PDF Format: Lesson Series 52

THE ISSUE

Emergency and martial laws are increasingly common around Asia. These laws grant inordinate power to governments, be they civilian or military, while curbing the civil liberties of ordinary citizens. The laws also tend to give the government supremacy over institutions such as the police and judiciary. In this way, there are no longer any checks on government power, which is used to keep the government in place and protect it from its opponents.

In such situations, the protection of human rights becomes nearly impossible. Rule of law, which is the greatest component in upholding basic rights, becomes a tool to be manipulated by the government and/or military. The institutional and legal provisions for the realization of human rights no longer have any meaning. 

THE LESSONS