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Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 1 Feb 2023
    • Myanmar
    • Australia
    • Human rights

    Australia’s Myanmar sanctions: now for the real decisions

    Susannah Patton
    Two years after the coup, there are still many reasons why Canberra is stepping cautiously with its punitive measures.
  • 15 Nov 2022
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights
    • Migration
    • United Nations

    Refugees may become victims of Malaysia’s electoral politics

    Max Walden
    The plight of Myanmar Rohingyas exposes Southeast Asia’s disjointed policies and fragile human rights protections.
  • 14 Oct 2022
    • Afghanistan
    • Pakistan
    • Terrorism
    • Human rights

    Enemies of education are back in Malala’s hometown? 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Fresh attacks by the Pakistani Taliban mark an alarming regression in the decade-long progress made in the region.
  • 29 Sep 2022
    • Human rights
    • Papua New Guinea

    Ending capital punishment for good in Papua New Guinea

    Moses Sakai
    In PNG’s history, the death penalty has now been abolished twice. The country can take a step to see it never returns.
  • 20 Sep 2022
    • Bangladesh
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights
    • International law

    The Rohingya issue requires a regional solution

    David Brewster
    Leaving close to a million people in limbo poses a danger not only for the refugees but to regional peace.
  • 9 Sep 2022
    • China
    • Human rights
    • United Nations

    Beijing three-step: China denies, deflects and dissembles on Xinjiang

    Michael Clarke
    The UN human rights report has exposed China’s hollow propaganda claims – but won’t stop them.
  • 2 Sep 2022
    • China
    • Human rights
    • United Nations

    A tragedy in Xinjiang, a tragedy for the UN

    Mercedes Page
    A long-delayed report finding human rights abuses – though damning – is a sign of China’s level of influence at the United Nations.
  • 9 Aug 2022
    • Philippines
    • Human rights

    ICC pushes probe on the Philippines’ drug war

    Andrea Chloe Wong
    President Marcos’ decision not to participate in an international investigation is a setback for human rights.
  • 2 Aug 2022
    • Myanmar
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations
    • Human rights

    ASEAN governments need to act on Myanmar

    Elaine Pearson
    The execution of four opposition activists by the junta needs urgent action from governments of all stripes.
  • 25 Jul 2022
    • Cambodia
    • Human rights

    Taking on Cambodia’s “Lady Liberty”

    JJ Rose
    An American human rights lawyer sentenced to six years in a Phnom Penh prison may cause Hun Sen no end of trouble.
  • 17 Jun 2022
    • United Kingdom
    • International law
    • Human rights

    The British Indian Ocean Territory and the rules-based order

    Samuel Bashfield , Elena Katselli Proukaki
    In claiming sovereignty over Chagos, London privileges Western interests. And breaks international law.
  • 2 Jun 2022
    • Asia
    • Global Issues
    • Diplomacy
    • Australia
    • Human rights

    Knowledge is power: A small investment for a big return

    Mubashar Hasan
    Australia should see that training rights advocates across the region can be an effective means to bolster democracy.
  • 27 May 2022
    • India
    • Singapore
    • Human rights
    • Multiculturalism

    A tale of two countries: interpreting The Kashmir Files

    Pravin Prakash , Antara Chakraborthy
    Once famed for their secular constitutions, India and Singapore have taken different tacks on religious vilification.
  • 6 May 2022
    • Asylum Seekers
    • Afghanistan War
    • Australian immigration
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights

    Australia can stand up for the Afghan people, and the time is now

    Ahmad Shuja Jamal
    Canberra should signal to the world that we’re all better off in a community of nations where human dignity matters.
  • 3 May 2022
    • China
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights

    Shanghai lockdown prompts collective action

    Jennifer Hsu
    China’s citizens are finding increasingly creative ways to make their voices heard during the pandemic.
  • 20 Apr 2022
    • War Crimes
    • Russia
    • Human rights
    • International law
    • Ukraine

    The duty to prevent genocide in Ukraine

    Juliette McIntyre , Dominique Fraser
    A serious risk of Russia committing genocide imposes legal obligations for states to do what they can to stop it.
  • 6 Apr 2022
    • United Nations
    • China
    • Human rights

    The mysterious missing UN report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang

    Mercedes Page
    Months of stalling over the release of a long-completed investigation raises suspicions about China’s pressure tactics.
  • 25 Mar 2022
    • Asean
    • Australia and Asia
    • Human rights

    What counts for victims of trafficking?

    Cate Sumner
    Sharing data is key to combatting human rights abuses against vulnerable groups from the ASEAN region.
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • United Nations
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Young feminist leadership is the future of peacebuilding

    Helen Berents , Erika Yague , Shadi Rouhshahbaz
    Feminist leadership coupled with the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda envisions a more just and inclusive peace.
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • United Nations
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping: Connecting the dots

    Jasmine Westendorf
    The abuse of women and children must be urgently addressed as a key issue in the hierarchy of harm.
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • Technology
    • Human rights

    Women’s participation in peace mediation

    Outi Donovan
    Zoom diplomacy has become a vital conflict resolution tool. But where are all the women?
  • 8 Mar 2022
    • Australia
    • Russia
    • Human rights
    • Ukraine

    The Ukraine crisis, feminism and Australia’s foreign policy

    Joanna Pradela
    There’s a reason why gender inequality and state conflict go hand in hand, a denial of which erodes democracy. 
  • 4 Mar 2022
    • Migration
    • Russia
    • European Union
    • Human rights
    • Ukraine

    Europe triggers “temporary protection” for Ukraine war refugees

    Jane McAdam
    Those fleeing will not be forced into the cumbersome and complicated process that normally awaits those seeking asylum.
  • 23 Feb 2022
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights
    • International law

    It’s a mistake to allow Myanmar’s junta to appear in Rohingya case

    Adam Simpson , Juliette McIntyre
    Accepting military representatives in the genocide defence serves to lend the coup an undeserved legitimacy.
  • 10 Feb 2022
    • Australia
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights

    Will Australia use its amended sanctions act against Myanmar?

    Jessica Collins
    Coordinated international pressure on the coup leaders is urgently needed to stave off a growing humanitarian crisis.
  • 1 Feb 2022
    • United Nations
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights

    Oslo talks expose the West’s Taliban dilemma 

    Syed Fazl-e-Haider
    Trusting the fundamentalists to deliver aid would mean ignoring a record of past promises to respect rights.
  • 12 Jan 2022
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Human rights

    The power of mercy and the death penalty in PNG

    Moses Sakai
    The country’s capital punishment laws need a reset, but there are better alternatives than clemency.
  • 15 Nov 2021
    • Global Economic Governance
    • Human rights
    • Identities

    Framing globalisation

    Anthea Roberts , Nicolas Lamp
    How governments and policymakers address global opportunities and threats is all down to perspective.
  • 24 Sep 2021
    • Human rights

    Afghanistan: The Hazara dread

    Sitarah Mohammadi , Sajjad Askary
    What the Taliban takeover means for one of the most persecuted peoples in the world.
  • 21 Sep 2021
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights

    Myanmar’s extreme Buddhist nationalists

    Amresh Lavan Gunasingham
    The release of hard-line Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu bodes ill for the rights of the country's religious minorities.
  • 17 Aug 2021
    • Afghanistan War
    • Afghanistan
    • Migration
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    What to do after the Taliban take-over

    Susanne Schmeidl
    The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility.
  • 12 Aug 2021
    • Syria
    • Human rights
    • International law

    Syria: The consequences of intellectual failure and moral neglect

    Bob Bowker
    No Western government should abide policy goals that in practice are pursued via collective punishment of Syrian people.
  • 15 Jun 2021
    • China
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Beijing could easily encourage people to have more children, but won’t

    Yaqiu Wang
    However China frames its population policy, birth limits fundamentally infringe on women’s reproductive rights.
  • 7 Jun 2021
    • Indonesia
    • Technology
    • Human rights

    The authoritarian threat of Indonesia’s latest internet bill

    Eduard Lazarus
    Pending legislation would require online service providers to remove or block content by government demand.
  • 2 Jun 2021
    • War Crimes
    • United Nations
    • Human rights

    R2P: An idea whose time never comes

    Catherine Renshaw
    The doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect was meant to stop atrocities. Instead, it has become another empty mantra.
  • 1 Jun 2021
    • Technology
    • Human rights

    Gab’s gift to the far right

    Jordan McSwiney , Greta Jasser , Ed Pertwee
    Social media giants may be trying to squelch hate speech and conspiracy mongering, but alt-tech offers them safe space.
  • 25 May 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • Indonesia
    • Human rights
    • Papua New Guinea

    PNG can’t turn a blind eye to the conflict next door

    Leanne Jorari
    As popular support for West Papua grows more vocal, PNG officials walk a diplomatic tightrope.
  • 12 May 2021
    • Australian Diplomacy
    • Timor-Leste
    • Indonesia
    • Human rights

    Andrew Peacock’s Timor legacy

    Peter Job
    Remembered as a principled defender of human rights, the late foreign minister took a different tack with Suharto.
  • 29 Apr 2021
    • China
    • Human rights

    Some reflections on the “anonymous Xinjiang paper”

    Michael Clarke
    We should debate those we disagree with. But engagement must be based on a good faith assessment of evidence.
  • 29 Apr 2021
    • United Nations
    • Myanmar
    • Human rights

    Response to Myanmar coup shows need for UN reform

    Rebecca Barber
    Veto power on the Security Council too often obstructs action in the face of atrocities. Here are some ways around it.
  • 26 Apr 2021
    • Diplomacy
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Asean
    • Myanmar
    • Indonesia
    • Southeast Asia
    • Human rights

    Indonesia raises ASEAN’s bar on Myanmar

    Ben Bland
    President Joko Widodo had nothing to gain domestically in calling a special summit. But in not failing, he succeeded.
  • 15 Apr 2021
    • United Nations
    • Thailand
    • Human rights

    Thailand’s sweeping associations law courts disaster

    Michael Altman-Lupu  , Matthew Bugher
    Draft legislation to strictly control all kinds of groups could crush civil society and drive out foreign organisations.
  • 8 Apr 2021
    • Japan
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan

    Akimoto Daisuke
    A court ruling has thrown down the challenge to Japanese politicians to ensure equality before the law.
  • 7 Apr 2021
    • Technology
    • Singapore
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights

    In Singapore, Covid vs privacy is no contest

    Kirsten Han
    The pandemic has shown how easily most people accept surveillance, and the government’s enthusiasm for new forms of it.
  • 2 Apr 2021
    • Trade
    • China
    • Human rights

    With Xinjiang cotton, Beijing is taking on the world

    Holmes Chan , Kris Cheng
    The latest “us-versus-them” drama shows China sees little chance of mending ties with the West, for now at least.
  • 25 Mar 2021
    • Afghanistan
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Afghanistan: When a song is not just a song

    Susanne Schmeidl , Gillian Howell , Jawed Nader
    A move to prohibit girls singing was met with a big backlash on social media – a sign of the times, old and new.
  • 25 Mar 2021
    • Coronavirus
    • Human rights
    • Sex and Gender

    Female genital mutilation is still a risk – especially in a pandemic

    Kit Catterson
    Could lockdowns and travel restrictions have led the practice of female genital mutilation to increase in Australia?
  • 11 Mar 2021
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Human rights
    • International law

    When will PNG establish a National Human Rights Commission?

    Moses Sakai
    Papua New Guinea has launched a commission to fight corruption. Now it needs to do the same to protect human rights.
  • 22 Feb 2021
    • Indonesia
    • Human rights

    Are Indonesia’s “rubber” laws limiting freedom of speech?

    Jim Nolan
    Jokowi’s call for “improved supervision” of criminal defamation laws won’t lead the media to stop the presses just yet.
  • 15 Feb 2021
    • Defence & Security
    • United States
    • US Navy
    • United Nations
    • United Kingdom
    • Africa
    • Human rights

    The power of example: America’s presence in Diego Garcia

    Blake Herzinger
    US claims to upholding the rules-based order don’t square with its silence on Mauritian sovereignty in the Chagos.
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