Social development
Civil society
SDGs' message disseminated in Luang Prabang
About 500 officials, lecturers and students at Souphanouvong University in Luang Prabang province gained insight about the implementation of the nation’s Sustainable Development Goals this week. The information on SDGs was presented in Luang Prabang on Monday by speakers from international agencies along with the ...
Upcoming ASEAN forum must listen to Lao civil society
The ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum which is to take place on 2 August in Dili, Timor-Leste appears to be clouded by uncertainty and fears. Concerns have emerged as there have been no indications that the three-day meeting, as stated during preparatory events in March and ...
US spending bill ties aid to end of government ‘violence’
According to a Senate report accompanying the bill, the vast majority of the recommended budget for Cambodia, $69.9 million of it, would go toward health programs and development assistance. Most of the rest would go to military education and training, demining, anti-terrorism and related programs. ...
‘Fifth Estate’ app aims for govt accountability in Myanmar
In a country now saturated with smartphones and an information-hungry population, it was only a matter of time before someone developed an app for civic engagement with the newly elected National League for Democracy-led government. Enter Ko Soe Lin Htoot, a 32-year-old computer designer who hopes ...
Civil societies call for more space at table
Civil society organisations have called for more representation around the negotiating table when the government and ethnic armed groups launch the next stage of the peace process in early January. CSOs from across the country meeting in Yangon on 17 December complained that they had been completely ...
Organiser arrested over march
The organiser of a protest by community members who face eviction from their homes to make way for a railway project in Banteay Meanchey province was detained on 14 December after demonstrators burned an effigy and dragged its decapitated body through the streets. About 50 protesters marched ...
Human Rights Day protest stays peaceful
Close to 2,000 people, including monks, NGO workers and citizens, marched peacefully to the Ministry of Justice on 10 December morning, defying City Hall’s ban on the Human Rights Day protest. Demonstrators from 16 different provinces marched from three separate locations – the Senate, Chenla Cinema and ...
Human Rights Day marches gathering steam despite gov't obstacles
Authorities in Siem Reap on 9 December blocked a march celebrating International Human Rights Day (IHRD), as officials in Phnom Penh reiterated their threat to shut down a planned mass rally in the capital on 10 December. As IHRD, officially on 10 December, approaches, associated demonstrations across ...
Villagers face court over ELC protest
The Preah Vihear Provincial Court has ordered nine villagers to appear on 9 December to respond to allegations that they dismantled the office of a Malaysian rubber plantation company five months ago. The nine villagers and 300 protesters allegedly pried the wooden walls off of a building ...
People’s forum to meet this month
Strengthening links between government and people, the Myanmar People’s Forum will meet at Yangon’s International Business Centre from 15-16 December, executive director U Kyaw Lin Oo has announced. The forum brings together MPs, representatives of government and local civil society to get people’s voices heard. Keep reading ...
