“Harmony laws”, while well-intentioned, their implementation has inevitably led to the spread of hate speech directed at minorities in Southeast Asia. This is primarily due to the use of these laws against ethnic-religious minorities and those seen as a threat to the majority group.  This was the finding that Asia Centre’s Regional Director, Dr.James Gomez, highlighted in his keynote speech delivered at the 14th Doha Interfaith Conference titled “Religion and Hate Speech: Between Scriptures and Practice” which took place on 24-25 May 2022 in Doha, Qatar. His speech, based on his conference paper, titled “Legislating Hate Speech in Southeast Asia: Impacts…

A range of electoral reforms are needed if multiparty democracy is to take root in Southeast Asia. Reforms related to electoral laws, the media, independence of election management boards and the voting age formed the broad suite of ideas that emerged from speakers of the parallel session “Multiparty Democracy in Southeast Asia” during the 2022 Gwangju Democracy Forum convened by Asia Centre.Co-convened with the May 18 Foundation – a South Korean organisation founded in commemoration of the May 18 Uprising – the 19 May 2022 online event was as part of the Gwangju Democracy Forum, an annual international conference held…

Giving effect to its 5-year strategic plan to 2027, to step up its engagement with UN human rights mechanisms and international organisations, Asia Centre undertook an outreach mission to Geneva, Switzerland during April 2022.This mission stems from the Centre’s continuous growth over the past seven years which has seen it achieve the following:Recognition as a research institute in the regional and Thai landscape on democracy, rights and geopolitical issues,Establishment of a branch in Malaysia,Production of seminal, policy-oriented knowledge products on democracy and human rights in the region,Building networks across the region on critical issues (business and human rights, freedom of…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…