SEAPA | Southeast Asian Press Alliance

As a whole[1], the region has moved backward on media freedom in 2012 with more restrictive laws being enacted by governments, while in many countries journalists and civil society continues to be threatened by violence

The year 2012 was a landmark year for human rights in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), after its leaders unveiled its first ever human rights instrument, the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) on 12 November 2012.

The AHRD was widely hailed as a significant step towards better protection of human rights in a region notorious for its human rights record.

In 2011, the control of most Southeast Asian states over their respective national press has been put under severe challenge as the media landscape shifts online and away from traditional broadcast and print media. Everywhere in the region Internet access has been rising, and social media use —especially as an alternative and quicker source of news and information—has been increasing.

Freedom of expression continues to come under attack in the region where even the more established democracies are witnessing steadily increasing threats in the form of violence against the media and efforts by various segments of society to censor and control the free flow of information. This report presents the cases and trends for 2010 and identifies the expectations for the year 2011.

(23  January  2010) The massacre of 31  journalists in Maguindanao, the Philippines, on 23 November 2009, most  graphically illustrates the violence and impunity that threaten  journalists not only in the Philippines, but throughout the region.

The months ahead will hold much peril and uncertainty for members of the press in Southeast Asia.

The years 2009 and 2010 will be highly charged, for starters, anticipating national election seasons for most countries in the region. Even without the chaos and violence attendant to electoral exercises in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma, the unpredictability of the contests and the inevitability of uncertainty will give the region’s journalists not only compelling stories and issues to follow, but also dangerous times and situations to navigate.