Brad Adams

The importance of Cambodia's generals has become even more apparent ahead of July's elections, as they engage in crackdowns against journalists, political opponents, and anti-government protesters – and openly campaign for Hun Sen.

People should be protected in holding demonstrations, especially around issues of great public interest, but with Vietnam's poor record of handling protests, there's every reason to believe that police are punishing dissent, not simply keeping public order.

The Thai junta has sunk to a new low by charging an activist’s mother under the ‘insulting the monarchy’ law, which has been systematically abused to silence critics, prosecuting someone for her vague response to a Facebook message is just the junta’s latest outrageous twist of the lese majeste law.

This is a marked escalation of the junta witch-hunt against dissidents, now they are targeting a dissident's mother as they try to gag his outspoken criticism. This is a new low even for a junta which has made abuses of human rights a daily occurrence.

Since Thailand's coup, it hasn't been hard to get thrown in jail for criticizing the junta, now, all you have to do is press 'Like' on your Facebook page.

Thailand's junta has reached a new level of ruthlessness by snatching an activist from his hospital bed.

Thanakorn's secret detention should set off flashing red lights – especially since the Thai authorities failed to resolve two recent deaths of detainees in military custody, thailand's junta has increasingly flouted international legal protections by holding civilian detainees incommunicado in military camps.

A blanket immunity clause in Thailand's new constitution would allow the military to commit abuses without fear of prosecution, given the Thai military's long record of human rights abuses, this would effectively be giving soldiers a license to kill.

The single thing this government can do is to stop arresting, charging, investigating people for peaceful expression.

Rather than confronting the inherent cruelty of capital punishment, Pakistani officials are puzzling over how to hang a man in a wheelchair, the government should urgently commute Abdul Basit's sentence.

Survivors describe how they flee persecution in Burma only to fall into the hands of traffickers and extortionists, in many cases witnessing deaths and suffering abuse and hunger, interviews with officials and others make clear that these brutal networks, with the complicity of government officials in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia, profit from the desperation and misery of some of the world's most persecuted and neglected people.

This regional meeting will only be a success if every government commits to effective search and rescue operations, meeting the protection needs of refugees, prosecuting traffickers, and resolving the root causes that drive these desperate people onto boats, international burden sharing, including resettling refugees, is also important, but will only be a lasting solution if all governments agree that human rights must be at the center of all current and future policies.

Regional governments should work with the United Nations and others to agree on binding solutions to this human tragedy -- not sweep it under the rug as they have done for years.

The discovery of these mass graves should shock the Thai government into shutting down the trafficking networks that enrich officials but prey on extremely vulnerable people.

Thailand's friends abroad should not be fooled by this obvious sleight of hand by the junta leader to replace martial law with a constitutional provision that effectively provides unlimited and unaccountable powers.

Holding a witness to alleged military crimes incommunicado for six days is a profoundly disturbing abuse of authority that has become commonplace under martial law.

Its findings are still valid. by Brad Adams

Its findings are still valid.