Responding to news that the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease-and-desist order effectively stopping the operations of ABS-CBN, one of the country’s largest broadcast media companies, Amnesty International Philippines Section Director Butch Olano said:

Ever since the 2014 coup d’état by the NCPO, there have been relentless efforts to silence critics. Human rights defenders, activists, journalists, opposition politicians, and online users have faced ‘lawfare’ where the government brought criminal charges against them to stop criticism. 

 Several fishing trawlers carrying hundreds of women, men and children – believed to be Rohingya – are currently stranded at sea, after being pushed away by governments invoking COVID-19 pandemic related restrictions to deny them permission to disembark. Amnesty International urges governments in the region to work together and take immediate action to protect people whose lives are at risk. Any national and regional measures must meet governments’ responsibilities under international law and respect the human rights of migrants and asylum seekers. Governments must also adopt measures to address the root causes of the current situation.

The Thai authorities are prosecuting social media users who criticize the government and monarchy in a systematic campaign to crush dissent which is being exacerbated by new COVID-19 restrictions, Amnesty International said in a new briefing released today.

Saudi Arabia executed a record number of people in 2019, despite an overall decline in executions worldwide, Amnesty International said in its 2019 global review of the death penalty published today. The Saudi authorities put 184 people to death last year, the highest number Amnesty has ever recorded in a single year in the country. 

With much of the world on lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, many of us are relying on our phones, laptops and other devices to stay connected. While cyber-surveillance is a longstanding threat to human rights defenders and others, this new normal means options for using physical security alternatives (like simply communicating sensitive information in person rather than online) are seriously diminished. This raises the human rights stakes. It can mean everyone has more exposure to cyber-attacks and scammers who are seeking to exploit the outbreak. Here are six top tips on how to keep safe online.

Southeast Asian governments must immediately launch search and rescue operations for likely hundreds of Rohingya languishing at sea, amid mounting reports of vessels attempting dangerous trips in search of safety, said Amnesty International today. 

The family of Pholachi “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, a Karen human rights defender, last saw him six years ago. A few days later on 17 April 2014, he disappeared o after being taken into state custody by National Park officials in Kaeng Krachan National Park.

People across the world are currently facing an unprecedented global health emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19.  Technology can and should play an important role during this effort to save lives, including by spreading public health messages and increasing access to health care. However, in the name of combatting the disease, some governments are rushing to expand their use of surveillance technologies to track individuals and even entire populations.

Just over four years since the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government came to power, human rights defenders and activists continue to be arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned for peacefully exercising their human rights. This briefing profiles 16 recent cases of such politically motivated arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment in Myanmar. As the current administration comes towards the end of its term and the country gears up for general elections in late 2020, it is vital that the authorities take the opportunity to close the door on politically motivated arrest and imprisonment.

All sides in Thailand’s widening political conflict should immediately commit to ending human rights abuses, Amnesty International said today. Amnesty International welcomes the Thai government’s pledge to investigate promptly, effectively, and impartially the recent violence, and urges it to provide accountability for any violations by security forces as well as abuses by violent protesters.

The Malaysian authorities should ensure that the 202 Rohingya people found adrift off the country’s coast are spared the risk of mass infection in detention facilities, said Amnesty International Malaysia today.