In a new report, APHR has documented structural flaws that prevent an expected upcoming election in Singapore from being free and fair.
Issues include the Prime Minister’s broad powers over the entire electoral process that lack any effective oversight, as well as obstacles to the opposition, including prohibitively high candidate registration costs as well as a short campaigning period.
JAKARTA – Southeast Asian lawmakers have today urged authorities to stop prosecuting and harassing those who provide food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to immediately drop all charges and investigations against them.
“It’s nothing short of outrageous that the authorities are going after people for helping out during this health crisis,” said Eva Sundari, a former Member of Parliament (MP) in Indonesia, and board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). “What the authorities are doing is criminalising solidarity at a time when it is the most needed.”
On 28 April, Malaysian lawmaker and APHR’s Chair, Charles Santiago, along with his staff, were questioned by the police for allegedly breaching the country’s movement control order while distributing groceries and vegetables to his constituents. The MP and his staff are being investigated for allegedly spreading a “disease dangerous to life” under the Penal Code and for disobeying orders under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act. Charles Santiago had received prior approval for food distribution from the Welfare Department.
In the Philippines, former Congressman Ariel Casilao, who is also an APHR member, has been charged with non-cooperation under the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and “usurpation of authority” and six other relief volunteers, with non cooperation and inciting sedition.
The group was arrested on 19 April while delivering food assistance to residents of Sitio Kalye Onse in Bulacan. According to legal documents, the volunteers had obtained permits to deliver the goods. Following their arrest the group was detained for four days at the Norzagaray Municipal Police Station until their release on bail on 22 April. Their arraignment is expected to be heard after the lockdown in Manila is lifted, which is currently scheduled until 15 May.
Casilao is a former representative from the opposition party Anakpawis, and the six volunteers are part of joint relief drives for urban and rural poor families initiated by Anakpawis party and farmer organisations. Members of the Anakpawis party, which represents trade unions and farmers, have previously faced reprisals under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
“There’s no way charging people for supporting those in the community is helping fight against COVID-19, so the only other explanation is that there’s something much more sinister at play; that this is merely an excuse for the authorities to strengthen their hold on power,” added Sundari.
“The fact that aid distribution is needed just shows the dramatic impact that lockdowns and movement restrictions can have on some of us. Instead of shutting down those who are stepping up to help, States should take swift action to ensure those in need can eat,” said Sundari.
Background:
Since the outbreak began, thousands of people have been arrested for flouting laws put in place to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. For example, nearly 30,000 individuals, including activists and those living in poverty, have been arrested for violating the quarantine measure in the Philippines. While in Malaysia, over 20,600 have been arrested thus far for breaching the movement control order.
JAKARTA – As the Philippines Senate opens the possibility for official proceedings to be conducted through the use of electronic communications due to COVID-19, lawmakers from Southeast Asia today urged the Upper House to ensure Senator Leila de Lima is able to participate in online parliamentary sessions. A vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, the outspoken Senator has been incarcerated since her arrest in February 2017 on charges related to drug trafficking.
The parliamentarians also reiterated their call on the Philippine authorities to immediately release Senator de Lima and unconditionally drop all charges against her.
On 4 May, the Senate approved Resolution 372, which paves the way for the Upper House to conduct plenary sessions and committee meetings through remote or electronic methods, including teleconferencing, during an emergency. The Senate President Sotto Vicente III however said last week that Senator de Lima will not be allowed to join the online hearings.
“The continued exclusion of Senator de Lima from Senate sessions is ridiculous. Since all Senators will be able to join parliamentary sessions from their home through online teleconferencing, there are no plausible reasons to prevent Senator Leila de Lima to do so from her prison cell,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP) and Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
“Senator de Lima has not been convicted of any offences, despite spending the last two years in prison. Her only crime has been to stand up for human rights. Denying her the possibility to join Senate sessions online is yet another attempt at silencing her and preventing her from fully exercising her mandate as a directly-elected representative,” said Santiago.
Since her detention, Senator de Lima has not been able to attend or participate in any Senate meetings. While she has been able to file, amongst others, bills, resolutions, and committee reports, these have been done through the assistance of her staff. A resolution filed by Senators Franklin Drilon and Panfilo Lacson in July 2019 to allow Senator de Lima to attend plenary sessions by way of electronic means remains pending at the Upper House.
Senator de Lima, who is an APHR member, is one of the most vocal critics of President Duterte’s deadly anti-drugs policy. Before her arrest, she was leading a Senate investigation into the President’s so-called ‘war on drugs’. While trial proceedings have begun, her cases have been marred by significant delays, including the withdrawal of at least six judges from hearing her case.
“At a time when the priority is to urgently decrease the prison population to stem COVID-19 pandemic, what is Senator de Lima still doing behind bars? When considering who to release as a matter of priority, clearly Senator de Lima and all other peaceful political and human rights activists should be prioritised,” said Santiago.
By Mu Sochua, APHR Board Member and former Cambodian MP
A 14-year-old in Kampot, Cambodia, was detained and forced by police to publicly apologize after expressing fear about the coronavirus in a Facebook message. A Siem Reap man was arrested after posting social media videos criticizing Cambodia’s lackluster coronavirus testing. Altogether, dozens of Cambodians have been arrested in recent weeks after being accused of spreading fake news about COVID-19, released only after signing apology documents. Among those still in jail are four members of the banned opposition party. Lumping together criticism with misinformation, Prime Minister Hun Sen has branded those “who spread fake news” as “terrorists.”‘
The Cambodian cases are part of a broader trend of Southeast Asian governments using the pandemic as an excuse to crack down on free speech. As the coronavirus continues to spread across the region, governments have adopted new measures, including emergency decrees, to slow the rate of infections. These efforts—while crucial to protect public health—have been accompanied by sweeping free speech restrictions under the pretext of combating the spread of false information and maintaining public order.
Many of these new regulations have been used to arrest, detain, or question hundreds of people for criticizing government handling of the crisis, or merely for sharing coronavirus-related information. Authorities have also resorted to strict measures against the press to censor and stifle independent media, confirming fears that authoritarian governments are exploiting the pandemic to advance their political interests.
In my home country, Cambodia, 12 supporters or members of my former party, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, have been arrested since the outbreak began, under spurious charges including inciting military personnel to disobedience and provocation to commit offenses. The party was dissolved under politically motivated charges in 2017, and many of its former members, including myself, are now in exile.
This worrying trend looks set to continue. Last month, Cambodia’s National Assembly passed the state of emergency law, which grants the government broad powers to “monitor, observe, and gather information from all telecommunication mediums” and control the “distribution of information that could scare the public, [cause] unrest, or that can negatively impact national security.”
Given Hun Sen’s history of rights violations and use of any means necessary to retain power, this new law is likely to become yet another tool in his playbook to silence dissent.
Neighboring countries under strongman rule, including Thailand and the Philippines, have employed similar emergency powers to restrict information related to the virus. Just two days after the emergency law was passed in the Philippines, police filed criminal complaints against a mayor and two journalists for allegedly sharing false information that a patient with the virus had died at a hospital in Cavite City, close to Manila.
Governments are increasingly targeting reporters and news providers as part of efforts to curb so-called fake news, or they are using laws that grant authorities vague powers under the guise of national security. In Malaysia, the South China Morning Post journalist Tashny Sukumaran was questioned by the police for her reporting on the raids and arrests of hundreds of migrant workers and refugees as part of government efforts to tackle the pandemic. She is being investigated for provoking a breach of peace and misusing network facilities. In Myanmar, the Ministry of Communications and Transport blocked more than 200 websites, which they claimed spread fake news, under a provision that allows the government to suspend the use of telecommunication services for the “benefit of the people.” Such laws are problematic, as they confer extensive powers to states to determine what is true or false, as well as the type of information that can be published and accessed by the public.
Wider efforts in the region to tackle misinformation about the virus also saw Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha warn that the government could suspend or edit news that is “untrue,” and Malaysian authorities have instructed the police and the Communications and Multimedia Commission to take “stern action” against online media that supposedly misreport the news.
There is no doubt that misinformation surrounding the coronavirus can be dangerous—leading, for instance, to false treatments or the scapegoating of vulnerable populations. But governments in Southeast Asia are resorting to disproportionate methods to fight misinformation by censoring both legitimate information and valid criticisms that are vital to the promotion of transparency and accountability.
Journalists in the region are already operating in hostile environments, and governments’ heavy-handed approach will make reporting more difficult and exacerbate the decline of free speech and independent media.
Beyond reporters, anyone who dares to speak on social media about COVID-19 is increasingly at risk of arrest—as the Cambodian cases demonstrate. In Thailand, a street artist was arrested and charged with causing damage to Bangkok’s main airport after posting on Facebook about the absence of coronavirus screenings there. Meanwhile, an Indonesian man who criticized President Joko Widodo on social media for his response to the virus was slapped with charges relating to defamation and inciting racial hatred.
Reportedly, more than 600 Facebook users in Vietnam have been hauled in by the police for questioning, while hundreds more in Malaysia are being investigated for disseminating supposed fake news. A Malaysian lawmaker, Fuziah Salleh, has also been charged for allegedly causing “fear or alarm to the public” for a video posted on her Facebook page that appeared to show crowded scenes at a border crossing—which the police said was an old video. While governments have the responsibility to counter misinformation, they should never resort to criminal prosecution or heavy censorship. This could stifle open communication and heavily restrict the right to freedom of expression, important to curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Instead, authorities should adopt less intrusive methods, such as supporting digital literacy and proactively disclosing information relating to COVID-19.
Now more than ever, citizens must remain vigilant and continue to urge their governments to uphold human rights during this pandemic. Even where parliaments are in recess, or where there is no longer an opposition, lawmakers past and present can use their influence to call out rights violations and support civil society and the media—which also play crucial roles in the fight against COVID-19.
While freedom of expression is not absolute and restrictions are warranted during crises, our leaders should be reminded that measures taken must remain necessary and proportionate to containing the virus. They should also not quash dissent or serve other aims. Although the spread of misinformation can undermine health efforts, ensuring an enabling environment for freedom of expression—including an independent media—will safeguard the free flow of information that is vital in tackling the pandemic, and which can effectively address misinformation.
Any curtailment of rights that can be implemented for an indefinite period must be closely monitored to prevent the deepening of human rights violations beyond COVID-19.
This article originally appeared in Foreign Policy.
By Kunthida Rungruengkiat, APHR member and former Thai MP
Increased prevalence of typhoons caused by heightened sea temperatures. Whole villages forced to move because of rising sea levels. Devastating and prolonged heat waves that have killed hundreds, and led to chronic water shortages.
For years, the planet has been warning us about an upcoming climate change crisis, and the disastrous impact it will have on our lives. Yet, these have largely fallen on deaf ears.
Despite seemingly endless negotiations, declarations, summits and plans, the world’s temperature is already one degree Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, and is on track for a 3.2°C increase by 2100. This is more than double the 1.5°C degree limit recommended by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Until now, there has always been a convenient reason to dismiss these concerns: it is not immediate, will slow economic growth, or is too much of an inconvenience for the large investments safely secured in fossil fuel industries. The imaginary catastrophe could wait.
But the excuses don’t wash anymore. The coronavirus crisis has suddenly made the term “catastrophe” much more tangible: hospitals inundated and unprepared, medical staff dying from a lack of protective equipment, widespread panic buying, governments reverting to drastic measures such as lockdowns and emergency powers and, to top it off, an unprecedented economic downturn.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought immediately into focus the havoc that climate change will create if we don’t tackle it immediately.
Climate change will impact health systems in a similar way Covid-19 has. Environmental degradation and rising temperatures will increase the occurrence of deadly diseases such as coronaviruses, malaria, cholera and dengue fever. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that a global temperature rise of 2-3°C will increase the number of people at risk of malaria by “several hundred million”, putting greater strain on our healthcare systems.
Human-driven development has contributed to the coronavirus pandemic.
Research shows that the number of emerging infectious diseases, such as the coronavirus known as Covid-19, has grown considerably since the 1940s. Human invasion of wildlife habitats through increased deforestation and urbanisation has resulted in us living increasingly close to species carrying viruses that could be fatal to us.When we cut down forests, bats for example don’t disappear, they live in our gardens instead, increasing the risk of infections. Environmental destruction and climate change are bringing with them promises of future pandemics.
There is another striking similarity between the coronavirus and climate change crises – for years, experts have been warning that the next big pandemic was right around the corner. On multiple occasions they raised the alarm, describing the threat of a pandemic that could kill tens of millions around the world.
Yet governments didn’t listen. They didn’t act to secure their national emergency health stocks in a globalised supply chain that weakens during times of crisis, or ensure their health systems and hospitals were adequately funded and prepared. Instead, all we heard were calls for the need to save money and to think of the economic impacts. This all seems rather ironic now that we know what the crisis has done to the global economy.
The same approach is happening when it comes to climate change; governments are not listening. Too worried about the impact divesting from fossil fuels could have on the economy, they are allowing a crisis that will lead to the next economic recession and cause millions of deaths, to get worse and worse.
They must take action. Governments only have until the UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, now delayed until 2021, to turn things around and submit ambitious national climate change action plans (called Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) to ensure the world does not warm beyond 1.5°C.
The submission of the plans is part of countries’ obligations under the Paris Agreement, and lays out the measures governments will implement to limit the global rise in temperature. Yet currently, these are largely unsatisfactory and are putting us on track for catastrophic global warming.
Still, some nations are starting to answer the call for increasing their commitments. More than 100 countries have stated their intention to enhance the targets of their NDCs by COP26. This includes countries such as Morocco, Kenya and Bhutan that are already showing ambition in their climate plans, and have committed to doing even more.
Yet these 100 or so nations only represent 15% of emissions, as top polluting countries, or blocs, such as the United States, China, Japan and the European Union are showing insufficient ambition, and few signs of changing course.
Here in Southeast Asia, government commitments have been nothing short of disappointing. According to the Climate Action Tracker, Indonesia and Singapore’s plans are highly insufficient and Vietnam’s is deemed “critically insufficient” to meet the Paris Agreement goal. Another report identifies the action plans of all Southeast Asian countries to be “insufficient”.
In fact, it has been the smaller countries that have offered the most promise. So far, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Timor-Leste have pledged to enhance the ambitions of their plans. With this in mind, what will the big players do, not only here in Southeast Asia, but globally? Step up and show they’ve learned from the coronavirus crisis and submit enhanced climate actions plans by the COP26? Or continue as they have done, deal with crisis after crisis, lose lives and never anticipate the next catastrophe?Let’s make sure that for all our sakes, they choose the first option.
This article originally appeared in Southeast Asia Globe.
JAKARTA – On International Earth Day, and as the coronavirus epidemic rages on in Southeast Asia, and the rest of the world, regional MPs are today warning of the need to combat climate change and environmental destruction in order to lower the risk of future health emergencies.
“The coronavirus pandemic we are currently facing teaches us an important lesson; that we must anticipate and address crises before they are upon us, and panic sets in,” said Walden Bello, a former Philippines Member of Parliament (MP) and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). “The good news is that we can reduce the risk of future epidemics by addressing climate change and deforestation. To do that, we need ASEAN governments to clearly and officially commit to submitting more ambitious climate action plans before COP26 in 2021.”
Research shows that the number of emerging infectious diseases, such as the coronavirus known as COVID-19, has grown considerably since the 1940s. Deforestation and urbanisation, by increasing our proximity to wildlife, have contributed to this alarming escalation. Yet, Southeast Asian governments have provided a worrying lack of protective measures against deforestation, ecosystem disruption and biodiversity loss in the region, APHR said.
“Evidence shows that deforestation and urbanisation increase our risk of catching infectious diseases like coronavirus. Southeast Asia’s staggering rate of deforestation, with more than 32 million hectares of forest lost since 1990, puts the region especially at risk,” said Sarah Elago, a Philippines MP and APHR member. “Our governments have to act swiftly against deforestation by increasing protected areas and environmental safeguards against investment projects if we want to reduce the risk of reliving covid19-like epidemics,”
Climate change also contributes to the increased risk of epidemics in the region, including malaria, cholera and dengue fever. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a global temperature rise of between two and three degrees Celsius will increase the number of people at risk of malaria “by several hundred million”, putting greater strains on healthcare systems across the region.
Despite this, Southeast Asian countries are doing little to tackle climate change.
Their climate action plans, also known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), submitted as part of the Paris Agreement are considered insufficient by the scientific community. According to the Climate Action Tracker, Indonesia and Singapore’s climate action plans are highly insufficient and Vietnam’s is deemed “critically insufficient” to meet the Paris Agreement goal.
And yet, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and many others refuse to submit more ambitious plans. We need to turn this situation around and make ASEAN governments increase the ambition of their climate action plans by the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in the United Kingdom in 2021 in order to tackle this massive threat to our right to health and life that is climate changes, said APHR.
“APHR is calling on governments in Southeast Asia to commit to improving their commitments to tackling climate change ahead of COP 26. So far, only Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Timor-Leste have done so. For the health and survival of us all, other nations must follow their lead.” said Walden Bello.