Courage Is a Collective Act: Reflections from Timor-Leste Pride 2026 Published: 27 July 2026 Article On July 11, 2026, hundreds marched through the streets of Dili under the theme "Courage." What started a decade ago as a modest community initiative has transformed into one of Timor-Leste’s most visible celebrations of dignity, equality, and democratic freedom. Natalino Guterres
Q & A with H.E. Edmund Bon Tai Soon on Post-adoption of the ASEAN Declaration on Environmental Rights Published: 20 November 2025 Article “We should use this declaration as it is, a commitment by 11 member states of ASEAN including Timor-Leste after its official admission in October 2025. This declaration is our regional standard. As a next step, we have to do a gap analysis to make sure what we say on paper will become a reality.” Daniel Abunales, Tipakson Manpati
Breaking Silence Published: 22 July 2025 Article In Malaysia, where LGBTIQA+ identities are often pushed into the shadows, speaking out is an act of defiance, pride is not just a celebration - it is a quiet act of resistance. Breaking Silence is a powerful reflection on survival, resistance, and the quiet resistance of community. Through personal reflections and cultural critique, Mitch Yusof blends truth and history into a call for justice - and a future where no one has to hide to be safe. Mitch Yusof
Regional Human Rights Ecosystem: Next Agenda for ASEAN After 15 Years of AICHR Published: 23 October 2024 Article Since its establishment in 2009 as part of the ASEAN Regionalism Framework, the AICHR has played a crucial role in advancing human rights in the region. Despite facing criticism, it has withstood significant challenges in the region, including silence of the ASEAN member states on pressing issues such as the Philippines’ “war on drugs” in 2017 and the ongoing crisis in Myanmar and the overall human rights ecosystem in the region. Yuyun Wahyuningrum
The ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue: Three Things to Watch Out For Published: 5 September 2024 Article The ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue offers opportunities for Member States to be more transparent and frank in their discussions of human rights – as the key avenue for making stronger progress through normalizing talk of human rights and addressing issues. Umavathni Vathanaganthan, Edmund Bon
Connecting Voices: Southeast Asia’s Role in Shaping the Indo-Pacific Published: 28 August 2024 Article With the changing geopolitical landscape, the Indo-Pacific Region is already beset with ongoing territorial disputes, security concerns, and democratic challenges. Southeast Asia, or ASEAN, is positioned at the heart of the Indo-Pacific.This article focuses on the role of state leadership and the non-state actors in forging a balanced and inclusive regional order as well as a more equitable and resilient Indo-Pacific region. Khoo Ying Hooi
Reflecting Human Rights and Peace in Timor-Leste as an ‘Outsider’ Published: 12 July 2021 Opinion I made my first trip to Timor-Leste in 2013. At that time, I must confess I had limited knowledge about the country. In contrast with most scholars, I did not learn the country from books; instead, I started to learn about Timorese politics from the lens of human rights and peace by learning its culture and through the stories of the people I met informally. Khoo Ying Hooi
On Migrant Workers in Singapore Published: 4 August 2020 Opinion When news about the Coronavirus spreading rapidly in the migrant worker dormitories was reported in the media in early April 2020, it prompted a huge outcry from many Singaporeans. The mainstream media ran reports about workers living in conditions which were unsanitary and cramped. Jolovan Wham
The Future is now! On the relevance of the Beijing Platform for Action today Published: 11 March 2020 Comment Equal power for women, a life with less violence and more justice are the goals that were set 25 years ago at the 4th World Conference on Women and in the Beijing Platform for Action. So far, gender equality has never been achieved. Barbara Unmüßig
Broader Legal Horizon for Kendeng Communities’ Campaigns for Environmental Rights Published: 20 February 2020 Analysis This article offers the choices for local communities in the Kendeng Mountain range in Central Java Indonesia to expand their campaign to regain their environmental rights based on experiences from other communities in the world. Yanuar Sumarlan
Human Rights After Seventy Years: The View from the South Published: 11 September 2018 Article Seventy years after the adoption of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and twenty-five years of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programmes of Action (VDPA), human rights are found in country’s constitutions and also incorporated in regional instruments. However, there is no issue as heated as the universality character of human rights. Yuyun Wahyuningrum
Messages in the Social Media Bottle Published: 27 July 2018 Article In the Southeast Asian region, the Philippines tops the list as the highest in terms of remittances from their exported labor. In 2015, the country received more than US$30 billion in remittances — which makes it the third highest in the entire world. While many of the emerging economies as well as industrialized nations rely on these remittances and foreign workers, many stories filter out from certain nations of exploitation and abuse inflicted upon these migrant workers. Jose Santos P. Ardivilla
Natural resource struggles: Shrinking spaces for civil society Published: 8 December 2017 Study Governments and corporations are driving the demand for water, land and organic resources of all kinds as never before. Citizens are fighting for their rights and working to preserve their livelihoods. Our study "Tricky Business" shows how the mechanisms of expropriation work.
The Politics of Human Rights in Indonesia’s Child Marriages Published: 1 June 2017 In Indonesia, marriage is considered as one of the most important phase of human development. It plays significant role in social life. In Indonesia, although not always, underage marriage is mostly because of love marriage. Although, poverty and premarital sex have considered as two significant factors contributing to child marriage in Indonesia. Sari Damar Ratri
The Civic Charter: Another Passing Fad or the Missing Link? Published: 21 November 2016 A Keynote on the Civic Charter at its Launch at the Global Perspectives Conference on 26th October 2016 in Berlin. Arthur Larok
Region’s human rights watchdogs lack bite Published: 25 September 2016 Are Southeast Asia’s national human rights institutions protecting anyone? A report by James Gomez and Robin Ramcharan gives a bleak assessment. James Gomez, Robin Ramcharan
