Development and assistance for human rights

Human rights groups at the United Nations and in Myanmar are hopeful the incoming government will radically change the country’s attitude to protecting human rights, after representatives for Naypyidaw rejected a large number of proposed human rights reform made under the Universal Period Review process. The ...

The European Union must pressure the Lao government to make “firm commitments” during bilateral human rights talks set for later this week in Vientiane, according to Paris-based rights group International Federation for Human Rights. The EU should demand assurances from Laos that it will improve its ...

Cambodia has been named among states accused of using counter-terrorism measures to clamp down on human rights and civil society in a report released this week by the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism. Speaking in New York on 26 October, the British ...

Amnesty International has called on the authorities to reopen the investigation into the killing of environmental activist Charoen Wat-aksorn after the Supreme Court upheld the acquittals of three people accused of involvement in his death. Keep reading ...

A prominent human rights advocate says Cambodia continues to operate in a repressive environment, with a government that fails to respect local and international standards and laws. Rights workers in Cambodia are under “all kinds of threats, both spiritually and in personal security,” Ny Chakrya, lead ...

Lao authorities have failed to properly account for the disappearance almost three years ago of civil society activist Sombath Somphone, who was last seen in police custody at a checkpoint in the capital Vientiane, and must commit themselves to a “real and renewed” effort to ...

The Lao government’s changes to regulations on domestic nonprofit associations will hinder the work of the groups and slow down development projects in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, an NGO official said 11 September. Keep reading ...

British rights activist Andy Hall has been charged with criminal defamation in Thailand after he researched a report that alleged labour abuses at the Natural Fruit Company, a large Thai pineapple wholesaler that supplies the EU. The Bangkok south criminal court decided on 24 August to indict the ...

Transparency International Cambodia has launched a new campaign to encourage citizens to fight corruption, issuing a card that provides discounts with more than 100 companies to people who vow to work against the practice. The card includes a hotline to report corruption that its holders may ...

The government yesterday confirmed four changes to the controversial NGO law in response to widespread criticism; opponents, however, say the edits are insignificant and the legislation remains a “severe violation” of Cambodia’s constitution. As protests over the law continued yesterday in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park, ministers ...