Jul 15, 2021 | BHR, Reports
Report, July 2021
In February 2020, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) organized a fact-finding mission to Myanmar to investigate the human rights impacts of Malaysian cross-border investment in Myanmar’s palm oil sector. The mission focused on the Myanmar Stark Prestige Plantation (MSPP) in Tanintharyi Region in southern Myanmar.
This report offers recommendations to MSPP, as well as the Myanmar Government and the Karen National Union, who operate in the affected area, as well as to the Malaysian Government and other ASEAN Member States.
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Jul 6, 2021 | BHR, Statements
JAKARTA – Southeast Asian parliamentarians today warn of the potential health risks and impacts of the Ming Dih Chemical factory explosion in Samut Prakan, outside Bangkok, on surrounding communities and residents of nearby provinces, including the capital. They urge the Thai government to take immediate and long-term action to tackle the impacts, including the ensuing toxic pollution, and to protect people’s health.
“So far most residents in Samut Prakan and nearby provinces still do not know if they are at risk from this explosion and how to protect themselves. This information is vital. The government should act swiftly to protect the right to health of everyone and provide publicly accessible information on which chemicals have been released, and what is the likely impact of the explosion on surrounding natural resources, including air, water and land,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian Member of the Parliament (MP), and Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
In the early hours of July 5, an explosion and ensuing fire occurred at the Ming Dih Chemical Co., Ltd plant in Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan Province, a few kilometres outside Bangkok. The Taiwanese-owned plastic foam and pellets-producing factory has the capacity to produce up to 30,000 tonnes of expandable polystyrene (EPS) per year, according to Greenpeace Thailand.
EPS contains polystyrene and pentane, highly flammable vapors that can cause dizziness, drowsiness, eye irritation, and respiratory tract irritation, APHR said. The group expressed concern that a range of harmful substances, including potentially cancerogenic chemicals, may have been released through the smoke throughout Monday and could continue in the coming days.
The explosion damaged nearby buildings, and there were reports of numerous injuries and one fatality. Residents within a 5-kilometer radius of the explosion’s epicenter were ordered to evacuate by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. Although the fire now appears to be under control, there are reports of smoke still emerging from the site and fears that more explosions could occur.
“Now is the time to understand what the impacts of the fire and explosion might be, and ensure that all those still operating in the vicinity are adequately protected. Seeing firefighters with surgical masks fighting against potentially cancerogenic chemicals was an atrocious sight. The government should urgently provide adequate material for all those still at risk,” said Sarah Elago, an MP in the Philippines and APHR member.
APHR urges the Thai government to immediately:
- Distribute publicly accessible information on the chemicals that have been released in Samut Prakan and surrounding provinces, and their likely impacts on people residing in these areas, as well as information on how they can mitigate this impact. Provide charting of wind direction and expected persons most geographically at risk. This should include information about the potential health impacts on pregnant persons, women, children, the elderly and those with underlying conditions.
- Provide a publicly available assessment of the impact of the explosion on natural resources, including water and land, in the affected area, including Bangkok, and their likely impacts on those residing in these areas, as well as information on how they can mitigate this impact.
- Provide adequate equipment, including respirators, to firefighters and others who may still be in the immediate area to monitor the situation.
- Provide immediate relief to communities living within a 10km radius of the fire, such as access to first aid for contact with harmful chemicals and adequate protective equipment.
- Provide medium-term solutions for communities living within a 10km radius, including adequate gender and SOGI-sensitive shelter and access to food until it is safe for them to return to their respective areas.
- Investigate immediately the causes of the incidents and the possibility of further damage.
- Ensure that in the long-term, affected communities are adequately compensated for losses caused by the event and for the government to better mitigate risks of toxic pollution, notably through the passing of the Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) bill.
“This catastrophe is a clear sign that the government of Thailand must act much faster on the issue of toxic pollution. In particular, they must ensure that the Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTR) bill, which has been proposed for debate in the House of Representatives, is passed without delay,” said Charles Santiago.
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, CCHR, COVID19, DFF, FoRB, Open Letters, RM
H.E. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc,
Prime Minister of Viet Nam
16 Le Hong Phong Street,
Ba Dinh District,
Ha Noi, Viet Nam
25 June 2020
Your Excellency,
Re: Leaders must address COVID-19 human rights concerns at 36th ASEAN Summit
As a regional network of parliamentarians from Southeast Asia committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, we write to you on the occasion of this week’s 36th ASEAN Summit, to urge you to ensure that ASEAN’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath places human rights at its centre.
While our region should be commended for being reasonably successful in containing the spread of the virus, the pandemic exposed major weaknesses and inequalities in our governance systems. The region failed to protect those in the most vulnerable situations, in particular its migrant workers and refugees. It has also seen a surge in restrictions on freedom of expression and in hateful rhetoric against marginalised groups.
However, the gathering of the region’s leaders under your chairmanship this week presents an opportunity to demonstrate that ASEAN can learn and grow from these challenging times, by ensuring that from this point on, our region’s policies are inclusive of all and promote a more just, sustainable and equal society.
This should begin by ensuring that the region collectively moves towards greater environmental sustainability and social justice. Post-COVID 19 economic recovery plans are a unique occasion for our economies to move away from a reliance on fossil fuels and coal, and towards renewable energy projects that reduce contributions to climate change.
Post-COVID19 economic stimulus investments should also reach small and medium-sized enterprises, and be used to prioritise the creation of sustainable and decent employment. We urge you as leaders to see that these are necessary steps to not only avoid future shocks and crises, but also to be better prepared to absorb their impact and guarantee the long-term economic prosperity of the region.
Greater regional cooperation and assistance will also be necessary to ensure that everyone in ASEAN has access to basic services and social protection measures, including those working in the informal sector and migrant workers. Having strong social protections programs and ensuring basic services to all will help mitigate the impact of the economic crisis and help our region recover faster.
The pandemic has deepened already existing inequalities, with women and girls being disproportionately affected. Economically they are more at risk of falling into poverty and facing food insecurity, and have also faced restricted access to sexual and reproductive health services, as well as a rise in sexual and gender-based violence. For ASEAN’s post-COVID-19 economic and social policies to be effective they must take into consideration this differentiated impact, be gender responsive and ensure women’s equal participation in all policies and decision making.
Regional peace will also be crucial to guaranteeing a just and sustainable recovery from the crisis. In that regard, we are extremely concerned by the rise in xenophobic and hateful rhetoric. Our region is sadly well-placed to know how hateful comments on social media can translate into violence, deaths, and deep divides among societies.
We therefore urge you and all ASEAN leaders to immediately publicly acknowledge the risk that hate speech represents and to speak out against discrimination of all kinds. Your intervention, as our region’s leaders, could play an important preventative role to ensure unity and peace.
Finally, we would like to exhort you to use your leadership to organise urgent collective search and rescue operations for boats carrying Rohingya refugees and to organise for their proper disembarkation. We cannot overstate the shame that falls upon us collectively when our governments choose to push people back to die at sea.
Ultimately, addressing this situation will require that ASEAN fully uses its political leverage to ensure that Myanmar addresses the root causes of the human rights crisis in Rakhine State, ends all attacks on civilians and restores the rights of the Rohingya.
In the spirit of a “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN,” we hope that Vietnam will use its leadership to ensure that ASEAN’s “new normal” is one of a truly people-centered ASEAN – that is inclusive, sustainable, and that benefits all.
Yours sincerely,
Charles Santiago
Chairperson of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights Member of Parliament, Malaysia
CC:
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah
H.E Prime Minister Hun Sen
H.E President Joko Widodo
H.E Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith
H.E Tan Sri Muhyiddin Haji Mohd Yassin
H.E State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
H.E President Rodrigo Roa Duterte
H.E Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
H.E Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, CCHR, COVID19, RM, Statements
Click here for a Thai version of this statement
Click here for a Bahasa Indonesian version of this statement
JAKARTA – On International Environment Day, regional MPs urge Southeast Asian governments to ensure that their post-COVID19 economic recovery plans protect human rights and the environment.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that we need to invest more in our health, our workforce and our environment. Now is the time to restructure our economies in a way that promotes human lives above profits, that redistributes resources more equitably, and that better protects our environment and tackles climate change,” said Anthea Ong, a Singapore Member of Parliament, and member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
“We call on ASEAN governments to operate this radical shift and ensure that measures aimed at boosting the economy do not scrap environmental and labour regulation, but rather promote a just and sustainable future.”
In order to avoid future shocks and crises, economic recovery plans must ensure an energy transition away from a reliance on fossil fuels and coal, and towards renewable energy projects that respect the rights of all and reduce the region’s contribution to climate change, APHR said.
“A poorly protected environment now will mean more diseases, more loss of livelihoods, more displacement and fewer chances of long-term economic prosperity for the region. By making the right investments now, in sustainable energy and economic activity that does not harm our environment, we will not only ensure that we get out of this economic crisis, but also help tackle climate change and air pollution”, Ong said.
The economic recovery must not only be directed towards a greener future, but also one that respects the rights of all, APHR added. As mass unemployment threatens the region, it is essential that post-COVID19 economic stimulus investments reach small and medium sized enterprises, and create sustainable and decent employment. As a UN expert recommends, this should be achieved through progressive taxation and requesting contributions to the effort from large corporate conglomerates.
“COVID19 has shown us that those such as health workers, construction workers, factory workers, and domestic workers are not disposable, but essential to our lives, and they deserve protection,” said Chamnan Chanruang, a former Thai MP and APHR member. “In the “new normal” created by the pandemic, we must reject the mindset of brutal efficiency and profit-making that has left so many people behind. Now is the time for improved labour standards in Southeast Asia that protect everyone, including migrant workers, women and those most vulnerable in a new, just and green economy.”
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, COVID19, RM, Statements
JAKARTA – On Workers’ Memorial Day, and World Day for Safety and Health at Work, MPs are calling for Southeast Asian governments and companies in the region to increase efforts to protect workers’ rights to healthy and safe conditions amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Every day millions of workers in Southeast Asia are going to work so that our countries keep running, but many are being forced to do so in dangerous conditions that put them at risk of contracting or spreading the virus,” said Chamnan Chanruang, a former Member of Parliament (MP) of Thailand and member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). “ASEAN governments must work with employers across all sectors to immediately step up action to make sure that everyone’s right to healthy and safe conditions at work are respected: if these workers are not protected, no one is.”
Countries in the region have shut down some of their economic activity but work continues in many places. This includes, for example, workers in export-oriented industries in the Philippines, food manufacturing and packaging employees in Singapore, construction workers in Indonesia, and those employed in the factories of Special Economic Zones in Vietnam. For many, there is no option other than to continue to work, despite the health risks involved.
“Many workers are in an incredibly difficult scenario; they need to earn money, but are being asked to conduct their work in conditions that lack hygiene supplies and facilities. In the Philippines, for example, workers were made to sleep on the floor at their workplace for 30 days in subhuman conditions that did not respect social distancing. This abuse of workers must stop,” said Chamnan Chanruang.
Women workers are particularly at risk, said APHR. On average women spend more than three times the amount of time doing unpaid care work compared to men. With the pandemic and the closing of schools, childcare and other facilities, women workers are facing increased work, mental and physical pressures. Pregnant women also face potential additional health risks. Employers and governments must consider these gendered impacts of COVID-19 when ensuring safe and healthy conditions at work.
Another group particularly at risk is healthcare workers. The lack of medical and protective equipment provided to health workers is extremely concerning. APHR notes that in Indonesia medical worker associations have threatened to stop treating COVID-19 patients if the government does not ensure the availability of protective health gear. Women make up more than 70 percent of the global health workforce.
“Healthcare workers, most of whom are women, are the ones keeping us safe, and in many cases alive, during this crisis. It is essential that we do the same by protecting their rights and providing them with the materials and equipment they need. If they get infected, who will treat those who get sick?’” said Anthea Ong, Member of Parliament of Singapore and member of APHR.
APHR also called on companies to step up their actions.
According to the United Nations Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights, businesses must undertake due diligence and mitigate any harm to the health of workers. Moreover, the World Health Organization and International Chamber of Commerce have issued a private sector call to action to tackle the pandemic, and say all businesses must play their part in minimising the transmission of the virus and its impact on society.
Yet despite this, many companies in Southeast Asia have not been transparent in sharing information regarding their plans to protect their workers from catching or spreading the disease in the workplace, APHR said.
“If we want to tackle this pandemic, we need all employers to be transparent about how they plan to protect workers from the virus, and for those measures to be enforced throughout the organisation and apply to all workers, without discrimination,” said Ong. “These plans must be achieved through social dialogue and negotiations with workers and trade unions. It is only through such dialogue and by respecting their rights that we will truly tackle this pandemic.”
Nov 9, 2020 | BHR, CCHR, COVID19, DFF, FoRB, RM, Statements
JAKARTA – As governments in Southeast Asia increase measures in response to the spread of coronavirus, regional lawmakers have today urged authorities to ensure that human rights are at the forefront of their responses.
“Now is a particularly challenging time for governments around the world to combat the virus, but it is more important than ever to ensure that people’s rights are protected, not hindered,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP), and chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). “Measures that do not discriminate, and that are anchored in human rights, will not only protect individuals, but also directly contribute to fighting more effectively against the spread of the virus.”
Globally, more than 12,000 people have died from COVID-19, and 294,000 infections have been confirmed in at least 187 countries and territories, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO has classified the outbreak as a pandemic.
APHR reminds governments that restrictions on rights for reasons of public health must only be strictly necessary and limited in duration, enacted in order to achieve a legitimate objective, and based on scientific evidence. Most of all, they must be non-discriminatory.
“Emergency responses must not be used as a tool to crush dissent, excessively restrict freedom of expression or target particular groups or minorities,” Santiago said.
The free flow of accurate information to all is crucial to ensuring the right to health. People must be able to know the real nature of the threats and how to protect themselves. Governments must be transparent, and provide reliable information that is accessible to all.
“When some of our governments share disinformation and then target and criminalise civil society organisations, political activists and journalists for sharing information about the crisis, this is not only a violation of people’s rights, but it puts the whole population at greater risk,” said Santiago.
“What’s more, now is not the time for governments to push through other legislation that may slip under the radar as people focus on responding to this pandemic. At times like this, people are relying on their governments to provide effective leadership, not manipulate the situation for political gain.”
Crucial to combating the outbreak will also be ensuring that all communities can protect themselves and access effective treatment without discrimination, APHR said. Some people face additional difficulties in accessing healthcare or protecting themselves against the virus, including those living in poverty or with no access to water and sanitation, those undocumented or on the move such as migrants and refugees, those living in detention, or those with already pre-existing health conditions.
“No-one should be left behind during this crisis. States must understand that only non-discriminatory measures that ensure the protection of all members of the population will be effective in combating the virus.” said Eva Sundari, a former Indonesian MP and APHR member.
Some measures to combat the virus will also have a disproportionate impact on certain groups, most often those who are already in vulnerable situations. For instance, those relying on a daily wage for their work, self-isolation is not an option; if they don’t go to work, they cannot feed their families, APHR said. The closure of schools is also likely to have a disproportionate impact on women, who provide most of the care within families, potentially limiting their work opportunities. In addition, lockdowns can trigger incidents of domestic violence due to increased stress and difficult living conditions.
“As is so often the case in times of crisis, it is those who are the most vulnerable who will suffer the most. In the midst of the crisis, governments must not ignore the potentially devastating impact of the measures they take on some members of the population. They must mitigate against this, and ensure that they consider the needs of those most at risk,” Sundari added.
Further, it is in difficult times that societies must come together to deal with challenges, APHR said.
“We are all in this together. Tolerance, solidarity and social cohesion are absolutely essential, and governments must not play into or exacerbate divisions.” said Santiago.
Finally, APHR calls on ASEAN to provide effective leadership at this time, coming together to provide a collective response.
“Wasn’t this the exact reason ASEAN was formed? To promote regional peace and cohesion, and to ensure human rights and social justice?” asked Santiago. “It’s time we saw coordinated direction from this region’s leaders, and we call on them to put together a cohesive response that its member states can use as guidance, and provide reassurances to the people in the region at this challenging time.”
