Social development
Human rights
Locals want a disruptive dam project in Northern Myanmar terminated once and for all
It has now been five years since the Myitsone Dam project in Northern Myanmar was suspended, but a local ethnic Kachin man, Mung Ra, is still not satisfied. He wishes that the project had been entirely terminated. He frequently laments the loss of his farm and ...
Deputies uneasy about draft Law on Associations
National Assembly deputies spent the whole day on October 25 trying to iron out their differences over the draft Law on Associations. All agreed that the right to establish associations was one of the fundamental rights of citizens provided by the Constitution. However, some deputies said ...
Việt Nam, Thailand work to ensure Mekong river water usage
Việt Nam and Thailand will work closely with each other and with international organisations to use and manage Mekong river water resources efficiently to ensure the interests of the river basin nations. That was agreed by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister ...
WJP study: Rule of law improves slightly, still 98th out of 113
Myanmar is failing slightly less egregiously to maintain rule of law this year, according to the World Justice Project’s annual Rule of Law Index, which was released on October 20. The slight bump, from an overall score of 0.42 to 0.43 out of 1, is largely ...
Authorities to crack down on spread of ‘false information'
Security and domestic affairs authorities have been told to strictly enforce relevant laws to suppress ongoing spreading of false information and rumours via social media following the passing of His Majesty the King. Deputy army spokesperson Col Sirichan Ngathong said that Army Chief General Chalermchai ...
Ethnic minority families claim violent evictions in Preah Vihear
Six ethnic Kuoy families were violently evicted from their homes in Preah Vihear over the weekend, according to eyewitnesses, with further evictions threatened for another 13 families this morning. Boeng Choen, 44, was ploughing her rice field in Tbeng Meanchey district’s Brame commune on October 15 when ...
Aid delegation meets displaced Arakan State communities
A delegation from the United Nations, led by the under-secretary general of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visited displaced communities outside of the Arakan State capital of Sittwe on October 14. Reporters from The Irrawaddy accompanied Stephen O’Brien, who also serves as ...
Will hydropower turn the tide on the Salween River?
Both history and future development plans point to risks for the Salween River and its eco-systems and communities. Over-development, lack of public consultation and the appetite for energy threaten Asia’s last free flowing, international river. It is among the most visited, most photographed and most ...
170 Vietnamese asylum seekers given two weeks to leave
Almost two years since the latest wave of Montagnard asylum seekers began crossing into Ratanakkiri province claiming to be fleeing persecution in Vietnam, an immigration official said on October 12 that the 170 remaining in Phnom Penh had two weeks to return home or face forcible ...
Thousands flee fighting near site of dam backed by Thailand
As many as 10,000 people in Kayin State in Myanmar have been displaced due to fighting over the Hat Gyi Dam construction site, as plans move forward to begin building on the Salween River. Activists have reported a human rights crisis in the area as more than 1,000 ...
