Asia Watch

January-February/Thailand: Researched and interviewed Burmese girls and women being trafficked into brothels in Thailand and the consequences faced by those "rescued" by Thai police which entailed arrest, detention and deportation as illegal immigrants.

February-March/Cambodia: To evaluate UN mission and extent of human rights abuses throughout Cambodia's northwest and eastern regions prior to elections.

March/Vietnam: Introduced Asia Watch to a wide variety of Vietnamese officials and opened dialogue on human rights and law reform.

March/East Timor and Indonesia: Observation of Xanana Gusmao trial.

March/Thailand: Attended the Bangkok NGO forum and regional conference on human rights and discussed issues of concern with Asian NGOs.

March/Hong Kong and China: Updated the religious situation, particularly among Catholics and Protestants, in China. Collected data on prison conditions.

April/Sri Lanka and southern India: Investigated reports of involuntary repatriation and human rights violations against Tamil refugee returnees from India.

April/Japan: Held discussions with government officials, NGOs and others on the role of Japan in promoting human rights in Asia.

May/Kashmir: Investigated human rights abuses in Kashmir.

May/Bangladesh: Investigated reports of abuse by Bangladeshi security forces against Burmese refugees.

August/Thailand (with the Jesuit Refugee Service, USA): Observed situation of Burmese in Thailand and investigated their reasons for leaving Burma.

August/Indonesia: Collected information on human rights in Irian Jaya, Java and Sumatra.

September/Philippines: Investigated relationship between human rights violations and logging.

October/Pakistan: Investigated human rights abuses associated with bonded labor.