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When Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf declared his country in a “state of emergency,” hundreds of human rights activists, lawyers, judges, and journalists were arrested and detained. The fundamental rights of citizens were suspended. Civil society groups and activists are now calling for the proclamation to be immediately revoked.

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More than 3,000 people died from the cyclone that recently hit the shores of Bangladesh, and left millions homeless and hungry. Aid workers are now working fast to reach all survivors.

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Civil society organisations and trade unions across Southeast Asia gathered at the 3rd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC III) in Singapore on November 2-4, 2007. About 200 participants came to discuss issues of common concerns, particularly in calling for transparency and public discussions on the drafting of the ASEAN Charter.

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During their first terms in the UN Human Rights Council, members of the Asian regional group affirmed that the Universal Periodic Review mechanism should be characterised by “full transparency” and “genuine cooperative dialogue.” However, as more information surfaces about the impunity with which human rights are violated by the governments of this regional group, there is growing scepticism as to whether the rhetoric of accountability will figure prominently in the Council’s review of these countries in 2008.

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Human rights groups and activists have expressed opposition on the proposed Guatemalan law that if passed, would “bar single parents as well as same-sex couples from the definition of ‘family,’ and threaten the legal status of children conceived through reproductive technologies.”

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The nationwide protests against the military junta, lead by thousands of Burmese monks and joined in by numerous civilians, ended with a crackdown by the military regime, leaving hundreds of people arrested, beaten, or dead. The junta also tightened the security further by cutting down access to the Internet and mobile phones.