local authorities to engage in protecting the forest and environment. The group believed in the prophecies of Nguyen Binh Khiem, a 16^th century oracle or Vietnamese equivalent of Nostradamus, and dreamed of building a new “Utopia” in which science, nature and humankind would be harmoniously balanced.

They organized conferences and produced leaflets to disseminate their beliefs. According to reports in the state-run media, the group had several hundred members and sections in several central and southern provinces.

Arrested in February 2012, the group was originally charged with “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the State” which carries a maximum sentence of seven years, but was changed in April 2012 to “subversion” (Article 79 of the penal code) which is punishable by terms of up to life imprisonment or the death penalty. The United Nations has repeatedly denounced Article 79, which makes no distinction between violent acts and the exercise of peaceful expression.

“In most countries, this is called democracy” said Vo Van Ai. “In Vietnam, it is subversion. Vietnam blandly adheres to core UN Human Rights treaties whilst continuing to trample on its people’s rights. ”

Less than a month ago, 14 political activists in Vietnam were convicted and sentenced for subversive activities also under article 79. The activists were accused of actively participating in and being members of a political organization known as the Viet Tan; the Vietnamese Government considers the exiled organization to be a militant group.

The activists received sentences ranging between three and 13 years, with three of them receiving the 13-year sentence. All had been held in custody for more than a year prior to the trial.

Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said at the time that “Although Viet Tan is a peaceful organization advocating for democratic reform, the Government has deemed it to be a ‘reactionary organization. None of those convicted are alleged to have been involved in violent acts.”

He also expressed alarm over the fact that that the convictions were handed down after only two days of trial, and noted that these latest convictions – as well as the arrest and detention in late December of a human rights lawyer, Le Quoc Quan – exemplify the limited space for critical voices in Vietnam.

“We urge the Government of Vietnam to review its use of the Criminal Code to imprison people who are critical of its policies, and to review all such cases violating freedom of expression and association in the country,” Mr. Colville added.

Human Rights Watch is increasingly concerned about what they call Vietnam’s race to the bottom with regard to human rights. In their 2013 World Report, they warn that “The Vietnam government systematically suppresses freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, and persecutes those who question government policies, expose official corruption or call for democratic alternatives to one-party rule. Authorities arbitrarily arrest activists, hold them incommunicado for long periods without access to legal counsel or family visits, subject them to torture, and prosecute them in politically pliant courts that mete out long prison sentences for violating vaguely worded national security laws.”

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