The year 2024 saw a wave of populism sweep the globe, with newly elected governments looking increasingly inward, towards immediate domestic concerns and away from international crises, like climate change, declining democracy and mass human rights violations. Across the world, newly elected populist leaders are returning to past negative patterns – using their mandates to protect their power base and enrich themselves and their cronies.
In the Asia region, where AJAR works, these are clearly retrograde steps towards the values and methodologies of past authoritarian regimes. In addition to ongoing authoritarian contexts, such as China, North Korea and Afghanistan, recent elections have resulted in the return of military leaders and family members of former dictators to national leadership roles in Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia and Philippines, with communist governments still in place in Vietnam and Laos. Since the Burmese military seized power in Myanmar in 2021, more than 55,000 have been killed and 3.5 million driven from their homes. The genocidal attacks of the junta have forced more than 1.7 million Rohingya to flee, to live under plastic sheeting in the world’s largest refugee camp over the border in Bangladesh. AJAR teams on the Thai/Burma border, in the Rohingya camps and working on advocacy for ASEAN in Jakarta, are playing a key role in supporting the Burmese people’s movement for peace and democracy. Against all odds, the revolution against the brutality of the Burmese military junta is succeeding, with the resistance now controlling more than half the country.
The information contained in this report can only briefly summarise the amazing work that AJAR teams have done in the past year, to contribute to peace and justice across the region. From its headquarters in Jakarta and four other Asian offices, around 60 staff have been responsible for implementing more than three activities every single week of 2024. These include training Burmese judges who must go back to conflict areas and conduct war crimes trials with only bombed out buildings for courts; empowering hundreds of Rohingya women victims of serious violations by the Burmese military so that they can understand their rights and raise their voice to speak about what happened to them; working in important close collaborations with international mechanisms such as the International Criminal Court, which last year included an invitation for AJAR to spend five days at the ICC in the Hague; providing healing and small business support to more than 500 East Timorese women victims of serious sexual violations during the Indonesian military occupation; initiating and supporting Asian youth networks for human rights using film, social media, art and music to encourage young people to find their own voice in demanding democracy, justice and accountable societies.
Amidst a growing global domination by ‘fake news’, we need to maintain a close focus on the truth and important lessons of the past, particularly in relation to collaboration and co- operation. We are also living at a time when electronic tools are dividing us more deeply and more frequently than ever before. The challenges are great, but the spirit of resistance to domination and commitment to the protection of our planet is also rising. This is not a time to be manipulated by the ‘divide and rule’ strategies of those seeking power and domination. This is a time for increased cooperation, solidarity and appreciation for all of those working on the side of peace, justice and human rights. The light at the end of the tunnel is there. The coming year is an opportunity to appreciate all of those working in their way for a better world and to support each other as we move towards that light together.