All Episodes

This week Just Asia begins with Save the Children’s new report ‘Stolen Childhoods’ in Sri Lanka. Launched on June 1, the report explores a unique index presenting the major reasons why childhood comes to an early end. Sri Lanka is ranked as the 61st best country in the world for children to grow up in, […]

This week Just Asia begins with civilian casualties in the aftermath of martial law imposed in Mindanao, Philippines. One ethnic Moro resident was killed in North Cotabato due to aerial bombings, and at least two farmers were illegally arrested in Maragusan, Compostela Valley. There are concerns that martial law will empower the military to supersede […]

This week Just Asia begins with Belgium’s deportation order of activist Sajjad Husain. As a frontline defender for human rights and a free Kashmir, Husain’s work was not appreciated in Pakistan and he sought political asylum in Belgium in 2006. Finally refused asylum, Husain was facing imminent deportation to Pakistan. Due to the AHRC’s Urgent […]

This week, Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where, after massive pressure from hardliner and anti-tolerance groups, judges of the North Jakarta District Court sentenced Jakarta Governor, Mr. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama alias Ahok, to 2 years imprisonment on 9 May 2017. Just Asia speaks to Chris Biantoro for more details. Next, in a grim reminder of the Nirbhaya incident […]

This week Just Asia begins with the arbitrariness of the ‘rarest of the rare’ doctrine in India regarding the death penalty. The Supreme Court upheld the death penalty awarded to four convicts in the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case on May 5. Another judgment in the same week was passed in the 2002 Bilkis […]

This week Just Asia begins with a call from Filipino lawyer Jude Josue Sabio, asking the International Criminal Court to charge President Duterte with mass murder and crimes against humanity. A 77-page complaint to the Court on Monday states Mr. Duterte was the “mastermind” of a campaign that has killed more than 9,400 people since […]

This week Just Asia begins with calls by activists for a UN special rapporteur to be appointed to look into deteriorating human rights in Balochistan. Leading the protest outside the UN office in Geneva, Baloch activist Mehran Marri said the past 4-5 months had seen a particular low, with the abduction and disappearance of women […]

This week Just Asia begins with International Women’s Day, annually celebrated on March 8. The theme for 2017 is ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’. The idea is to work towards the 2030 Agenda, which includes ending discrimination and violence against girls and women, and ensuring free quality education for […]

This week Just Asia begins with Sri Lanka, where five police officers have been arrested in connection with the custodial death of a suspect at the Peliyagoda Police station. The 42-year-old Chadik Shyaman Wickramarachchi was arrested on February 25, following information provided by another suspect. The next day, Chadik’s body was recovered by his family at the Police Mortuary […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where two blasts occurred outside a court in Charsadda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday. At least eight people were killed and 20 injured in the attack. Since the beginning of 2017, Pakistan has witnessed an unprecedented spike in violence, with 20 terrorist attacks claiming the lives of more than […]

This week Just Asia begins by speaking to Adem Carroll, the Burma Task Force director for New York and UN programs regarding the dire situation faced by the Rohingya in Burma. Carroll calls for an independent commission of inquiry into the military abuses against the Muslim minority group. He also says that citizens of ASEAN […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia begins with the UN’s new report detailing mass gang rape, killings and other human rights abuses against the Rohingya by the Burmese military. A team of UN investigators interviewed over 200 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, who told how their children, including a newborn, were trampled or cut to death. […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia begins with Thailand, where the Khon Kaen Provincial Court on Monday, during an in-camera hearing, granted permission for police to extend the detention of Jatuphat ‘Pai’ Boonpattaraksa. A law student and key member of the New Democracy Movement (NDM), Jatuphat was arrested on lese majeste charges for sharing a […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia is a special focus on the regional meeting of Asian Parliamentarians & Human Rights Defenders Against Torture, held in Hong Kong in December. During the meeting focusing on modernizing criminal institutions, Just Asia interviewed several parliamentarians and rights defenders. Beginning with India, Just Asia speaks to Dr. P. M. […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, which is seeing human rights at its lowest point since 1997, said an Amnesty International report. According to the report, authorities have “failed on many fronts” to protect the city’s rights and freedoms. Amnesty urged the Hong Kong government and civil servants to “make defending […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where at least 14 bloggers have disappeared since the beginning of January. The government started off 2017 with a crack-down on human rights defenders and bloggers raising their voices on disappearances and extrajudicial killings, particularly in Balochistan. The security establishment there is very sensitive to the construction of the China PakistanEconomic […]

This week, in its 150th episode, Just Asia begins with Burma, where the crackdown on the Rohingya may amount to ‘crimes against humanity’, says UN’s human rights agency. Since October, the Burmese military have been burning Rohingya homes, shooting people and raping women. According to John McKissick of the UN refugee agency, the government’s “ultimate […]

This week Just Asia begins with Burma, where satellite evidence shows mass destruction in Rakhine state, home to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority. The latest images from Human Rights Watch indicate that some 820 structures were burnt in five villages between November 10-18. The rights watchdog is calling for an urgent UN investigation into the […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where terrorist attacks continue despite the Pakistan army’s various anti-terror operations. In the latest attack, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the crowded courtyard of Sufi Saint Shah Noorani’s shrine on November 12, killing some 60 persons and injuring 156. The Shah Noorani shrine in Balochistan’s Hub […]

This week Just Asia begins with Hong Kong, where more than 2000 lawyers marched silently in black on Tuesday, protesting against Beijing’s interpretation of the Basic Law, to prevent two elected activists from taking up their seats in parliament. Prominent advertisements in Tuesday morning papers read ‘Beijing destroys rule of law—Hong Kong world city no […]