Elaine Pearson
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elainepearson.bsky.social
Elaine Pearson
@elainepearson.bsky.social
Asia Director, Human Rights Watch
Author of Chasing Wrongs and Rights
"Dismantling the Taliban’s institutionalised system of gender persecution & addressing the country’s myriad human rights crises demands urgent, principled & sustained international attention & action – not normalisation of the de facto authorities" UN SR on Afghanistan www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
October 31, 2025 at 2:02 PM
“Good news that 3 Singaporean activists charged with organizing a peaceful pro-Palestinian march without a permit were acquitted. The fact it even went to trial shows Singapore needs to urgently reform its draconian public order act and uphold freedoms of expression & assembly.”
October 21, 2025 at 3:23 PM
WATCH executive director @fborello.bsky.social in Colombo to launch @hrw.org new report “Tax Giveaways, Struggling Schools: How Low Taxes Drove Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis & Squandered its Education Lead,” Speech + panel discussion here from 1600hrs IST www.facebook.com/share/17U1u8...
October 15, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Read Ali Cook's account in her own words about what happened & the lack of follow up until the press got involved: "On March 4, 2024, I was sexually assaulted by members of a visiting Vietnamese delegation..." www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3608...
October 7, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Spoke to @france24.com about China's chilling new ethnic unity bill which could be used to facilitate intensifying ideological controls, target ethnic & religious minorities including by erasing minority language rights & foster control beyond China’s borders.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddws...
October 6, 2025 at 5:22 PM
See below for @hrw.org response to the life sentence for the Thai gunman who killed Cambodian former opposition MP Lim Kimya in cold blood on a Bangkok street. All those responsible should be brought to justice despite their political connections. 👇 www.bbc.com/news/article...
October 3, 2025 at 10:11 AM
It’s beyond disappointing to see Singapore bending over backwards to please Beijing by rejecting pro-democracy leader Nathan Law at the border.
bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My quote responding to this news below 👇
September 29, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Cambodian lenders have marketed microfinance loans as a pathway out of poverty, but they have pushed Indigenous families into over-indebtedness. These loans have cost many people their land, their health, and sometimes their lives.
New @hrw.org report www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...
September 25, 2025 at 8:13 AM
We are hiring! @hrw's Asia Division is looking for a new deputy director with expertise on China to supervise our work on China & other countries. We are looking for a strong manager and editor with a keen sense of political judgement. More details here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/humanrightsw...
August 29, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Holding a 77-year-old man in prolonged solitary confinement while his health fails is outrageously cruel.

Hong Kong should drop these baseless charges against Jimmy Lai now.
August 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM
More than 100,000 Myanmar refugees in Thailand have lost access to essential food & medical aid due to US funding cuts, putting them at serious risk. The Thai government should immediately permit refugees to lawfully work and travel outside its refugee camps. www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...
August 12, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Proud of 100k Sydneysiders who spent a rainy Sunday marching over the bridge for Gaza. @hrw's latest research shows how Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are gunning them down as they desperately seek food for their families www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...
August 4, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Quote from @hrw.org reacting to Myanmar military junta's Commander in Chief Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing's participation in the BIMSTEC meeting in Bangkok on April 4👇
April 3, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Where possible, outside aid should be provided directly to the Burmese people & not through the military junta & assistance should not be limited only to military occupied areas.

We should remember the lessons from Cyclone Nargis, see @hrw's report: www.hrw.org/news/2010/04...
March 29, 2025 at 11:24 AM
While waiting for the International Criminal Court (ICC) livestream of Philippines ex-president Duterte's initial court appearance, you might want to read the ICC's arrest warrant on crimes against humanity charges: www.icc-cpi.int/sites/defaul...
March 14, 2025 at 1:11 PM
At long last, good to see this step towards accountability for crimes against humanity in Afghanistan. The International Criminal Court's prosecutor has requested arrest warrants against 2 Taliban leaders for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds www.icc-cpi.int/news/stateme...
January 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Actually Roger Cook, what is "rubbish" is that 2 children died in Western Australia's detention system in less than a year. And children continue to be detained in Unit 18 - a wing of a maximum security adult prison Casuarina. Our report is based on facts, not trash. www.hrw.org/news/2025/01...
January 20, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Excited to launch @hrw.org's World Report 2025 in Bangkok this Friday at FCCT with Meenakshi Ganguly, Sunai Phasuk & @reaproy.bsky.social. Come along!
January 15, 2025 at 10:44 AM
This week marks the tragic 12th anniversary of the disappearance of activist Sombath Somphone from a police checkpoint in Laos. 78 NGOs join a call on governments to ask “Where is Sombath?” at next year's UN review of Laos' human rights record 👇 www.hrw.org/news/2024/12...
December 18, 2024 at 5:26 AM
Excellent panel at FCCThailand 12 years after the disappearance of Sombath Somphone at a police checkpoint in Laos. His wife Shui-Meng talks about the continuing culture of fear to silence any discussion critical of the Lao government.
December 16, 2024 at 12:28 PM
Horrifying. As more stories emerge about Assad's brutality in Syria & prisoners are released from Saidnaya prison, "some prisoners were so traumatised that they had forgotten their own names. Rebels gathered them in a nearby mosque to try to identify them." www.economist.com/middle-east-...
December 10, 2024 at 3:07 PM
Police in Delhi carried out a politically motivated raid on the offices of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR). New from @hrw www.hrw.org/news/2024/12...
December 10, 2024 at 9:25 AM