Civil society
Non-government organizations
Laos refuses to host meeting of ASEAN civil society groups
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Laos will not host a meeting of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Southeast Asia on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit next year, a local official said, citing potential criticism by participants against governments in the region and inadequate resources as among reasons for the ...
Police block marchers on World Habitat Day
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More than 1,000 demonstrators from about 50 communities across the country gathered Monday to mark U.N. World Habitat Day and protest against widespread land and housing evictions, but found their march blocked by municipal authorities, who claimed the protesters posed a risk to security. Beginning the ...
Lao Government promoting CSO involvement in national development
The government wants to encourage more involvement of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in Laos in a bid to boost government policy in the fields of national construction and development. The government sector and representatives of CSO in Laos began meeting at a seminar in Vientiane on ...
Proposed Lao curbs on NGOs seen as choking development projects
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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 ...
Anti-dredging activists refuse to meet with government
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Activists have continued their campaign to drive out sand dredging companies from Koh Kong province’s Botum Sakor district, refusing a meeting with local authorities and instead holding a 100-strong protest outside the district hall. Keep reading ...
Cambodia: National Assembly passes controversial NGO law
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On 13 July the National Assembly passed the controversial NGO law, amid a boycott by the opposition and street demonstrations against the widely criticised legislation. After almost four hours of speeches commending the legislation and criticising their absent opposition counterparts, 68 Cambodian People’s Party lawmakers voted ...
Laos: Officials discuss national food and nutrition security
Stakeholders from the government, development partners, civil society organisations and the private sector gathered on 10 July to discuss and exchange information on food and nutrition security in Laos. Meeting at the Policy Dialogue on Food and Nutrition Security and the Asean Integrated Food Security Framework in ...
Transparency watchdog deals discounts to fight corruption
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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 ...
Cambodia: LANGO changes ‘too little’
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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 ...