Disinformation Winner of 2022 Philippines Presidential Election
Disinformation, and lots over it over social media, was the predicted winner of the 2022 Philippines Presidential Elections. This was the sentiment of speakers and respondents as well as the results of 2 online polls on 3 May 2022 during an event to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. Entitled, “2022 Philippines Presidential Election: Fake Accounts, Bots, and Trolls”, Asia Centre, in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Southeast and East Asia convened a roundtable discussion to assess the impact of social media on mainstream media and election campaigning. (Watch the TikTok here, the event video here, and see event photos here) Officiated by Vanessa Steinmetz, the regional project coordinator at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom Southeast and East Asia, and Dr. James Gomez, regional director of Asia Centre, the event welcomed the speakers, reactors, and participants to examine how social media platforms were impacting the election campaign. Setting the stage, Marites Vitug, editor-at-large at Rappler, said disinformation over social media has been used by the lead presidential candidate Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his supporters since the 2016 vice-presidential election to positively branding of Bongbong, while negatively affecting his rival Leni Robredo. Krixia Subingsubing, journalist from Philippine Daily Inquirer, expanded the analysis by pointing out that trolls and bots are part of a larger disinformation machinery that includes influencers, celebrities, and even government agencies that are working together to manipulate the public opinion or media outlets by using misleading content. Greg Kehailia, country director of Internews Philippines, explained that since 2016, actions have been taken by Filipino stakeholders to combat disinformation, but it has become a huge problem for the 2022 Presidential Election as fake news is more numerous, more tailored, and more widespread. Eunice Barbara of Inquirer.net, pointed out that professional journalists face challenges in debunking disinformation over social media. She said that the fact-based reporting by mainstream media is actually seen as biased by a large swath of the electorate, making it even more difficult to counter disinformation. Reacting to the speakers, Joel Mark Barredo, Executive Director of SHAPE-SEA, said that disinformation is dismantling the democratic infrastructure that has been rebuilt following the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos. He suggested cutting demand for the disinformation “industry” through accountability and critical consciousness of fake news. Dr. Analiza Perez-Amurao, of the Humanities and Language Division at Mahidol University International College, raised questions on the role of social media companies in addressing disinformation. Referring to her background as an educator, she pointed to the importance of media and digital literacy for the youth. Ed Legaspi, Former Executive Director of SEAPA focused on the role of the election commission and rules governing election propaganda in the Philippines. He said to date the role of COMELEC has been poor and late in addressing the problem of disinformation during elections. He recommended that this weakness be addressed for future elections. From the discussion during the event, it was clear that during the 2022 Philippines Presidential Election campaign disinformation has spiked over compared to the 2016 elections. There is a real risk disinformation might become mainstream, and mainstream media sidelined. Fact-checking and media literacy, while important, are proving inadequate in tackling the issue effectively. The event was covered by BenarNews, read ‘Filipino journalists, experts allege online attacks, disinformation from Marcos camp’
Strengthening Quality Journalism to Fight Online Disinformation
As the majority of news production and consumption shifts to social media so has government control. “Media Freedom in Southeast Asia: Repeal Restrictive Laws, Strengthen Quality Journalism,” outlines how fake news legislation is used to silence media organisations and journalists who produce and disseminate critical content online. Launched by Asia Centre and the Friedrich Naumann’s Foundation on 15 March 2022, the report recommends that governments focus on strengthening media organisations rather than silencing them. Through these efforts journalists can counterbalance online disinformation through verified information and quality journalism. Tech companies can help by not feeding hate and using algorithms to spread fake news. Discussing the impact digitalisation has on journalists, Vanessa Steinmetz, Regional Project Coordinator of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, began the report launch by explaining how online disinformation makes it hard for journalists to express freely. She believes the report is a starting point of a bigger discussion to overcome problems for journalists to work in more free conditions. Explaining different types of disinformation, Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director of Asia Centre, explained that governments are using anti-fake news laws to punish media organisations and journalists who critically call out bad government policies. He shared statistics, such as increasing Press Freedom Censorship scores and dropping Internet Freedom rankings across Southeast Asia to drive home the message. Pointing to the need for civil society and awareness organisations to lead the charge for media freedom, Tehmina Kaoosji, an Independent Broadcast Journalist, said that all of the report outcomes resonate deeply with the type of actions around media restrictions. She explained how the collapse of the democratically elected government early in the pandemic in Malaysia resulted in the increase of anti-fake news laws and restrictions for media broadcasters and journalists. Nipuna Kumbalathara, Communications Expert at EarthRights, highlighted the oxymoron of how national security is used as an excuse to repress media freedoms and freedom of expression. Instead of repressing the media and activism, he suggested governments should invest in encouraging free and open discussions around issues such as political corruption and the climate crisis. He stressed the need for future discussions on how to involve people beyond civil society organisations in these discussions. Stating the report is essential in highlighting key issues of media and press freedoms, Sao Phal Niseiy, Editor in Chief of Cambodianess, pointed out the importance of fighting the decline of quality journalism and ensuring that rights and freedoms of journalists are not taken away. He said a broader discussion on how to tackle media freedom challenges and make a better future for journalists is needed. The report launch was concluded by Nalinrat Tingoum, Programme Coordinator of Asia Centre by highlighting that the report is available for download on the website. Asia Centre and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation will begin the promotion of their report through social media posts, podcasts, infographics and videos. Stay tuned to our social media for the updates. Watch the report launch here. Download the report here.
Asia Centre and Indonesian Parliament’s Expert Agency Sign MoU
On 14 March 2022, Asia Centre and The Expertise Agency of The House of Representatives of The Republic of Indonesia signed a 5 year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Through the MoU, both organisations pledges to jointly undertake the publishing of research outputs, execute teaching and training programmes, develop course outlines and materials, and support each other to promote joint activities. Built off of a few years of engagement between the two organisations, the MoU formalises the path for future collaborations and joint projects. The Expertise Agency first participated in Asia Centre’s 3rd International Conference on Businesses in Human Rights in 2018 through the discussion of building synergies with other national state institutions on human rights, and later attended Asia Centre’s 6th Conference in September 2021 as a panel partner. In February 2021, Asia Centre’s Dr. James Gomez and Nikula Evanty conducted an online training for the Agency’s staff on drafting policy papers for legislative agendas. The MOU ceremony was conducted over Zoom and attended by representatives of Asia Centre and The Expertise Agency. Welcome remarks were made by Dr. Inosentius Samsul, Head of the Expertise Agency of The Indonesian House of Representatives and Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director of Asia Centre. Dr. Samsul explained how Asia Centre’s international conferences would encourage “officials here to get along on an international scale,” and would help Indonesia capture developing international issues. Dr. Gomez reminded all present that the MoU was built on an ongoing relationship of a few years, and solidifies the long term partnership. Nukila Evanty, an Advisory Board Member of Asia Centre, suggested collaborations on developing research outputs and training programmes to further talks on global issues. Agus Wijayanto of Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) mentioned the opportunity for future discussions on democracy and freedom of expression. Focusing on collaborations on the issue of business and human rights, Dr. Robin Ramcharan, Executive Director of Asia Centre, congratulated the two organisations on their official partnership. The ceremony was widely reported on The Expertise Agency’s social media and website, highlighting the importance of the MoU. The Expertise Agency will be a panel partner in Asia Centre’s 7th International Conference on Freedom of Expression in Asia on 24-26 August 2022. Apart from the Conference, the two parties will explore other partnerships moving forward. Stay tuned for future work and collaborations between Asia Centre and The Expertise Agency of The House of Representatives of The Republic of Indonesia. Sign up for Asia Centre’s 7th International Conference on Freedom of Expression here.
Continued Unemployment Furthers Inequality
The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the world into further unemployment and inequality. Reporting under the theme, ‘Inequality – Threat to Lives and Livelihoods,’ the journalists discussed how disadvantaged communities such as women, ethnic groups, religious and gender minorities, migrant and informal workers found themselves languishing in unemployment as a result of the pandemic. The journalists’ articles were shared during the 2021-22 Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award. Watch the event here. The top 10 finalists from Asia wrote about how COVID-19 impacted the lives and livelihoods of disadvantaged groups. These groups included minorities such as women, ethnic, gender and religious minorities, and migrant and informal workers. Lockdowns, unequal access to vaccines, and a greater risk of illness and death forced vulnerable groups into poverty and created greater inequality in Asia. Disadvantaged groups have difficulty adapting to the outcomes of the pandemic. With many living in close quarters, it is hard to quarantine and social distance. While wealthy elites are able to afford private healthcare, minorities have limited access to basic health care, soap, and clean water. These disadvantaged groups face discrimination that further prevent them from accessing health services. Vaccine inequality has led to some minorities still waiting to receive a vaccine, which ultimately slows down pandemic recovery of Asian countries. In its third year, the Award received over 150 nominations filed by journalists based in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The award is to recognise journalists whose articles highlight the issue of inequality among disadvantaged groups against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic in Asia. John Samuel, Regional Director in Asia, Oxfam in Asia, in his opening remark, recognized and appreciated the efforts of journalists to fight inequality and injustice. He described how the pandemic exacerbated inequality and injustice in Asia and globally, noting that 148 million people worldwide went into poverty. He discussed the importance of journalists writing for an equitable Asia in unprecedented times over the past two years through increasing poverty, inequality, authoritarianism, and crony journalism. He commented on the courageousness of journalists for standing up for an equitable Asia, and stated that he stands with them. Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre, in his opening remarks Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre, in his opening remarks said that re-employment post COVID-19 would be key to Asia’s vulnerable communities somewhat halting the ever increasing inequality gap. The hard part would be after that, trying to close the income gap. Hence, as countries declare themselves endemic, they should also be announcing measures to support these vulnerable communities to get back on their feet and address the widening inequality in the community. The top 3 prize winners and top 10 journalists received certificates. The top three prize winners received $US 1,000 (1st Prize), $US 750 (2nd Prize), and $US 500 (3rd Prize) respectively. The top 11 to 15 finalists were given merit awards. The top 10 finalists of this year were announced by the Master of the Ceremony Nalinrat Tingoum. The finalists were: Kok Xinghui from Singapore with her article, “Coronavirus: why vaccine inequality in Asia threatens the world’s recovery, Meg Adonis from the Philippines with her article, “Yet another challenging year for public school teachers,” Poramet Tangsathaporn and Kornchanok Raksaseri from Thailand with their article, “Patpong ‘on its last legs‘,” Lay Sopheavotey from Cambodia with her article, “Trade Unions: Women Workers Need Support During Pregnancy and Postpartum,” Sanket Jain from India with his article, “Covid 19 and The Desperate Lives of India’s Sugarcane Workers,” Wanna Tamthong from Thailand with her article, “How to Make a Killing: Overpriced Covid-19 Tests for migrant labourers,” and Geela Garcia from the Philippines with her article, “Who peels your garlic: Inside Manila’s informal economy.” Shiza Malik announced the top three winners of the Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award. Atom Araullo from the Philippines won the first prize for his article, “The Hunger Pandemic.” The article explains how the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to increasing hunger and food insecurity in the area of Manila, the nation’s capital. Araullo begins by writing about the stories of those who rely on pagpag, which are food scraps, to feed themselves. Lockdowns have led to high unemployment rates and an increasing struggle for those in impoverished communities to feed themselves and their families. Government cash aid in response to the pandemic was not enough to help these vulnerable groups. Araullo discusses the works of international non-governmental organisations and Filipino citizens to try and aid the fight against poverty and hunger throughout the pandemic. Marielle Lucieno from the Philippines secured the second prize for her article, “The gold trap: COVID-19 is pushing more Filipino children into hazardous work.” The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed efforts to eliminate child labour made by the government and non-government organisations. Lucieno writes about children in the village of Malaya, who were freed from child labour in 2017, but many children were forced back into work during the pandemic to help their struggling families. The Philippine government had committed to remove 2 million children from child labour by 2022 and end child labour by 2025, but COVID-19 will prevent the attainment of these goals. Vantha Phoung, Lay Sopheavotey and Gerald Flynn from Cambodia obtained the third prize for their article, “Locked Down and Out of Work: Desperation Sets in among Garment Workers.” Inequalities that garment workers face such as unequal access to sanitation services and clean water led to many COVID-19 outbreaks in factories. The writers describe how garment factory owners did not have any obligation to provide support to their employees during the COVID-19 lockdown. Many factories refused to pay their workers severance pay, resulting in garment workers facing poverty and debt throughout the pandemic. The writers acknowledged that NGOs, CSOs and unions called on the government to introduce a social protection system to protect garment workers from further wage stealing and inequalities. Shiza Malik, Regional Communications and Media Lead in Asia of Oxfam International, announced the top 5 merit
Asia Centre and Oxfam Announce 2021-22 Journalism Award Finalists
Asia Centre and Oxfam in Asia are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2021-22 Journalism For an Equitable Asia Award. The Award recognises the work of journalists who wrote on the threat of inequality to the lives and livelihoods of disadvantaged groups including women, ethnic, religious and gender minorities, and migrant and informal workers. The Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award aims to not only recognize these journalists, but also to encourage more journalists to write for a fairer Asia. Here are the finalists: Miss Meg Adonis is a 25-year-old writer in the Philippines. She was a journalist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the country’s largest newspaper, where she told the stories of education stakeholders bearing the brunt of the Philippines’ haphazardly implemented remote learning setup. Seeking justice for their plight, she spoke to overworked yet underpaid public school teachers, burnt out students, and professionals whose months-long work for the government remain uncompensated. Her stories helped bring the public’s attention to the country’s learning crisis and seek accountability from the government. Read her article: “Yet another challenging year for public school teachers” here. Mr. Vantha Phoung and Ms. Lay Sopheavotey are journalists working at Thmey Thmey News. Mr. Vantha has covered social issues, human rights and the environment, including impacts on health, climate change solutions and illegal logging. Ms. Sopheavotey has covered issues on social protection, workers’ rights, human trafficking among others. Mr. Gerald Flynn is a freelance journalist based in Phnom Penh, where he produces in-depth stories exploring Cambodia’s social, political and environmental issues for local, regional and international outlets. The three journalists have collaborated to write an article. Read their article: “Locked Down and Out of Work: Desperation Sets in among Garment Workers” here. Miss Xinghui Kok is a senior reporter at the South China Morning Post. She works on the Asia desk and is based in Singapore, from which she closely monitors and reports on developments in the city-state and the surrounding region. Xinghui works across beats, from politics, macroeconomics and business, to health and social issues. She worked for local papers in Singapore before joining the Post in 2020. Read her article: “Coronavirus: why vaccine inequality in Asia threatens the world’s recovery” here. Miss Geela Garcia is a freelance multimedia journalist and peasant advocate based in Manila, Philippines. Her photographic work focused on inclusive development, documents stories of women, food sovereignty, and the environment, with the aim to write history from the experience of its makers. Her writing and photography appear on South China Morning Post, Philstar, Bulatlat, Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Rappler among others. Read her article: “Who peels your garlic: Inside Manila’s informal economy” here. Ms. Lay Sopheavotey is a political student. Her passion for democracy, human rights and social work led her to become a journalist. Since 2019, she has started working as a young female journalist at Thmey Thmey. She has been covering issues such as social protection, workers’ rights, and human trafficking among others for more than two years. Gradually, she sees social issues in more detail and more importantly, citizens who need social protection. To build awareness on social protection for citizens, she decided to write in detail about citizens’ challenges and needs. Therefore, her article focuses on informal workers, union leaders, and vulnerable women and children. Read her article: “Trade Unions: Women Workers Need Support During Pregnancy and Postpartum” here. Mr. Sanket Jain is an award-winning independent journalist and a documentary photographer based in India’s Maharashtra state, and a Senior Fellow at People’s Archive of Rural India, where he is documenting vanishing livelihoods and dying art forms from rural India. His work has been featured in more than 30 national and international publications. Sanket, who spends most of his time in the countryside, has been extensively reporting on the transition rural India is undergoing through the lived experiences of everyday people. You can read his stories at www.sanketjain.in Read his article: “Covid 19 and The Desperate Lives of India’s Sugarcane Workers” here. Mr. Poramet Tangsathaporn is a new journalist from Bangkok Post with one year experience in journalism. He is passionate in fighting for human rights for the marginalised in Thailand, especially the LGBTQ+ community, sex workers, PHIV, women, drug users and working class, by writing to reveal how they are being neglected or subordinated in societal and national level and point out solutions. The purpose of these writings aims to ignite social change and policy change to improve their lives at a national level and ultimately, at a global level. His goal in his journalism career since day one is, “to make the unheard heard.” Ms. Kornchanok Raksaseri is a Thai journalist who has covered almost every field from business and lifestyle to politics and social issues. She was a Political Editor for The Nation, Assistant Managing Editor for Econ News and Deputy News Editor for Bangkok Post. Now she works with Zero Covid Thailand as a content provider and campaigner aiming to eliminate COVID-19 from her country. The two journalists have collaborated to write an article. Read their article: “Patpong ‘on its last legs’” here. Mr. Atom Araullo is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. He currently hosts GMA Network’s “The Atom Araullo Specials” and “I-Witness.” He also anchors State of the Nation, a nightly newscast on GTV. Araullo’s work revolves around disaster reporting, climate change, conservation, conflict, and social issues. In 2017, he co-founded FYT, an independent media organization that promotes community and explanatory journalism. He previously worked as an anchor and reporter of ABS-CBN News. Araullo is also the National Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He earned a degree in Applied Physics at the University of the Philippines. Read his article: “The Hunger Pandemic” here. Ms. Wanna Tamthong (Tan) is a journalist of Prachatai, an independent newspaper in Thailand. A former law student turned journalist who came up with a number of questions on what is going on in her hometown, the quality of life, women rights, migrant labours, youth, democracy, and the future
Business and Human Rights: More Stakeholder Participation Needed in Southeast Asia
While welcoming the uptake of the BHR agenda across Southeast Asia, panelists in the online forum: ‘Business and Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Progress Towards Developing National Action Plans’(NAPs) emphasised gaps in advocacy on business and human rights across the region. Collectively they noted the need for more stakeholder participation from parliamentarians, business organisations and other non-governmental organisations in NAPs development processes. The event, co-convened by Asia Centre and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, was held on 15 December 2021, 10.00 AM – 4.00 PM Bangkok Time, to mark the launch of the joint publication: ‘Business and Human Rights in Southeast Asia: Developing National Action Plans’. The event focused on identifying the way forward for the progressive adoption of NAPs in the region. In welcoming speakers and participants at the start, Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff, Head of Regional Office Southeast and East Asia, Friedrich Naumann Foundation For Freedom, noted that a decade after the adoption of the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs) on BHR there has been an uptake of the UNGPs in Southeast Asia. This was also highlighted by Dr. Robin Ramcharan, Executive Director, Asia Centre, who presented the key findings of the book. He said that countries in the region have been undergoing, albeit slowly, NAP-development processes in the past few years, following the footsteps of Thailand, which adopted one in 2019, and other Asian countries. Hence, the BHR and NAPs are becoming part of a widening human rights architecture in the region, though progress has been slowed down by political certainty in places like Indonesia and Malaysia and also by the current COVID-19 pandemic. He noted further key findings of the book, namely: that regional NAPs development still faces challenges in that key stakeholders, notably parliamentarians and business organisations, have not yet been involved in NAPs processes; that there has been a lack of awareness and interest in the BHR agenda among these two sectors; that NAPs must be better aligned with international human rights standards; that through language that is closely aligned with international human rights instruments and best practises, NAPs can play a role in deepening a culture of human rights and democracy in the region, which has seen a regression in both areas in the last decade. NAPs are tools to hold both States and their businesses accountable. These points were echoed across two panels of experts. The first panel, from 10 AM to 12 PM on ‘The State of NAPs Development in Southeast Asia’ was joined by Paolo Zamora, Programme Manager, Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats and Vicky Bowman, Head of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business. Tricia Yeoh, CEO, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, moderated the panel. The second panel, from 2 PM to 4 PM was a roundtable discussion ‘Business Organisations and NAPs: Prospects for Advancing the BHR Agenda’. It was joined by Betty Yolanda, Asia Regional Manager, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Thomas Thomas, CEO at ASEAN CSR Network, Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Lawyer, AmerBON, Saul Takahashi, Asia Centre Advisory Board and Professor of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Osaka Jogakuin University. Husai Chantarawirod, Regional Programme Officer, Regional Office Southeast & East Asia, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung, moderated the discussion. Echoing important elements of NAP development that are treated in the book, both panels pointed: the need for greater inclusivity and transparency in the development of NAPS, which must involve parliamentarians in the drafting and monitoring of NAPs; setting up strong mixed regulatory frameworks on BHR in addition to providing incentives for Business Organisations (BOs); and the inclusion of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) as well as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) as key stakeholders in the NAPs development processes to better advance national BHR agendas. The book’s Chapter 2 by James Gomez and Robin Ramcharan of Asia Centre noted these challenges to the uptake in the UNGPs in the region. Speakers acknowledged that NAPs processes are rightly Executive-driven but pointed to the need for greater inclusivity of stakeholders, notably parliamentarians who can hold governments to account in upholding their human rights obligations. Chapter 3 of the book by Paolo Zamora and Francis Abaya of CALD drew attention to the missing role of Parliamentarians. The lack of interest and understanding of BHR among BOs have resulted in their low involvement in implementing NAPs. Having NAPs as a starting point, future BHR agendas could aim at offering a ‘smart mix’ of regulations that already exist for BOs along with guidelines on voluntary action that could be made. Chapter 4 of the book by Thomas Thomas for IDEAS treats the reluctance of BOs to engage on the BHR agenda. Panelists, echoing the book’s findings, pointed to the need to be as inclusive as possible and to involve CSOs and NHRIs in National Baseline Assessment (NBAs) to ensure a comprehensive assessment of the needs of each jurisdiction. The lack of consultation can lead to the exclusion of critical issues that feature across all countries including environmental degradation, the rights of indigenous peoples, and the protection of human rights defenders – among other issues that CSOs and NHRIs have brought up. Gender issues are often excluded from consideration. In his Closing Remarks, Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre said there is a need for greater awareness of and training on the BHR agenda and how stakeholders can effectively contribute to NAP development processes. This calls for national and regional awareness building and for the development of toolkits to better guide small and medium size businesses, which are the backbone of most economies. The concluding Chapter 5, by Asia Centre, summarises pathways for future action for parliamentarians and for better engaging BOs. The discussion and the book are part of Asia Centre’s ongoing work on National Human Rights Institutions and BHR in Southeast Asia. They were follow-ups to the Centre’s 3rd International Conference on ‘Business and Human Rights: Holding Governments Accountable in Asia’ in 2018 and to its previous work, Business and Human Rights in Asia: The Duty of States.
COVID-19 Disportionately Impacts Women’s Rights
Commissioners from different human rights bodies highlighted that during the pandemic, women disportionately faced various challenges. Despite the operational difficulties, the various commissions nevertheless have tried their level best to call out these COVID-19 related rights violations. Officiated by Frederic Spohr, Head of Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Thailand and Myanmar, these and other issues were highlighted during the International Human Rights Day Roundtable Discussion ‘Impacts of COVID-19 on Human Rights’ on 9 December 2021. The discussion was part of Asia Centre’s ongoing work on National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in Southeast Asia. It held its 2nd International Conference on ‘National Human Rights Institutions in Southeast Asia: Challenges of Protection’ in 2017. In 2020, it co-published with Palgrave Macmillan a book on ‘National Human Rights Institutions in Southeast Asia: Selected Case Studies’. The Centre has also engaged with the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and its Regional Centres. In 2021, it participated in ‘The Official Launch of the Regional Center for Human Rights Study and Coordination’ at the Faculty of Political Science, Ubon Ratchathani University. Moderated by Asia Centre’s Executive Director, Dr. Robin Ramcharan, the discussion was joined by human rights commissioners who included: Lorraine Finlay of the Australian National Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Retty Ratnawati (Komnas Ham Perempuan), Karen Gomez-Dumpit of the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP), Pornprapai Ganjanarintr, Chairperson of NHRCT (appearing via video: see full video and script) and Eric Paulsen, Malaysian Representative to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Through the discussions, impact on the rights of women during the pandemic featured prominently. Collectively, the commissioners noted issues of gender-based violence against women during lockdowns, such as increased domestic violence. Worsening the situation was that shelters providing care for victims of violence were forced to shut down, without governments providing alternative primary channels for refuge. Pregnant women faced difficulties accessing health services. The commissioners also pointed out that workers in women-dominated fields continue to be exploited. Further, they highlighted the criminalisation of Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), especially of women HRDs. Indeed, more broadly across the regions, HRDs faced increased prosecution for their criticisms of Governments’ mismanagement of the pandemic. Children, and youth more broadly, also faced serious challenges with accessing services that address mental health given the deep psychological impact of isolation during lengthy lockdowns. The elderly were also affected in that the pandemic restrictions, including lockdowns, did not properly address their situation and, more generally, the disabled in society. The net effect of the measures to handle the pandemic was to deprive them of critical health and social services. These challenges have compelled human rights commissions to take actions in protecting human rights. These actions include engaging with governmental agencies to ensure policies are up to human rights standards, providing trustworthy information to the public and continuing to monitor and establish mechanisms to receive complaints of rights violations. It was noted that the commissions faced significant operational challenges in meeting their mandates, notably investigating complaints, to provide protection services for their constituents. They were also subject to the same lockdown measures and restrictions on assembly. Finally, attention was called to the work of AICHR, the ASEAN-level human rights body, which has continued to work on human rights issues amidst the pandemic, with its activities and events constrained by the existing framework to promote human rights. Nevertheless, it was able to issue a press statement by Representatives reaffirming the rights of peoples to access quality health-care services and medical facilities – underlining the principle of proportionality in the restriction of human rights during states of emergency. Asia Centre’s Regional Director, Dr. James Gomez, in his vote of thanks, stressed the Centre’s intention to continue tracking the work of regional and national human rights mechanisms. He noted that there is a need to publicise the good work of the commissions as the public is still unclear of what they do and their effectiveness. The event was co-convened by Asia Centre and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Thailand. Earlier at the start of the proceedings, tributes were paid to the late Chito Gascon, former Chair of the CHRP who succumbed to COVID-19. You can view the event’s livestream recording here. Asia Centre works on issues related to human rights commissions in the region. If you would like to collaborate with the Centre on this and other human rights concerns, send an expression of interest to contact@asiacentre.org.
Asia Centre Pens Agreement With Naresuan University
On 26 November 2021, Dr. Robin Ramcharan, Executive Director, Asia Centre and Dr. Napisa Waitoolkiat, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Naresuan University, Thailand signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to establish a framework of future cooperation. The MOA marked the collaboration between the organisation in a two-part event on ‘Strengthening the Milk Tea Alliance: Building Democracy and Freedom through Speakers and Discussion’ supported by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. The first, was held on 26 November 2021 at the Topland Hotel in Phitsanulok, Thailand and the second, on 1 December 2021 at Asia Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre, during the events, provided an overview of the global state of democracy and the rising authoritarianism of Asia, and highlighted some of the key movements in the region. Pointing to the findings of Asia Centre’s baseline study: ‘COVID-19 and Democracy in Southeast Asia: Building Resilience, Fighting Authoritarianism’, he said governments have been taking actions against such movements, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Gomez suggested holding joint activities such as ‘democracy festivals’ to increase awareness and understanding of democracy and human rights in Asia. Both events also included inputs from Pongpop Dansamanchanchai, Alumnus, Faculty of Social Sciences, Naresuan University, who encouraged the building of Thai democracy networks and highlighted decentralising democratic norms to other regions in the country. In the first event, Sai Htong Kham, Education University of Hong Kong updated on the situation in Myanmar and the ongoing protests there, where he stressed the importance of regional solidarity. In the second event, Toe Kyi, a 1988 generation activist, said although the price for democracy is high, through the ongoing civil disobedience movement, it was clear that people in Myanmar are willing to pay this price for their freedom from military rule. Sugreeya Wannayuwat, a Thai political activist, explained the value of regional alliances like the Milk Tea Alliance that connected Thai democracy movements and brought its issues onto the world stage. In addressing questions for next steps, Dr. Gomez said that those interested in developing concrete action plans can undertake evidence-based research, capacity building activities and advocacy campaigns to strengthen democracy. For those working in authoritarian environments, efforts can start with informal communication and advocacy, and providing people the opportunity to learn about democracy. Digital tools can also be used to coordinate activities and share knowledge. However, he cautioned, as did other speakers, that these efforts come with risks and those leading these initiatives should be prepared to weather the consequences. Following the events, Asia Centre discussed collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences, Naresuan University for the year 2022, including possible partnership in organising the 7th International Conference, Freedom of Expression in Asia, 24-26 August 2022. Asia Centre undertakes evidence-based research, organises events, undertakes advocacy and signs MOUs with organisations with whom it has a track record of cooperation. The Centre has several ongoing MOUs with INGOs, NGOs, universities and parliamentary networks. If you would like to collaborate with the Centre and sign an MOU, send an expression of interest to contact@asiacentre.org Asia Centre works on human rights issues related to freedom of religion or belief, hate speech and racial discrimination. If you would like to collaborate with the Centre on evidence-based research, co-coveneing activities or other projects. Send an expression of interest to contact@asiacentre.org
Media Spotlight Can Help Address Vaccine Inequality
Vaccine inequality is a growing concern in Asia, where the biggest challenge in keeping the pandemic at bay is the vaccination rates of a country. Hence, verified information on vaccine’s efficacy, and the equity of vaccine provision and distribution is important in putting a spotlight on the underlying inequalities that affect efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. This concern was the main theme of the webinar: “Vaccine Inequality and Worsening Inequalities in Asia” co-convened by Oxfam International and Asia Centre on 24 November 2021, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM. The event was part of Oxfam International and Asia Centre’s efforts to discuss the issue of vaccine inequality and open the nominations for the 2021-2022 Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award – now in its 3rd year. In her opening remarks, Shiza Malik, Regional Communications and Media Leads—Asia, Oxfam International, welcomed the panel with a brief overview of the Journalism for an Equitable Asia project which encourages journalism that highlights inequality in Asia. The focus of the “2021-2022 Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award” is on recognizing works that report on the disparity of vaccine allocation, unaffordable costs of healthcare, and preventable deaths. Max Lawson, Head of Inequality Policy, Oxfam International, explained that COVID-19 pandemic has worsened economic inequalities: rich countries were getting more vaccines and recovering faster in a big part from hoarding the vaccines. Existing patent models have also helped pharmaceutical companies to profit from and limit access to vaccines that were developed with taxpayers’ money. Consequently, he urged the need for small countries to have the capacity to acquire or manufacture cheap, license-free vaccines. Inkara Mukatova, Program Officer, Civil Society Development Association, gave an overview of the COVID-19 situation in Central Asia. Disinformation on death rates and quality of vaccines has hidden the true extent of the problem in the region and has created vaccine hesitancy among Central Asians. The geopolitics of the region has also meant that governments’ hands are tied with Russian and Chinese vaccines which may not be as effective as others. What would help Central Asia is commitments and cooperation on a global level that ensures access to effective vaccines to those most in need. Dr.James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre, presented a regional overview that showed the correlation of vaccination rates and death rates in Asian countries. Apart from differences in vaccination rates between sub-regions in Asia, he also pointed to the challenges and discrepancies within countries when accessing vaccines. He stressed the need for comprehensive plans to provide vaccines in preventing additional COVID-19 related deaths. Thereafter, Dr. Gomez introduced the 2021-2022 Journalism for an Equitable Asia Award. He said the nominations are open now and the submission deadline is on 31 January 2022. Eligible journalists must have published two or more pieces about healthcare inequality between 1st January 2021 and 31st January 2022, and the articles submitted for nomination should be at least 650 words in length, in English. Nominated articles will be judged by a Judging Panel of media and inequality experts, representatives from the Asia Centre, Oxfam International, and independent practitioners. The top 3 winners will receive cash awards, the top 10 journalists will be invited to participate in the awards ceremony, and merit certificates will be given to the journalists ranked from 11st to 15th places. The award ceremony will be held on 22 March 2022 in Bangkok, Thailand. Discussion during the Q&A largely centred on the role of journalism. It was recognised that journalists can be part of wider efforts by local communities and civil societies to ensure fact-based understanding of vaccines. Additionally, it was noted that journalists can shed light on attempts by governments to manage information during the pandemic. Hence, journalists and the media can hold governments to account even as they try to silence criticism. In his closing remarks, Mustafa Talpur, Regional Advocacy and Campaign Leads—Asia, Oxfam International, highlighted the importance of journalists picking up people’s concerns and bringing them to the spotlight. In this way, he said, journalists can help pave way for a more equitable Asia. The 2021-2022 Award is third in the series of the Journalism for an Equitable Asia project in partnership with Oxfam International. You can view the 2019-2020 award ceremony and brief summary of the winning articles here; for the 2020-2021 award, you can visit here. You can learn more about the award and nominate your favourite articles here. The event’s live stream recording can be seen here. Asia Centre works on human rights issues related to freedom of religion or belief, hate speech and racial discrimination. If you would like to collaborate with the Centre on evidence-based research, co-coveneing activities or other projects. Send an expression of interest to contact@asiacentre.org
Anti-Discrimination Laws Needed To Protect Minorities
Anti-discrimination laws and independent commissions are needed to protect minorities disadvantaged by legal measures that are claimed to be enacted to maintain social harmony. This was a major recommendation arising from the discussion during Asia Centre’s launch of its new baseline study “Harmony Laws in Southeast Asia: Majority Dominance, Minority Repression” The study, in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), was released during an online event on 22 November 2021 as part of the 7th annual Southeast Asian Freedom of Religious Belief (SEAFORB) Conference. The report reviews how “harmony” and other laws in Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, and Singapore have limited freedom of religion or beliefs (FoRB) and accentuated racial discrimination. In her welcoming remarks, Pavitra Ramanujam, Project Coordinator, APC, pointed to the growing ethno-religious authoritarianism in the region that has resulted in crackdowns on minorities, activists, and journalists. She highlighted the importance of analyzing impacts of new legal measures to address issues related to religious, racial harmony, and hate speech. Dr. Balazs Szanto, Senior Researcher, Asia Centre, in his welcome remarks, said the study was coming at a very important time where intolerance has creeped into the global political landscape, including the Southeast Asian region. Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director, Asia Centre, presented the new report. He said that the suite of “harmony” and other laws perpetuate the dominance of the ethno-religious majorities in the four countries studied. The intersectionality of religion and ethnicity facilitates an environment that props up majoritarian groups and suppresses the voicing of grievances by minority communities. Dr. Gomez recommended passing anti-discrimination laws and establishing indepednet anti-discrimination commissions to monitor, track and seek remedies to discriminatory laws and policies. Lutfi Hakim, Asia Centre Associate and Columnist, discussed the situation in Malaysia where racial discrimination are tied with religious intolerance as the Malay-Muslim majority pushes back against the religious practices of non-Muslims. He added that a lack of understanding of discrimination and public sensitivity of the issue among the majority population created difficulties for governments in creating a reform on religious and racial issues. He concluded that conversations on human rights need to take place to for change towards unity and tolerance of different groups. Khin Mai Aung, Advisory Board Member, Asia Centre, explained that the current political developments in Myanmar are a result of majority rule without systemic protection of minorities. It came about from a system where rights of minorities were continuously peeled away. The increasing use of harmony laws after the coup seized power have been oppressing ethno-religious minorities. Asst. Prof. John Phillip Binondo, Lecturer at De La Salle University Manila, presented four issues which hindered racial harmony in the Philippines: the absence of official data about the ethno-religious diversity, the lack of independent bodies to assess legal measures, the profiling of the Muslims and indigenous people, and the role of the Catholic Church. He stated that robust studies on ethnic inequality as well as a better understanding across ethnicity and religion are needed to overcome these systematic racial and religious issues. Subhas Nair, a rapper, offered his lived experience as a “brown skin” minority in Singapore. He explained that in the city-state minority representation rules create an idea of ‘model minority’ leaders who are tokenised in service of the ethnic majority rather than actually work for the community they are supposed to represent. Furthermore, through a process of reverse engineering, Singapore’s Ethnic Integration Policy in public housing delivers a Chinese majority voting base. He ended by emphasising the importance of having measures to create racial equity and to hold the government accountable. Among the questions raised by the participants included was the possible merits of limiting FoRB to harmonize societies or whether FoRB will spark violent protests like that in the US. The speakers responded by saying that laws that restrict FoRB are counterproductive to the goal of reaching tolerance of different beliefs and ethnicities. They added that oftentimes the US is used as a bogeyman for not having anti-discrimination measures in the first place. After the presentations, a key focus of the Q&A session was whether the main responsibility for ethics lies with the individual, organisation, society or was it structural. The discussion pointed to an need for individual responsibility as well as an accompanying change needing to happen at the societal level to influence the institutional level. Since journalists remain in a tough position, the voices of NGOs and the public are crucial to push for stronger ethics. Their support and their demands will be the main drivers of change. Therefore, observers and readers also share a responsibility in promoting ethical reporting. “Harmony Laws in Southeast Asia: Majority Dominance, Minority Repression” can be downloaded from here, and the event’s live stream recording can be seen here. Asia Centre works on human rights issues related to freedom of religion or belief, hate speech and racial discrimination. If you would like to collaborate with the Centre on evidence-based research, co-coveneing activities or other projects. Send an expression of interest to contact@asiacentre.org