“It started when some people from the government came around the community telling us that we were illegally occupying the land,” Chhae Kimsrour said in June 2020. “I’ve lived here since 1995, but six months later they came back and started filling in my lake. They said it was their land now – many families in the area have been affected.”

At the time, Kimsrour was raising fish and crocodiles in Beoung Samrong, a small community on the northwestern outskirts of Phnom Penh. Living with three generations under one roof, he said his aquaculture enterprises were sustaining his family – until the government filled in two of his three lakes, claiming that the land was in fact state-public land that the authorities were requisitioning, reportedly to build a park.

“They built a road right through my property, everything I own, I earned through sweat and blood – what other country would do this to its people?” said a visibly distraught Kimsrour.

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How do we counter massive pollution on land, at sea and in the air? How do we ensure justice for human rights defenders who are attacked when defending the environment? How do we promote more inclusion and participation in decision-making processes?

The 17 United Nations-backed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to address these challenges by stipulating that various targets are to be attained from 2015 to 2030. Inevitably, there is special resonance for Asia and the Pacific, the world’s most populous region.

A picture of the region not faring too well on the aforementioned issues is emerging. In a recent report released by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the Asia-Pacific region has been regressing on the issues of climate change (covered by SDG Goal 13) and marine environment (covered by SDG goal 14). More specifically, the Southeast Asia region has been regressing on SDG Goal 16, which encompasses access to justice, participatory decision-making and access to information, which are closely related to environmental protection and human rights.

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The post OPINION: UN SDG goals boost access to justice first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Several Southeast Asian governments and social movements are seeking to counter mounting polarization and inter-communal strife across the globe fuelled by the rise of civilizationalist leaders who think in exclusionary rather than inclusionary terms.

In the most high-brow of various initiatives, King Abdullah of Jordan is scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the inaugural International Conference on Cohesive Societies organized by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) with support from the Singapore government.

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The post Building Cohesive Societies: Southeast Asian States Take On Gargantuan Challenge – Analysis first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The ten signatories to the National Cease fire Agreement started a five-day meeting at Chiang Mai from May 14-18 to discuss about the agreement and how to move the peace process forward.

It looks that having been brought into the “bag”, the smaller groups which have unwittingly joined the cease fire agreement without a well thought out agenda are fighting for their relevance in the absence of any progress on the political dialogue.  One member of the group the KNU has already withdrawn from the peace process for all practical purposes. 

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The post Myanmar: Signatories Of NCA Meet, Lofty Ideas But No Clout – Analysis first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

Countries that rely on large hydropower dams for their electricity suffer higher levels of poverty, corruption and debt than other nations, a study has found.

The study by the University of Sussex and the International School of Management in Germany compared the security, political governance, economic development and climate change performance of major hydropower states against oil-producing and all other countries using 30 years of World Bank data.

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That is the information given by Chris Batt, UNODC’s adviser against money laundering / counter-terrorism financing at the   workshop “Enhancing compliance awareness on money laundering prevention, terrorism financing and multilateral assessment processes.”

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The post ‘Dirty money’ in the Mekong region is about 100 billion USD / year first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

“The scope of the law is so broad, it’s like Big Brother activists have called the legislation “cyber martial law” said Kanathip Thongraweewong, Director of Digital Media Law Institute at Kasembandit University.

Thailand’s Junta Government The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Friday defended a controversial cybersecurity law approved this week, following an outcry from rights groups and internet users over privacy and surveillance concerns.

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The post Thailand’s Junta Government Defends Controversial Cybersecurity Law first appeared on Open Development Mekong.

The upcoming 40th anniversary of the brief but devastating border clash between China and Việt Nam in 1979 offers a chance to reflect on history and draw lessons to consolidate bilateral ties, not to deepen hatred.

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Hà Nội has been chosen to host the political event of the year. US President Donald Trump will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of February. So what can we expect from the meeting?

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Myanmar government troops opened 2019 with exchanges of gunfire with an ethnic armed organization in Rakhine state’s Buthidaung township, while police accused the same rebel group of attacking a convoy transporting the regional chief.

The Myanmar Army engaged in clashes with the Arakan Army (AA) all day Tuesday in northern Rakhine’s

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The post New Year Opens With Fighting, Attack on Top Official in Myanmar’s Rakhine State first appeared on Open Development Mekong.