Selected regional developments in human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific during 2019: Prospects turned into plights

Abstract

The international community marking the anniversaries of international organisations and treaty bodies, along with the realisation of human rights bolstered by technology, opened windows for upholding human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific. However, despite these prospects, the use of technology as a pretext of national security and impeding freedom of expression, assembly and association, as well as increasing mob violence and lynching, suggest that the development of human rights and democratisation in the Asia Pacific continued its downward trend in the year 2019. With elections in some parts of the Asia Pacific, concerns about upholding human rights in the present and future were raised. States that have ratified human rights treaties, and are part of regional mechanisms that advocate upholding human rights, remain reluctant to fulfil their duties. Although the steps taken by regional mechanisms along the UN are positive in upholding and advocating human rights, the consequences of those steps remain unsatisfactory. Key words: human rights; democratisation, Asia Pacific; technology; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly; workers’ rights; elections; regional bodies