Social development
Human rights
Vietnam detains senior official for global rights group
A senior executive for an international human rights group was detained by Vietnamese authorities on Sunday as she arrived in the capital to attend a World Economic Forum meeting and is expected to be deported. Debbie Stothard, secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights, ...
Rohingya exodus: 132 Asean MPs seek probe
More than 130 Members of Parliament from Asean nations, including two from Singapore, have demanded that Myanmar be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC), the most united condemnation from the region since the violence began against the Rohingya a year ago. In a joint statement ...
Religious freedom violations in Asia increasing – UN Rapporteur
Religious freedoms in Asia are “eroding”, with an increase in religious fundamentalism across much of the continent, according to UN Religious Freedom rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed. Shaheed spoke during an event, hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Club in Thailand’s capital Bangkok, on the back of the 4th Southeast ...
Myanmar Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo await verdict
Two Reuters journalists who documented a massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are due to hear whether they will be jailed for violating a state secrets act. Keep reading ...
Can Facebook, or Anybody, Solve the Internet’s Misinformation Problem?
In the new age of the industrialization 4.0 the big information technology groups are taking proactive actions to remove detected coordinated propaganda campaigns, however is it enough? Reading ...
Asean needs to act in Rakhine
In the face of unresolved humanitarian disasters and continuing international outrage, Asean needs to consider seriously how it can help Myanmar on the Rohingya issue. Kang Siew Kheng writes that the regional grouping cannot hide behind the ‘non-interference’ principle and points out that working with ...
Myanmar panel probing Rohingya crisis pledges independence
Members of a commission established by Myanmar’s government to investigate human rights violations in western Rakhine state, where 700,000 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority fled brutal army operations, addressed critics Thursday with a pledge to be impartial. Keep reading ...
Is ASEAN defence diplomacy key to resolving the humanitarian situation in Myanmar?
ASEAN has been criticised for its response to the Rohingya refugee crisis. The grouping’s institutional design and existing conventions restrict opportunities for robust action. Myanmar’s military (known as the ‘Tatmadaw’) is the key element to finding a durable solution to the crisis, yet most Western ...
Cambodia blocks 17 media websites before vote
The government blocked access to independent media websites just hours before polling in the country’s controversial national election begins. Phos Sovann, director general of information and broadcasting at the Information Ministry, confirmed a total of 17 websites – including Voice of America, Radio Free Asia ...
What’s Behind Cambodia’s War on Fake News?
The government’s efforts to regulate fake news have raised concerns amid a wider campaign to suppress dissent as elections approach. Keep reading ...
