South Asia ‘on the brink’ amid deteriorating human rights, warns Amnesty

‘In south Asia we teeter on the edge of an abyss, an abyss of violence, of discrimination’

Countries in south Asia are “on the brink” as they face deteriorating human rights conditions, Amnesty International has warned.

The international non-profit raised the alarm against human rights abuses in the region in its annual report released on Tuesday

On Tuesday, the international non-profit released its annual report titled “The State of the World’s Human Rights 2022-23”.

The report has called for meaningful action on Afghanistan’s plummeting human rights record, inadequate responses to a spiralling economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the refusal to confront the crackdown on dissent and persecution of minorities in multiple south Asian countries.

“Global economic dynamics and shifting power structures are unleashing chaos in which it is easy to lose sight of human rights,” said Deprose Muchena, senior director at Amnesty International.

“As south Asia sits on the brink of a volatile and unpredictable future, it is important now, more than ever, to keep rights squarely in the centre of all negotiations and conversations.”

The report has highlighted repression of dissent in south Asian countries in the past year.

“People took to the streets across the region to protest against injustice, deprivation and discrimination, but in most countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka they were met with intense crackdowns and excessive, sometimes lethal, force,” it said.

The report also highlighted attacks on press freedom in the region.

“In Afghanistan, journalists faced arbitrary arrest and detention as well as torture and other ill-treatment for reporting that was critical of the Taliban.

“In Bangladesh, where journalists experienced physical assaults, judicial harassment and other reprisals for their reporting, a draft data protection law threatened to further curtail freedom of expression.”

The report also said India’s government tried to prevent discussions abroad on the human rights situation in the country by imposing international travel bans on human rights defenders and detention without trial. It also used money laundering laws and other pretexts to harass media organisations and non-profits.

Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty’s deputy south asia director, said while presenting the report that it presents an opportunity for governments in the region and called upon them to act.

“I present to you, a dire situation for human rights, and yet, an opportunity. In south Asia we teeter on the edge of an abyss, an abyss of violence, of discrimination. We have the ability to pull us back from this crumbling edge by demanding more from our governments and authorities,” she said.