Civil and political rights

The national data portal was launched by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) during a ceremony in Hanoi on 31 August. The portal provides data on state agencies in service of political and socio-economic activities, contributing to the process of e-government building in Vietnam. New digital services, ...

Hundreds of high school students demonstrated in Bangkok on Saturday to demand reform of an education system they say is outdated in the latest of more than a month of anti-authority protests. Protests that began on Thai university campuses have taken place almost daily since mid-July ...

Last month, Facebook moved to block a bid by The Gambia in a US court, in which it sought disclosure of posts and communications by members of Myanmar’s military and police. This legal step is related to a case brought by The Gambia before the International ...

A Lao man who had complained about corruption in the communist-run country on social media was arrested at his home in southern Laos last week and is being questioned in jail about links to “an anti-government group of overseas Laotians,” police sources told RFA Tuesday. The ...

China is ready to share data on water flows into the Mekong River, a longstanding request of downstream Southeast Asian countries, a Thai foreign ministry official said on Friday. Control of the waters is politically sensitive, and the livelihoods of millions of farmers and fishermen depend ...

Thai police have detained a prominent student leader amid a growing movement calling for political reforms. Parit Chiwarak, 22, was arrested on the outskirts of Bangkok for taking part in a demonstration last month. Students have held regular protests since then. They are calling for a new ...

Mekong countries are being urged to share data in regard to their dam operations as they are being suspected to contribute to these exceptionally low flows of the river, besides weather anomaly. The Mekong River has experienced the situation called by the regional water regulating body ...

The inter-governmental Mekong River Commission on Friday urged China and Southeast Asian countries to share more data on hydropower dam operations, as water flow in the Mekong hit record low levels for a second consecutive year. A report by the commission attributes the low water level ...

By the time COVID-19 was announced as a Public Health Emergency at the end of January 2020, the need for more data to understand both the virus and its impacts was clear. Now, more than ever before, data are needed to support decision-making on developing effective solutions that ...

Earlier this month, Maria Ressa, a prominent journalist and outspoken critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, was found guilty of cyber libel in another concerning development for media freedom in the country. While the incident was notable on its own terms, it also spotlighted the wider troubles ...