Myanmar: Military Junta Gets a Free Pass

The violence keeps coming in Myanmar, under military rule since February 2021. The junta stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, with evidence of systematic use of killings, rape, torture and other gross human rights violations in its attempt to suppress forces demanding a return to democracy.

Addressing the Scandal of Invisibility in Asia & the Pacific

Each year, the births of 64 million children under the age of five and deaths of 8.4 million people are invisible to governments in Asia and the Pacific. Most countries in the region are yet to achieve universal civil registration, leaving many people without a legal identity and, as a result, invisible to the State.

Massive Fish Mortality Strikes Kashmir’s Lake, Threatens Livelihoods

Abdul Lateef Dar, a 45-year-old man living on the outskirts of Kashmir's renowned Dal Lake, relies on the lake's fish for food and income.

Food Insecurity Fears as Pakistan Faces Cyclone, Monsoon Season

A warning by the UN that Pakistan may face acute food insecurity in the coming months should serve as a wake-up call for the government to focus on the flood-hit areas where the people still live without shelter, medication, and proper food, analysts say.

Hong Kong’s Lights of Freedom Extinguished

Nothing was more predictable than repression. Merely for holding candles and flowers, people were taken away by Hong Kong’s police. The occasion was the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, 4 June 1989. Hong Kong was until recently home to mass annual vigils where thousands gathered to keep alive the memory of that day. But that’s all gone now in the crackdown that followed large-scale protests for democracy that erupted in 2019.

Climate Disasters Have Major Consequences for Informal Economies

In the Pacific Islands and many developing and emerging countries worldwide, the informal economy far outsizes the formal one, playing a vital role in the survival of urban and rural households and absorbing expanding working-age populations.

Sri Lanka-Japan: Return of Old Friends

On May 24, Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived on a three-day official visit to Japan, his second visit to the country, having attended the State funeral of former prime minister Shinzo Abe last September.

A Global Plastics Treaty Can End the Age of Plastic

Climate-crisis-fuelled storms have hit New Zealand hard this year. In January, we suffered unprecedented extreme weather and flooding, followed by Cyclone Gabrielle in February - the worst storm in 55 years—which triggered a national state of emergency. In total, we had 5.5 times more rain than Auckland summers typically receive.

Thailand’s Opposition Prepares for Office Despite Military Resistance

Thailand is heading to the edge of the precipice as conservative and military forces could possibly refuse to recognise the will of the people, as expressed in one of the country's biggest election upsets.

How Farmer Producer Organisations Benefit Small Scale Farmers in India

Until a decade ago, marginal farmers Gangotri Chandrol and Sunitabai lacked livelihood options in the post-monsoon season.

Climate Change Gets Its Day in Court

As a matter of global justice, the climate crisis has rightfully made its way to the world’s highest court. On 29 March 2023, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) unanimously adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the obligations of states on climate change. The initiative was led by the Pacific Island state of Vanuatu, one of several at risk of disappearing under rising sea levels. It was co-sponsored by 132 states and actively supported by networks of grassroots youth groups from the Pacific and around the world.

Thailand: Time for Democracy

Thailand’s voters have spoken. In the 14 May general election, they overwhelmingly backed change. Two major opposition parties won 293 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.

Indian Christians Seek Equal Rights for Dalit Converts

Renuka Kumari is a 45-year-old Christian woman from the Dalit community in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh. She faces numerous challenges every day and hopes for a day when her struggles will end and she can lead a comfortable life.

Taliban Reign of Terror of Flogging, Rape and Torture Instils Fear in Afghans

In October 2021, Alia Azizi left her office in Herat province after receiving a phone call from a Taliban official and never returned home. She remains missing.

Reserve Bank of Australia Review Fails Ordinary Australians

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s latest interest rate hike comes before the ink of the much-awaited review of the RBA, released on 20 April, has dried. The threat of more increases to come is a clear sign of an emboldened RBA as the government accepts all of the panel’s utterly disappointing 51 recommendations.

What does Imran Khan’s Arrest, Protests Mean for Pakistan?

The arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on alleged corruption charges has led to the deterioration of law and order with attacks on army offices for the first time since the country came into being in 1947.

The New Development Bank in the Asian 21st Century: A Golden Opportunity for the Global South

Asia is the fastest growing and most dynamic region of the world according to a recent IMF Report; “Recovery Unabated Amid Uncertainty”. ¹ Asia and the Pacific will contribute around 70 percent of global growth this year as expansion accelerates after Covid-19 supply chain disruptions, with ongoing geopolitical turmoil and war in Europe, as well as, various hybrid over the horizon cyber and kinetic attacks targeting Indian Ocean ports and shipping.

Race to Zero in Asia and Pacific: Our Hopes in the Climate Fight

The latest synthesis report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change makes for grim reading: Every fraction of a degree of warming comes with escalated threats, from deadly heatwaves to severe hurricanes and droughts, affecting all economies and communities.

Theatre Used to Dispel Polio Immunisation Myths in Pakistan

Pakistan, one of two polio-endemic countries in the world, has started staging theatrical dramas to promote immunisation in an attempt to encourage parents who refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated.

Uzbekistan: A President for Life?

Where will you be in 2040? For Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the answer is: in the Kuksaroy Presidential Palace. That’s the chief consequence of the referendum held in the Central Asian country on 30 April. With dissent tightly controlled in conditions of closed civic space, there was no prospect of genuine debate, a campaign against, or a no vote.

An Afghan Appeal to UN Leadership

We are a group of Afghans living in the country and working across sectors including peace, civil society, humanitarian aid, human rights, media, and the private sector, and are working to promote dialogue and seek long-term solutions for our country.