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Amnesty International Report 2017/18

Discrimination against LGBTI people remained prevalent in public life in South Korea. Gay 

men faced violence, bullying and verbal abuse during compulsory military service. A serving 

soldier was convicted of same-sex sexual activity.

Although pervasive discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation and gender 

identity continued in Japan, there was some progress in local municipalities. For the first time 

in the city of Osaka, the authorities approved a same-sex couple as foster parents, and two 

other municipalities took positive steps towards recognizing same-sex partnerships.

A landmark ruling by its highest court saw Taiwan close to becoming the first Asian country to 

legalize same-sex marriage, in a major step forward for LGBTI rights. The judges ruled the 

country’s marriage law unconstitutional as it discriminated against same-sex couples, and gave 

lawmakers two years to amend or enact relevant laws. A bill on same-sex marriage was being 

considered by Taiwan’s legislature.

DEATH PENALTY

China remained the world’s leading executioner, although capital punishment statistics 

continued to be classified as state secrets.

Taiwan’s Supreme Court rejected the Prosecutor General’s extraordinary appeal for the retrial 

of the longest-serving death row inmate in Taiwan’s modern history; Chiou Ho-shun, on death 

row since 1989, claimed that he was tortured and forced to “confess” during police 

interrogations.

In July, Mongolia became the 105th country worldwide to abolish the death penalty for all 

crimes, yet in November the President proposed its reintroduction to the Ministry of Justice in 

response to two violent rape and murder cases.

SOUTH ASIA

Across South Asia, governments invoked law and order, national security and religion as they 

engaged in attacks against religious minorities, criminalization of freedom of expression, 

enforced disappearances, prolific use of the death penalty, and assaults on refugee rights. 

Impunity was widespread.

Freedom of expression was under attack across South Asia. Using vague concepts such as 

“the national interest” as an excuse to silence people, governments targeted journalists, 

human rights defenders and others for peacefully expressing their beliefs.

A new trend involved criminalizing online freedom of expression. In Pakistan, five bloggers 

critical of the government were subjected to enforced disappearance. Other bloggers were 

arrested for comments criticizing the military or allegedly expressing remarks deemed “anti-

Islamic”. Criticism of the Bangladesh government or the family of the Prime Minister also 

triggered criminal cases. The government proposed a new Digital Security Act, which would 

place even greater restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and impose heavier 

penalties. In Afghanistan, where internet penetration is among the lowest in the Asia-Pacific 

region, a new Cyber Crime Law was passed criminalizing freedom of expression.

Failures to uphold economic, cultural and social rights had major impacts. As a result of 

Pakistan failing to bring its laws into line with international standards, the population suffered 

widespread discrimination, curtailed workers’ rights, and meagre social security. India ratified 

two ILO core conventions on child labour, but activists remained critical of amendments to the 

country’s child labour laws that allowed children to work in family enterprises. Two years after a 

massive earthquake shook Nepal, the government was still failing thousands of marginalized 

earthquake survivors who languished in flimsy temporary shelters.

In October, Pakistan was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, pledging commitment to 

human rights. Yet it failed to address directly Pakistan’s serious human rights issues, including 

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enforced disappearances; the death penalty; blasphemy laws; the use of military courts to try 

civilians; women’s rights; and threats to the work of human rights defenders.

Killings, abductions and other abuses were committed by armed groups in Afghanistan, 

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, among others. Civilian casualties, particularly of religious 

minorities, continued to be high in Afghanistan. In Pakistan, armed groups targeted Shi’a 

Muslims, including by bombing a Shi’a mosque in Quetta, killing at least 18 people.

Violations around Nepal’s historic local elections included arbitrary arrests and detention, and 

the security forces opening fire on protesters at an election rally.

In the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, security forces killed eight people following 

protests during a by-election for a parliamentary seat; one voter was beaten by army 

personnel, strapped to the front of an army jeep and driven around for over five hours, 

seemingly as a warning to other protesters. The security forces also persisted in their use of 

inherently inaccurate pellet-firing shotguns during protests – blinding and otherwise injuring 

several people.

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS

In India, the authorities were openly critical of human rights defenders, contributing to a 

climate of hostility and violence against them. Repressive laws were used to stifle freedom of 

expression, and journalists and press freedom came under increasing attack.

Human rights defenders in Afghanistan faced constant threats to their life and security from 

armed groups and state actors, and journalists faced violence and censorship.

Pakistan authorities failed to protect journalists, bloggers, and civil society and activists 

who faced constant harassment, intimidation, threats, smear campaigns and attacks from 

non-state actors. Instead, the authorities increased restrictions on the work of scores of NGOs, 

and subjected many activists to attacks, including torture and enforced disappearances.

In Bangladesh, the government intensified its crackdown on public debate and criticism. 

Media workers were harassed and prosecuted under draconian laws. The government failed to 

hold accountable armed groups that carried out a high-profile spate of killings of secular 

bloggers. Activists regularly received death threats, forcing some to leave the country.

In Maldives, restrictions on public debate intensified. The authorities harassed journalists, 

activists and media outlets. The government was apparently behind a relentless assault on the 

rule of law that compromised the judiciary’s independence.

IMPUNITY

Impunity was widespread and entrenched across South Asia. However, in Nepal, a district 

court sentenced three army officers to life imprisonment for the murder in 2004 of Maina 

Sunuwar, a 15-year-old girl; she died after being tortured in army custody during the decade-

long armed conflict between Maoists and government forces that ended in 2006. The 

convictions were an important development in the justice system’s ability to deal with grave 

conflict-era abuses, and offered the first sign of justice for victims.

In India, the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate more 

than 80 alleged extrajudicial executions by police and security force personnel in the state of 

Manipur between 1979 and 2012, ruling that cases should not go uninvestigated merely 

because of the passage of time.

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES

Enforced disappearances continued in Pakistan; the victims were at considerable risk of 

torture and other ill-treatment, and even death. No perpetrators were known to have been 

brought to justice for the hundreds or thousands of cases reported across the country in 

recent years.

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