October 2009 Archives

by Sara (Meg) Davis, Agus Triwahyuono, and Risa Alexander
from Harm Reduction Journal

In Indonesia, an ongoing government "war on drugs" has resulted in numerous arrests and anecdotal reports of abuse in detention, but to date there has been little documentation or analysis of this issue. JANGKAR (also known in English as the Indonesian Harm Reduction Network), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Jakarta, surveyed 1106 injecting drug users in 13 cities about their experiences of police abuse. Of those interviewed, 667 or 60% reported physical abuse by police. These findings indicate the importance of continuing efforts to promote police reform and harm reduction in Indonesia.

We're delighted that our article on Jangkar's groundbreaking research has been published in a peer-reviewed journal. For the full article and excerpts from the moving testimony of drug users in Indonesia, please see the Harm Reduction Journal.

Ami Evangelista Swanepoel recently moved from the U.S. to her home in the Philippines to start a new health rights NGO, Roots of Health. This week, she shares the disturbing results of their second-ever community health survey.

Asia Catalyst was proud to sign onto this letter, organized by Burmese NGOs, calling on China to suspend its plans to build oil and gas pipelines in ethnic regions of Burma. Already, the pipeline has caused dislocation, abuses and instability in the region. The press release follows, and more information is available at www.shwe.org.

By the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice at New York University School of Law, the Dalit NGO Federation (Nepal), and the International Dalit Solidarity Network. Republished courtesy Smita Narula, NYU.

In creating the new constitution for Nepal, the Constituent Assembly has the opportunity to crystallize the country's peace, advance Nepal's political, economic and social development, and demonstrate a commitment to the inherent dignity of all individuals. In order to fulfill these paramount goals, the rights of all of Nepal's Dalit population - especially women and "lower" Dalit castes - must finally be realized.

It was unsurprising that the launch of the new Human Rights Commission of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was so ill-attended. Not only did leaders of several member states not bother to show for the ceremony; civil society leaders also walked out in protest.

An interesting development: drug users from around Asia met last week to formalize the Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs. ANPUD aims to create a network that can advocate for the rights of drug users. They'll also, hopefully, provide some useful input into national and regional policies on narcotics, treatment, and HIV/AIDS. The full statement from ANPUD follows.

By Hye Gi Shim

When a devastating famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans were forced to leave their homes and cross the border into China. This marked the beginning of a swelling North Korean refugee crisis. Today the Ministry of Unification estimates that the total number of North Koreans in South Korea is reaching 17,000. As the problem has grown, the response of South Korean civil society has also evolved.