Asia
Broken Laws Broken Bodies: Torture and the Right to Redress in Indonesia
(1993) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-57-9 / 82 pp.
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In 1981, the government of Indonesia enacted a new criminal procedure code that sought to reduce the likelihood of torture in detention. More than a decade later, the aims of the law have yet to be fulfilled: torture of criminal and political detainees remains endemic; the possibility of meaningful redress remains slim. This book examines the enormous hurdles that victims of torture face in seeking redress for the violations of their basic rights. Detainees, particularly those accused of political offenses, often find themselves trapped in incommunicado detention, their right to a lawyer denied. Prosecutors do nothing to stop torture, while the judges side with the authorities at the expense of individual rights.
Cambodia: The Justice System and Violations of Human Rights
(1992) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-53-6 / 74 pp.
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This report examines the justice system in Cambodia and makes recommendations to bring it into compliance with international human rights standards. The signing of a peace agreement in October 1991 by Cambodia’s warring factions and the introduction a United Nation’s transitional authority has generated momentum for legal reform.
Criminal Justice with Chinese Characteristics: China's Criminal Process and Violations of Human Rights
(1993) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-63-3 / 93 pp.
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In the People’s Republic of China, law remains an instrument of state repression. Fundamental concerns about human rights in China can be traced to the structure and functioning of the PCR’s criminal justice system. Institutions that are at the center of the state’s repressive apparatus – the police, the procuracy and the judiciary – have not significantly changed in the years since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989. This report examines aspects of the administration of justice in China that are crucial for the protection of fundamental human rights. It looks at the debate within the Chinese legal community on issues concerning criminal procedure and substantive criminal law in a human rights context and considers prospects for law reform in the political environment of the time.
Forced Back and Forgotten: Human Rights of Laotian Asylum Seekers in Thailand
(1989) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-25-0 / 16 pp.
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This report describes the plight of Laotian asylum seekers in Thailand – a dilemma largely ignored by the international community – and makes recommendations to enhance their legal protection.
Impunity: Prosecutions of Human Rights Violations in the Philippines
(1995) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-44-7 / 108 pp.
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Since taking office in 1986, the government of President Corazon C. Aquino repeatedly asserted its commitment to uphold human rights and announced reforms designed to assure their protection. But the government consistently failed to violators accountable. Philippine investigatory and prosecutorial agencies, military and civilian, have been ineffectual in bringing human rights violators to justice. Courts have rendered convictions for politically-motivated killings, forced disappearances and torture by government forces in only a handful of cases. Confident of impunity, Philippine soldiers, police and paramilitary personnel have committed serious abuses on a wide scale.
In the Name of Development: Human Rights and the World Bank in Indonesia
(1995) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-74-9 / 142 pp. / With the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy
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This report examines human rights violations associated with two World Bank-financed efforts in Indonesia: the Kedung Ombo Dam project in central Java and a series of family planning loans.
Inhumane Deterrence: The Treatment of Vietnamese Boat People in Hong Kong
(1989) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-26-9 / 157 pp.
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This report describes the plight of Vietnamese asylum seekers in Hong Kong and makes recommendations to enhance their legal protection.
Kampuchea: After the Worst
(1990) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-29-3 / 252 pp.
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This report was published in 1985 based on information gathered in 1984 and 1985. Though the human rights situation is not the same as it was in 1985, the report remains an important source of information on the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (renamed the State of Cambodia in 1989), Democratic Kampuchea (the Khmer Rouge) and the Khmer People’s National Liberation Front during the early 1980s.
Lawyers in China: Obstacles to Independence and the Defense of Rights
(1998) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-89-7 /
126 pp.
Introduction
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The criminal justice system in China remains rife with incidents of torture, arbitrary detention and denials of due process. Despite these obstacles, China's lawyers are starting to play an increasingly active role in encouraging reform and fostering public awareness of legal rights. China's new Lawyers Law constitutes a significant step in China's efforts to develop a more professional and independent legal profession. Lawyers in China discusses the new law, providing both a historical look at the role of lawyers in China and an in-depth look at the current state of the legal profession. The report also recommends ways in which well-informed outsiders can support internal reform efforts.
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Losing Ground: Human Rights Defenders and Counterterrorism in Thailand
(2006) / $5 / ISBN: 0-9753150-7-2 / 34 pp.
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“Since Thaksin became Prime Minister how many of us have been killed? This is government by force, not democracy. Defending our rights, we started with a small issue and began to fight, and found big men behind it.”
— Chair of a community organization in Nakhon Ratchasima province
Thailand emerged as a leader in democracy and human rights in Southeast Asia in the 1990s. But respect for human rights has lost considerable ground over the last five years. Reverting to authoritarianism and a growing disregard for human rights, the government has allowed human rights defenders to become increasingly subject to violence and harassment. Defenders under threat include grassroots activists targeted by local elites for pursuing economic and social justice, as well as those persecuted for their criticism of abuses by the state, especially in the conflict-ridden southern provinces. In the south, where a violent insurgency and the government response to it has claimed more than a thousand lives, human rights defenders play an important role in addressing detentions, torture, disappearances, and other human rights violations.
Over the last five years, Southeast Asian governments contended with a genuine threat from terrorists and insurgents in ways that often exacerbated existing conflicts and undermined respect for human rights and the rule of law. A global emphasis on security, often with insufficient regard to human rights, as well as the goodwill gained by the Thai authorities from cooperation on counterterrorism, largely insulated Thailand from criticism for its human rights violations and has encouraged authoritarian trends.
Malaysia: Assault on the Judiciary
(1989) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-27-7 / 176 pp.
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This report examines a series of events that led to the undermining of judicial independence in Malaysia. The report is based on a fact-finding mission to Malaysia in October 1988.
Out of Control: Militia Abuses in the Philippines
(1990) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-37-4 / 129 pp.
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This report details serious abuses by militia groups and vigilante groups in the Philippines under human rights law, Philippine law and governmental regulations. It also examines violations of international humanitarian law by the NPA (New People’s Army) insurgents, whose activities provide a backdrop for abuses by Philippine security forces.
 Reformasi & Resistance: Human Rights Defenders & Counterterrorism in Indonesia
(2005) $5 /ISBN 0-9753150-4-8 / 28 pp.
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President Suharto’s fall from power in 1998 ushered in a period of reformasi, or political reform. But democratization has been met with resistance from many of those in power. After September 11, 2001, rising military influence in Indonesia was reinforced by an international environment that emphasizes security concerns at the expense of rights and freedoms. These convergent forces contributed to renewed conflict in the province of Aceh, antiterrorism legislation that reversed hard-won safeguards, and continued attacks on human rights defenders.
Refuge Denied: The Protection of Vietnamese and Cambodians in Thailand and the Admission of Indochinese Refugees into the United States
(1989) $5 /ISBN 0-934143-20-X / 210 pp.
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In 1989 about 330,000 Cambodians remained in Thai border camps waiting for resettlement abroad or a political solution that would permit them to return to Cambodia. This report examines the inhumane conditions of these border camps, in which Cambodians lived in closed camps, exposed to cross-border shelling and victimized by criminals without effective redress or protection. Many were denied resettlement…never learning the reasons for such denials or being given an opportunity for effective appeal or review.
Seeking Shelter: Cambodians in Thailand
(1987) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-47-1 / 106 pp.
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This report describes the threats to the safety and well-being of the Cambodian people of the late 1980's. In the aftermath of a devastating military offensive against Cambodians opposing Vietnamese occupation, a quarter of a million Cambodians fled to Thailand. These displaced Cambodians then faced an uncertain future fraught with perils.
Summary Injustice: Military Tribunals in Burma
(1991) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-41-2 / 63 pp.
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This report examines violations of international human rights law by military tribunals in the Union of Burma. These tribunals were establishes by decree by the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council in 1989. A large but unreported number of persons have been convicted by these tribunals because of their involvement in non-violent political activity.
Vigilantes in the Philippines: A Threat to Democratic Rule
(1988) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-03-X / 198 pp.
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This report examines serious human rights violations committed by armed anti-communist civilian groups – commonly known as “vigilantes” – in the Philippines. These groups operated with military support and proliferated with the collapse of the ceasefire agreement between the Philippine Government and insurgent forces in 1987.
Wrongs and Rights: A Human Rights Analysis of China's Revised Criminal Code
(1999) $5 / ISBN 0-934143-90-0 /
71 pp.
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Extensive revisions to China's Criminal Code went into effect on October 1, 1997. The main focus of the reforms is on modernizing, rationalizing, and professionalizing the criminal justice system, with no intent to liberalize, much less to advance human rights. Some of this rationalization has the effect of protecting Chinese citizens from arbitrary abuses. In other respects, however, the revised Code gives the authorities even greater powers to criminalize activities protected under international law. This report is designed to give those outside China the factual information they need if they are to provide effective support for those in China working to bring Chinese law and practice closer to international human rights standards.
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