A massacre in Thailand's Muslim-majority south symbolises the state's lack of accountability 

The west looks away, observes Mark Dearn

A political tsunami in Tokyo has implications for Washington and Beijing too

A one-time democratic hope in central Asia is descending into authoritariansm 

The Colombo government's repression, detention and evasion demand an international inquiry

The unlikely leader of the 1986 "people-power" revolution embodied ideas that still inspire

Burma's imprisoned leader remains a beacon of her country's hunger to be free (archive)

The Jakarta hotel attacks reflect a change in jihadi militancy in Indonesia that poses a political challenge

The needs of the post-war period include accountability and redress for past violations

Cambodia's H1N1 precaution is a case-study in the local mediation of a global epidemic

The resignation of the Maoist prime minister Prachanda leaves Nepal's political crisis in the balance

A review of David Loyn's new history of Afghanistan

Pyongyang's complex internal politics are key to its military ventures (archive) 

A fiery border crisis fuses old tensions and modern politics (archive)

After thirty years, a Khmer Rouge trial opens. One witness tells her epic tale

Oil-fuelled growth with child prostitution in Timor-Leste

Japan's deep economic travails magnify the flaws of its embarrassing prime minister 

George Williams (Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, University of New South Wales): As the United Kingdom faces a possible national debate on the future of the Human Rights Act and a possible Bill of Rights - not to mention debate over the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission advice to the UK government on a Bill of Rights for the province - it may be of value to keep eyes on the national debate that is beginning in Australia on whether to have its own human rights act. It surprises many that Australia lacks a bill or charter of rights, but in fact it is the last democratic country in the world without such an instrument. This is not due to a lack of trying, with failed national attempts to bring about such a law in the 1970s and 1980s. The latest attempt represents a once in a generation opportunity to bring about national reform. It has been initiated by the newly elected Rudd Labor government that came to office in late 2007. Australia, a federal state, does have charters of rights at the state and territory level. The first to be enacted was the Australian Capital Territory's Human Rights Act 2004, followed by the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006. Community-based inquiries in Tasmania and Western Australia have recommended like reform. These processes, like the just announced national inquiry, were based upon that undertaken in Victoria. I was the Chair of the Victorian inquiry which proved to be extremely effective in giving Victorians a say, with over 2,500 submissions, over 100 meetings around the state that produced a sense of reform being built from the ground up. The success of the Victorian process has recently been recognised by the UK's Joint Committee on Human Rights. Australia's national human rights consultation is being run by an independent committee of four people chaired by Father Frank Brennan. It is seeking submissions by 29 May 2009 and has been asked to report back to the federal government by the end of August 2009. The inquiry has already attracted considerable media attention, and grassroots and other committee organisations mobilising to have their say.

A political crisis in Bangkok is a dangerous distraction from the insurgency in Thailand’s south

A new contest over Malaysia's political future is taking shape

An expelled people have lost their case to return. That leaves the court of history (archive)

Another year, another prime minister. A misunderstood Japanese parable explains why

Where will an end to Burma’s long dictatorship begin? A look inside a complex political order

The ideals of the “8-8-88” uprising remain the foundation of Burma’s future

Burma's junta crushed the people in 1988. But its strength today is more mirage than reality

The mayor of Hiroshima's atomic-bomb anniversary peace-declaration looks forward

A entrenched ruling party and a fragmented opposition incubate longer-term problems

Beijing's response to a furious local protest signals a vital change in its governing mode

A troubled polity with a politicised judiciary and open to racial discourse needs a house-clean

China's convulsive Olympic year connects its people to the rest of the world in new ways