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How COVID-19 Is Straining Human Rights in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI - Stay-home orders in the Philippines didn't work for
   lower-class people who rely onshort termjobs for family income. They
   went out in 2020 despite the pandemic and despite the rules. Eventually
   tens of thousands were arrested and jailed in conditions that raise
   their risk of getting sick.

   In Thailand, citizens worried about the pandemic's impact on their
   signature tourism and export industries have protested the government,
   even the king. Neighboring Malaysia has excluded migrants and refugees
   from COVID-19 relief programs.

   These are just a fewexamplesfrom Southeast Asiacitedby international
   advocacy groups last year. They tell a broader story: COVID-19
   outbreaks worsened human rights issues on much of the subcontinent.

   Southeast Asia, made up of more than 650 million people spanning 11
   countries, is dominated by young democracies that took strict action
   against COVID-19 last year while scrambling to reset fragile economies.
   Human rights took a hit, said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at
   the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

   "We continued to see the situation bump along the bottom in many of the
   countries in Southeast Asia," Robertson said. "And what happened with
   the COVID-19 pandemic is that it was like a real searchlight that
   highlighted inequalities and vulnerability of various different
   populations."

   The pandemic allowed countries to "reinforce" existing policies and
   orders targeting dissidents, he added.

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