Human Rights in the Global South (HRGS)

From Comfort to Conflict: Hotel Responsibilities and Water Rights in Yogyakarta

Yesaya Sandang — 2024-12-31

This article provides a socio-legal analysis of hotel responsibilities in upholding the human right to water, with a focus on Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It explores the obligations of hotels beyond legal compliance, examining relevant regulations and integrating primary data from interviews and observations of government agencies. The study identifies a significant disparity between statutory laws and their practical implementation, revealing tangible societal impacts. Furthermore, it highlights a gap between sustainable tourism discourse and the application of sustainable practices in hotel operations. Constraints and challenges within the existing legal framework for sustainable tourism are critically analysed, emphasising the need for reform. This research underscores the urgency of integrating water governance into the broader agenda of sustainable tourism, aligning with government priorities on tourism development. Methodologically, the study employs a qualitative approach, utilising socio-legal analysis to connect regulatory frameworks with real-world practices. By advancing discussions on sustainable practices in the hospitality sector, this study contributes significantly to the broader discourse on aligning tourism development with human rights and environmental sustainability. It fills a gap in the literature by systematically connecting water governance, human rights, and tourism regulation within a single analytical framework. Its urgency lies in addressing the escalating water resource challenges amidst tourism growth. The study concludes by emphasising the need for policy adjustments to address the disconnect between legislative frameworks and practical implementation, providing actionable insights for policymakers and stakeholders. Its novelty lies in reframing water governance in hotels as a central issue within sustainable tourism, rather than a peripheral or niche concern.

Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Document Abuses and Amplify Marginalised Voices in Conflict Zones: Lessons from Afghanistan

Murtaza Mohiqi — 2024-12-31

This study critically examines the specific role of emerging technologies in safeguarding human rights amidst conflict, with a focus on Afghanistan as a compelling case study. Technology is explored not merely as a passive recorder but as an active agent of accountability, employing innovative applications like artificial intelligence and blockchain to ensure evidence integrity and strengthen legal recourse. Beyond traditional social media, the research highlights the transformative potential of technologies such as virtual reality and immersive storytelling in amplifying marginalised voices, providing these communities with platforms to share their experiences more effectively and engage global audiences. The study also investigates context-specific communication strategies, showcasing how secure channels, mesh networks, and satellite communication help overcome barriers in conflict zones and ensure resilient information flow and emergency response. By analysing the Afghanistan case study, the research offers a critical examination of the ethical challenges, operational barriers, and practical implications associated with deploying these technologies. This article contributes to the growing interdisciplinary literature at the intersection of technology, human rights, and conflict by offering one of the first comprehensive analyses of how diverse digital tools function not only as evidentiary instruments but as mechanisms of empowerment and protection in fragile settings. This analysis underscores the importance of a balanced and contextually nuanced approach, addressing not only the opportunities but also the limitations and risks—such as ethical concerns, sustainability, and accessibility—in leveraging technology for human rights protection. The findings offer actionable insights for policymakers, human rights practitioners, and technologists, providing a roadmap for strategically integrating technology into human rights efforts to create a more just and equitable response to conflict.

Human Rights Violations and Democratic Backsliding in the Philippines under Duterte

Sol Iglesias — 2024-12-31

This study examines how state-led violence under the Duterte administration in the Philippines contributed to democratic backsliding, offering critical insights for understanding human rights violations in weak democracies of the Global South. The Philippine case, marked by mass killings under the guise of an anti-drug campaign, raises urgent questions about the relationship between coercive governance and democratic erosion. While existing scholarship on democratic decline focuses largely on electoral manipulation and institutional weakening, it often under-theorises the role of systematic state violence as a mechanism of autocratisation. Building on and extending this scholarship, the study contributes to global human rights debates by foregrounding how extrajudicial violence can erode democratic norms and institutions without direct electoral interference. It argues that in contexts like the Philippines, where formal institutions remain fragile and public support for punitive policies is high, state violence operates as a powerful tool to suppress dissent, consolidate executive power, and bypass institutional resistance. Methodologically, the research employs a comparative analysis of multiple democracy datasets including the Varieties of Democracy (VDem) and the Democratic Erosion Events Dataset (DEED) to trace temporal patterns of democratic decline. By incorporating state violence as a variable, the study reveals that democratic erosion began earlier and was more deeply entrenched than conventional indicators suggest. The findings underscore the need for more robust democracy assessment frameworks that systematically integrate civil and human rights violations, particularly in the Global South, where hybrid regimes increasingly blend formal democratic institutions with violent governance practices. The study concludes that addressing democratic backsliding in such settings requires rethinking standard metrics of democracy to include coercive practices and their legitimisation through popular support. It calls for future research to explore how state violence reshapes democratic trajectories and to develop interdisciplinary methods for capturing its complex impacts on governance and human rights.

Navigating Social Piety and State Stability in Indonesia’s Response to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis

Zezen Zainul Ali — 2024-12-31

This study investigates Indonesia’s response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, focusing on the tension between humanitarian commitments and national stability. It explores how a predominantly Muslim country situated in the Global South and not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention manages the arrival of refugees amidst growing regional insecurity and limited institutional capacity. The study aims to critically examine how Indonesia’s reception of Rohingya refugees reflects both Islamic values of solidarity and the political, legal, and economic dilemmas that follow. Employing an interdisciplinary literature-based approach, the research synthesis legal, sociopolitical, and religious perspectives to understand state responses to refugee movements. Findings reveal two key dynamics. First, the Rohingya have faced systemic persecution in Myanmar, particularly through Burmanization policies that led to ethnic cleansing and genocide, constituting gross human rights violations. Second, Indonesia’s moral support for Rohingya Muslims highlights its humanitarian orientation, yet this position generates challenges across various sectors, including religion, law, security, and the economy. The arrival of refugees has sparked domestic debates around state sovereignty, social cohesion, and resource allocation. This study contributes to the literature on human rights and refugee protection in the Global South by offering insights into how non-signatory states balance humanitarian values with national interests. It underscores the need for more adaptive, context-sensitive policy frameworks that protect vulnerable populations while ensuring domestic stability. The study encourages a deeper understanding of refugee governance in transitional democracies, where ethical responsibility and political pragmatism often collide.

Problematising Ethnonationalism and the Challenges of Democracy in Indonesia

Fitria Esfandiari — 2024-12-30

This research examines the dynamics of identity politics within the framework of ethnonationalism in Indonesia, highlighting the relationship between solidarity, conflict, and human rights issues. The aim of this research is to analyse how the state's response to ethnonationalist movements, particularly in Aceh and Papua, influences the formation of ethnic group solidarity while triggering conflicts that result in human rights violations. The research method used is a qualitative approach through literature study and case analysis, with data sources in the form of academic journals, official reports, and policy documents. The results show that identity politics can strengthen the internal solidarity of ethnic groups but has the potential to cause conflict if the state responds repressively. Case studies of Aceh and Papua reveal that security policies and state centralisation often exacerbate tensions, leading to human rights violations such as restrictions on freedom of expression and violence against civil society. The conclusions of this study emphasise the importance of an inclusive and human rights-based approach to the management of ethnonationalism and identity politics in order to prevent cycles of conflict and ensure the protection of the rights of minority groups in Indonesia. This study contributes to the literature by offering a contextualised analysis of how state strategies in managing ethnonationalist movements can either mitigate or intensify identity-based conflicts, particularly in post-authoritarian democracies.