WASHINGTON, Jan 18: Respect for human rights in Asia has been seriously eroded over the past year, with some governments committing the worst abuses, US-based Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.

Highlighting violations in Nepal, Cambodia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China in its annual report, the group charged that governments were hiding behind the so-called ‘Asian values’ argument to commit abuses.

Some Asian leaders have argued that the supposedly universal human rights documents and treaties actually privilege Western values to the detriment of Asian values.

Since not all Asian nations are as economically developed as Western nations, they contend, it is not fair to expect them to uphold all of the global human rights requirements.

“Impunity from prosecution for human rights violations is the most important problem in the region, and the most widespread,” said Brad Adams, Asia division director at New York-based Human Rights Watch.

“The ‘Asian values’ argument that human rights are different in Asia has been defeated but abusive governments that used to hide behind that rhetoric still commit the worst kinds of abuses without fear of punishment,” he said. China and Vietnam were accused of continuing to censor the Internet, restrict religious freedom, and freedom of expression.

China came under fire for cracking down ‘forcefully and sometimes Violently’ on protestors amid growing unrest stemming from uneven economic growth and forced evictions.

Beijing was also accused of using the ‘war on terrorism’ to attack political opponents and branding them as ‘Islamic terrorists’.

Pakistan, India, Nepal and Thailand allegedly violated human rights in efforts to crush rebellions and insurgencies, while an increasingly violent insurgency in Afghanistan hampered desperately needed development efforts.

In North Korea, Human Rights Watch expressed fears that Pyongyang’s decision to end relief operations by the World Food Programme and most residing Western aid groups could lead to more hunger for the vulnerable population.

Military-ruled Myanmar was criticized for ‘severe repression’, but the Association of Southeast Asian Nations received kudos for forcing Yangon to relinquish its chairmanship of the 10-member grouping due to its ‘appalling’ rights record.

India also played a ‘positive role’ by suspending most military aid to Nepal in retaliation for King Gyanendra’s power grab, Human Rights Watch said.

WOMEN & GIRLS: The group referred to the plight of women and girls in the region who, it said, continued to suffer from discrimination and violence.