A growing rollback on fundamental rights across Asia is negatively affecting economies, with rising inequality leaving vulnerable populations exposed to labor exploitation and financial fraud, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
Released Thursday, the report highlights how many governments in the region have become increasingly resistant to human rights protections, part of a broader global shift toward authoritarianism. It calls on democracies that uphold rights to collaborate with civil society groups to counter this trend, especially given the U.S. reduction in foreign aid and disengagement from international bodies like the World Health Organization during the Trump administration.
Key findings include the link between weakening rights and worsening living conditions. In Afghanistan, forced repatriation of displaced individuals combined with steep cuts in foreign assistance has left over 22 million people without adequate food, shelter, or medical care.
Authoritarian regimes have suppressed dissent, allowing officials to avoid accountability and weakening legal systems. In Indonesia, Indigenous activists and critics of government policies—particularly those opposing mining and palm oil operations—have faced intimidation and detention, leaving them defenseless against powerful corporate interests.
Predatory lending practices have also deepened poverty, especially in Cambodia, where Indigenous communities have been coerced into selling land and cut off from traditional livelihoods due to exploitative microfinance schemes.
Worker protections are deteriorating in several nations. Countries like Nepal and Bangladesh depend heavily on remittances from overseas laborers who remain at risk of abuse despite decades of reform efforts. Many borrow at high interest to cover recruitment fees and then face wage theft, hazardous conditions, and sexual violence abroad.
In Singapore, despite its wealth, migrant workers are excluded from key labor laws, including limits on working hours and the right to unionize.
Cyber-scam operations are expanding in Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar due to inconsistent enforcement of laws against trafficking and organized crime. While authorities occasionally crack down, these centers continue to thrive.
In Cambodia, journalists investigating such crimes have been arrested on charges of threatening national security and insulting leaders.
Myanmar’s 2021 military coup ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, triggering civil conflict that has displaced 3.6 million people internally, with millions more fleeing to Thailand and Bangladesh.
Illegal activities have surged, and after years of decline, Myanmar has reemerged as the world’s largest opium producer and a major hub for synthetic drugs.
Despite these setbacks, there are signs of resistance. South Korean lawmakers successfully overturned former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s attempted martial law declaration and secured his impeachment; he was later sentenced to five years in prison.
Youth-led demonstrations in Nepal, Indonesia, and Bangladesh—dubbed Gen-Z protests—have spotlighted issues like corruption, poor governance, and inequality, though they have not always led to lasting change.
In Indonesia, violent unrest erupted in August following revelations that lawmakers in Jakarta were receiving housing allowances nearly ten times the local minimum wage, resulting in ten deaths.
“People recognize when governments act unjustly or without accountability,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “They’re willing to take action and protest when they see injustice.”
— news from Los Angeles Times
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What a Human Rights Watch report says about the economic toll of backsliding rights in Asia
Widespread backsliding on protections of basic rights is taking a toll on Asian economies as growing inequality leaves the poor vulnerable to labor abuses and scams, a report by Human Rights Watch says. n nThe report released Thursday says many governments in the region have grown more hostile to efforts to protect basic human rights as an authoritarian wave has swept across the world in the past year. n nIt urges “rights respecting democracies” to form alliances with civil society groups to counter that trend and help to fill a vacuum left by the U.S. withdrawal of foreign aid and participation in international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, under President Trump. n nHere is what to know. n nThe powerful prosper as inequality grows n nWeakened basic human rights are intertwined with hardships for many in the region. In Afghanistan, forced returns of displaced people plus sharp cuts to foreign aid have left more than 22 million people without enough food, shelter or medical care, the report noted. n nAuthoritarian governments have outlawed dissent, enabling officials to evade public accountability and undermining the rule of law. n nIn Indonesia, Indigenous activists and government critics, particularly those opposing mining companies and oil plantations, faced threats and arrests, it said, giving them no recourse against powerful vested interests. n nPredatory microfinance lending is another practice that has trapped the poor in indebtedness in places like Cambodia, where Indigenous communities, in particular, have fallen prey to forced land sales and a lack of access to their traditional livelihoods, it said. n nProtections for workers are eroding n nNepal and Bangladesh are among several countries in Asia that rely heavily on remittances from migrant workers who are vulnerable to abuses despite decades of work aimed at protecting them. n nThe workers often must take out loans at high interest rates to pay recruitment fees and once they arrive overseas face abuses by foreign employers and domestic recruitment agents, including a wage theft, unsafe working conditions and sexual violence, among other violations. n nIn the wealthy city-state of Singapore, migrant workers are excluded from the country’s Employment Act and limits on working hours, among other protections, and are restricted from participating in union activities, the report said. n nScam centers proliferating as criminal gangs flout laws n nIn Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, a failure to consistently enforce laws against human trafficking, labor abuses and criminal activities have allowed cyber-scam centers to flourish despite occasional crackdowns, the report noted. n nIn Cambodia, the government has detained journalists working to expose such activities, accusing them of threatening national security and the “dignity of national leaders,” it said. n nIn Myanmar, a 2021 military takeover deposed the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, leading to civil war that has displaced 3.6 million people in the country, while millions more have fled to neighboring Thailand and Bangladesh. n nIllicit activities have flourished, and after years of progress toward its eradication, Myanmar has become the world’s top opium producer and a major source of synthetic drugs, the report said. n nSigns of fitful progress appear n nDespite increasingly authoritarian governments in many parts of Asia and the rest of the world, there are some encouraging signs. n nThe report pointed to the success of South Korean lawmakers in pushing back against former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed declaration of martial law and his subsequent impeachment. Yoon was sentenced to five years in prison. n nDemonstrations by young citizens in Nepal, Indonesia and Bangladesh, dubbed Gen-Z protests, have helped draw attention to corruption, inadequate public services, inequality and poor governance, it said, although they did not always succeed in effecting democratic and peaceful change. n nViolent protests swept across Indonesia and left 10 people dead in late August after reports that lawmakers were getting monthly housing allowances nearly 10 times the minimum wage in the country’s capital, Jakarta. n n“People know when they see unjust, unaccountable governments,” said Elaine Pearson, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, “and they’re prepared to take to the streets and do something about it.”