Ahead of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue Alliance’s (QUAD) meeting on 22 May, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged leaders of the four-member states to address (the United States, India, Japan and Australia) to address democratic backsliding in Asia.
“The Quad needs to place Asia’s massive human rights and humanitarian crises at the heart of its discussions and decisions,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
He further added:
“Although each has vastly different causes and features, the human rights crises in Afghanistan, Myanmar, North Korea, and Sri Lanka should all be high on the security agenda.”
Commenting on Sri Lanka, HRW stressed that “the roots of the country’s current economic and political crisis lie in longstanding corruption and a lack of transparency”.
They further added that “the route to stability and economic recovery depends on increasing respect for human rights, strengthening the rule of law, and ensuring accountability”.
“Quad should support economic programs, including from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that seek to protect the most vulnerable from the worst effects of the economic crisis, while promoting political reforms to better protect fundamental rights and seek justice for past abuses” the statement emphasised.
Read the full statement here