I am a second year undergraduate student, pursuing Politics and International Relations at the University of Hertfordshire. I came as a transfer student from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. On arriving in the United Kingdom, I volunteered for the Labour Party in the General Elections of 2019. With the onset of COVID, I have completed around 1400 hours volunteering with the NHS the Royal Voluntary Service. I was also a freelance editor of an international relations journal, Diplomacy and Beyond Plus until February 2021. I was chosen as the Youth Officer for the Welwyn Hatfield Labour Party in December 2020.
  South Asia is a hub of complex socio-economic issues and  issues ranging from wage theft, climate migration, forced labour, discrimination of  religious minorities , refugee crisis. The governments have banned civil organisations working for human rights, defying peaceful protests against corruption and breakdown of a democratic system is an everyday issue. From the continuing refugee crisis in Bangladesh to the criminalisation of the LGBTQ rights in Pakistan, the growing friction between the US armed forces and the Taliban in Afghanistan and the unending protests since the last two years in Delhi.
  My aim is to address the issues of human rights, plan and organise ways in which more youth can be involved. One of my key areas of focus would be to spread the outreach of Amnesty and awareness of South Asia human rights to schools and universities. This will be done by creating student led groups in schools, forming a base for the youth involvement in Amnesty at a larger scale. The aim is to provide Amnesty as a platform to voice the concerns of the youth. Another focus would be on the BAME community as they are less aware about their rights in the United Kingdom. This would also be an opportunity to meet the gap in representation of the BAME students at The Amnesty Student Action Network (STAN). Last, I hope to identify and learn about the key issues and concerns in the South Asian region by working closely with the country coordinator team. I have realised that my goal probably is not to live forever but to create something that will.

Please write to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to disclose Idris‘ whereabouts, allow him to be tried by a civilian court, and to be given regular access to his lawyer and family. Share this action on social media using the hashtag #WhereIsIdrisKhattak?

 We ask for the Afghan authorities to urgently deliver on their pledge to establish a functional body dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders. Spike in violent attacks on human rights defenders continue to claim lives and further delay in the establishment of a functioning mechanism would continue to result in (HRDs) faced with intimidation, harassment, threats, violence, and targeted killings.

The three polio vaccination workers, Basira, Samina and Negina, were shot around the same time but at two separate locations in Jalalabad.  Jalalabad city has seen numerous attacks on women in recent months. The Taliban movement denies involvement just as they have in the previous killings since the start of intra-Afghan peace talks.
  Samira Hamidi, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for South Asia said: "This despicable and cowardly act has taken the lives of three women who were dedicating themselves to protecting the health of Afghan children." This outragous attack comes weeks after three women journalists were shot dead in the same city and, to avoid further damage to the work space of ordinary Afghans the despicable killing of female polio vaccine workers must be investigated.

The impact of Covid-19 on Afghanistan‘s internally displaced has been severe. This is because, Afghanistan‘s four million of internally displaced people (IDPs) were already living in dire conditions when the COVID-19 pandemic hit globally, and the overcrowded IDPs camps were soon identified as places that demands urgent action by the authorities. With limited resources available, and considering the large number of people in camps, adequate help never arrived. But the lockdowns and other COVID-19 regulations meant that finding livelihoods more difficult, creating food insecurities within the camps, in addition to lack of water, sanitation and healthcare. This Campaign Digest discusses how the IDPs in Afghanistan are struggling with lack of information, access to PCR tests and facilities to quarantine.

The Bangladeshi authorities must conduct investigations into the death of at least 14 protesters across the country between 26 & 28 March, and respect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Eleven human rights organisations in a joint statement called on the international community to urge Bangladeshi authorities to put an end to the practice of torturing and forcibly disappearing opposition activists.
  Between 20 & 26 March, police and members of ruling party Awami League attacked a series of protests across the country organised by different political and civil society groups, beat up and injured hundreds of largely peaceful protesters, according to local media reports.

In a country that, not so long ago, was envied across the region for its openness to different opinions and criticism of authorities, it is sad to see that Nepal‘s proposed IT Bill will empower the government to censor online/ social media content, punishing offenders with up to 5 years in prison and fines equivalent to around $13,000. It has provoked widespread criticism from civil society and calls for amendment to bring it into line with international standards and ensure it is not used to criminalise peaceful exercise of the right to freedom of expression.
In addition, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has prepared a draft of a new social media directive to regulate the use and registration of social media, indicating that the government plans to bestow unrestrained authority to the Department of Information Technology to regulate social media, its operators, and users. Amnesty is preparing a response.

There are worrying developments in Qatar‘s Shura Council, which recently issued a series of recommendation aimed at stripping migrant workers of their newly-found rights. This includes removing the right of migrant workers to change jobs during their contract; limiting the number of times they can change jobs during their stay in Qatar to three; restricting the number of workers in a company that can change jobs to 15% unless agreed otherwise by the company; and increasing the percentage of workers who require exit permits to leave Qatar from 5% to 10%. It is unclear how the Qatar government will respond to these recommendations, but if accepted they will reverse much of the progress Qatar has achieved to date, and revive the notorious kafala system that severely limits the rights of migrant workers.
Please read the Blog by the Amnesty Researcher.

The office remains closed and Amnesty is continuing to work globally to release of Amnesty India‘s assets so that the office can function again. Rajat Khosla, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy and Policy at Amnesty International, spoke to the European Parliament in February expressing Amnesty‘s grave concerns about the increasing clampdown by the Indian authorities on human rights. He noted that since 2014, civil society has come under increasing pressure and human rights defenders face harassment, intimidation, and arrest and detention, often without charge or trial. The state uses anti-terror and foreign funding laws [the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)] to muzzle dissent, targeting students, activists, journalists, lawyers and peaceful protestors who are critical of the government, while granting impunity to the police and army.
  In 2018 the conviction rate under the UAPA was 27%, with 93% of cases still pending. Slow investigative processes and stringent bail provisions ensure that people are locked up for years. The FCRA is often used by the authorities to obstruct the work of non-profit organisations attempting to address corruption and legitimate national security concerns. Being broadly worded makes it open to misuse against organisations working on social issues. Rajat Khosla urged to European Parliament to take stronger action to address the deteriorating HR situation in India, including engaging with the Indian authorities, making recommendations and working with personal contacts.

Amnesty International recently called for the immediate and unconditional release of those arrested solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly in the farmers‘ protest in New Delhi. At least eight leading journalists and politicians have been charged with sedition after reporting on the protest.
  However, the Indian Foreign Secretary summoned the British High Commissioner to convey his government‘s strong opposition to the “unwarranted and tendentious discussion on agricultural reforms in India in the British Parliament”. He said this represented a gross interference in the politics of another democratic country and advised that British MPs should refrain from “practising vote bank politics by misrepresenting events, especially in relation to another fellow democracy”.

When farmers and labourers marched to Delhi late last year, they were met with water cannon, tear gas, batons, and attacks from badge-less police officers. The farmers are angry because one of the reform bills removes the Minimum Support Price, a guarantee that the government pays farmers to protect them from harsh drops in crop prices. The Modi administration said the new laws give farmers the freedom to do business with whoever they want. However, farmers argue that selling directly to large corporations will drive the prices of their produce down so low that they will not be able to afford to run their farms anymore. In fact, the decrease in crop prices over recent years has left more than half of India‘s farmers in debt, and is being blamed for India‘s high rate of farmer suicide.
Although the government has temporarily suspended implementation of the reforms pending consultation with the farmers and legal experts, farmers fear this is just a trick and the laws will be quietly passed if they stop their protests.

A reply to an Amnesty activist from John Glen, MP, said that the UK Foreign Secretary raised Jatar Singh Johal‘s case with the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, on 15 December 2020. Lord Ahmad, the Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth, also raised it with the Indian High Commissioner and with the Indian Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Lord Ahmad has also met with Mr Johal's family on a number of occasions. He stated that Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office staff have been working to provide assistance to Mr Johal and his family and that representations are, and will continue to be, regularly made on behalf of Mr Johal to the Government of India.