Author: Debora N. Gunawan

[Debora N. Gunawan is an SJD student at the University of Michigan Law School] In late November 2025, a wave of torrential rains, cyclones, and monsoon-driven storms battered South and Southeast Asia. Devastating floods, landslides, and mudslides ravaged wide swathes of the region, from Sumatra in Indonesia to southern Malaysia, southern Thailand, Sri Lanka, and even the Philippines and Vietnam. Reports...

[Debora N. Gunawan is a Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) student at University of Michigan Law School] The Indonesian government’s response to the August 2025 protests should not be dismissed as mere “excessive force” or even as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, it amounts to torture under the Convention against Torture (CAT). This post argues that the crackdown satisfies CAT’s four...