By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

HANOI, Vietnam – The Vietnamese government is receiving international criticism for its human rights offenses. According to a study which measures global levels of human rights offenses, Vietnam is considered one of the world’s most authoritarian police states. Activists are concerned that too little attention is paid to the human rights abuses in Vietnam, despite the fact that its neighboring states are often criticized for their offenses.

One major human rights offense propagated by the Vietnamese government is the imprisonment of anyone voicing political opposition to the communist state. Amnesty International reports that Vietnam detained 91 prisoners for their political beliefs in 2016, eight of which were journalists.

Amnesty International has also called attention to Vietnam’s execution rate, as it is the third largest executioner over the last three years. The government executed 429 people between August 2013 and June 2016, the human rights organization reported. The high death toll raises questions about the victim’s cases, legal proceedings, as well as the nature of their crimes. The government, however, has yet to release answers to such probes.

Vietnam is a communist country, so the government is able to control much of society, culture, and political philosophy. Recently, citizens have begun to act out in protest against the government and in favor of more rights and liberties. Villagers in a Hanoi suburb are holding twelve police officers and more than a dozen others hostage over a land dispute. The government attempted to seize land for official use, but villagers were unhappy with the stipend they were paid in turn. Activists are applauding the effort and encourage more to speak out against oppressive state action.

For more information, please see:

The Diplomat – Vietnam’s Quiet Human Rights Crisis – 17 April, 2017

Foreign Policy – This Village In Vietnam Is Holding A Dozen Police Officers Hostage – 17 April, 2017 

Asian Correspondent – Vietnam’s ‘conveyer belt of executions’ condemned by human rights watchdog – 11 April, 2017 

Radio Free Asia – Detained Vietnamese Human Rights Attorney to Receive Award For His Work – 4 April, 2017

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

Human Rights watch has called on the Indonesian government to immediately and unconditionally release two men detained in Aceh province under a local ordinance that criminalizes homosexuality. On March 28, 2017, unidentified vigilantes forcibly entered a home and brought two men therein to the police on allegations of homosexual relations. The two men have been detained under Islamic Sharia law in Banda Aceh, the capital of the province.

The chief investigator at the facility indicated that both men have confessed to being gay and have been detained for sentencing. Under Islamic Criminal Code, the two men face up to 100 lashes for their behavior. This form of punishment constitutes torture under international human rights law.

Aceh’s Sharia law has been vehemently enforced, and the province’s police have previously detained lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people. In October 2015, Sharia police arrested two teenage girls on suspicion of being lesbians for embracing in public. Aceh’s parliament has gradually adopted stringent Sharia-inspired ordinances that criminalize activity like a woman’s failure to wear a hijab, gambling, alcohol, and extramarital sexual relations, all of which can be legally enforced against non-Muslims.

Aceh is the only one of Indonesia’s 34 provinces that may adopt bylaws derived from Sharia law. Under Indonesian federal law, the national home affairs minister has the authority to review and repeal such local bylaws. However, in June 2016, the Minister backtracked on his announced commitment to abolish any forms of Sharia law in the county.

Though international media and human rights organizations are speaking out against the government on this issue, Indonesian officials have yet to act on the matter.

For more information, please see:

Human Rights Watch – Indonesia: Release Gay Men at Risk of Torture – 9 April, 2017

ABC News – 2 men in Indonesia’s Aceh province face caning for gay sex – 8 April, 2017

The Guardian – Indonesia: gay men facing 100 lashes for having sex – 11 April, 2017

Deutsche Welle – Two men may get 100 lashes after gay sex in Indonesia – 8 April, 2017 

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan has joined Hong Kong as one of the first Asian country to outlaw the sale of dog and cat meat for human consumption. Parliament passed legislation on April 11 to outlaw the consumption, purchase, and possession of dog and cat meat. The fine for violating the law can get as steep at 8,170 U.S. dollars.

The legislation is a direct response to the growing social pressure calling for improvements in animal welfare and increased protections against animal cruelty. The new legislation includes a provision raising the penalty for killing or abusing animals to a maximum of two years in jail and a fine of NT$2 million in Taiwanese currency.

Similar legislation had already been passed in Taiwan in 2001, which like the new legislation, prohibited the slaughter of pets and the sale of that meat. The 2001 legislation, however, failed to include a penalty for violations of the law. The new law includes strict provisions on the care and treatment of animals, as well as minimum and maximum fines and jail sentences for those found guilty of violating the law.

Rights activists are thrilled at the new measure, calling the new legislation a momentous step in the right direction for ensuring stronger animal protections. In the past, these activists argue, legislation has been too lenient on individuals accused of animal cruelty. The new law aligns to a greater global social movement for increased animal rights and protections. However, some activists warn that this measure is not enough to ensure the safety and well-being of other animals, as the legislation applies strictly to cats and dogs.

For more information, please see:

The China Post – Taiwan becomes first country in Asia to ban eating of cat and dog meat – 11 April, 2017

PRI – Taiwan bans eating dogs and cats but the meat trade is still big business in Asia – 12 April, 2017

Hong Kong Free Press – Taiwan bans the consumption of cat and dog meat – 11 April, 2017

BBC – Taiwan bans slaughter of cats and dogs for human consumption – 11 April, 2017

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BANGKOK, Thailand – The controversy surrounding the death of teenage activist Chaiyaphum Pasae, who was shot and killed by Thai soldiers during a drug raid, continues to grow. Conflicting accounts of what happened leading up to Pasae’s death are adding to the uproar warning of intimidation and manipulation by Thailand’s military.

Accoring to the military, Pasae was travelling in a car when he was stopped at a routine checkpoint. While the car was being searched for drugs, the military says, Pasae ran from the scene and into a nearby jungle. He was about to throw a hand grenade when one soldier intervened and shot Pasae in self defense. Eye witnesses, however, report a very different unfolding of events. Eye witnesses are claiming that the group of soldiers physically assaulted Pasae at the checkpoint, and as he attempted to escape, he was shot by one of the soldiers.

Human rights organizations have long warned of the lack of protections for activists in Thailand. The United Nations warned that groups like human rights defenders, women, and other vulnerable groups are most susceptible to such abuses. The UN report notes that hundreds of individuals have been jailed since the 2014 military coup for exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly.

In early March, the Thai military took a small but significant step in ending government intimidation by dropping frivolous defamation suits against three prominent activists. In 2016, rights lawyers Somchai Homlaor, Pornpen Khongkachonkie, and Anchana Heemmina published a report citing 54 cases of alleged military abuse and torture of prisoners in military custody. The Thai Internal Security Operations Command responded by filing a criminal complaint against the lawyers, accusing them of defamation and breaches of the Computer Crimes Act.

Thailand has a long way to go when ensuring the equal protection of human rights, and human rights organizations will continue to keep an eye on the government and its actions.

For more information, please see:

Asian Correspondent – Thailand: Pressure grows for transparency in probe on teen activist’s death – 31 March, 2017

Asian Correspondent – Activists, women and ethnic minorities lack protection in Thailand – UN – 29 March, 2017

VOA News – Activists Welcome Thai Decision to Drop Charges Against Rights Report Author – 8 March, 2017

Human Rights Watch – Thailand: Defamation Cases Dropped Against Activists – 7 March, 2017

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

TOKYO, Japan – Ken Kato, director of Human Rights in Asia and a member of International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea, has made allegations that a scientist with ties to North Korea is working for a Japanese University. More specifically, the scientist is working with technology required to achieve miniaturization of nuclear warheads.

Paragraph 17 of UN Resolution 2270, legislation meant to ban specialized nuclear and missile-related teaching or training currently applies only to individuals who identify as DPRK nationals. Under the current regulation, Kato argues, North Koreans living in Japan who sympathize with the North Korean regime are exempt from the ban.

Kato has addressed the UN Security Council on the matter, warning of North Korean “nuclear spies” operating in Japan. Kato singled out an assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Research Reactor Institute. Dr. Pyeon Cheol-ho is “closely linked to the North Korean regime” and received “grants from the Kim Man Yu Science Foundation for research on nuclear testing in 1997 and 1999,” according to experts speaking to Japanese media.

North Korea’s nuclear agenda is not a new threat to international security. Japan recently launched a surveillance satellite meant to keep an eye on North Korea’s nuclear development program. Japan’s Radar 5 was brought into orbit atop the H-IIA rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center on March 17. The new satellite is meant to replace an existing surveillance satellite, nearing the end of its time in commission.

Increasingly, international cooperation is crucial to monitoring the development of North Korea’s nuclear missile program.

For more information, please see:

Deutsche Welle – Are ‘nuclear spies’ in Japan providing Pyongyang with weapons technology? – 4 April, 2017

The Japan Times – Japan launches new spy satellite to keep eye on North Korea – 17 March, 2017

NASA – Japanese H-IIA rocket launches latest IGS spy satellite – 16 March, 2017

International Business Times – Eye in the sky: Japan launches spy satellite to watch North Korea amid rising nuclear threat – 18 march, 2017