Cambodia Becomes the World’s Newest One-Party State
With strong Chinese support, Prime Minister Hun Sen has effectively destroyed all opposition to his autocratic rule.
Welcome to the Post-Human Rights World
Geopolitical realignments and the rise of populist nationalism have unleashed a global backlash against human rights.
Activist murder heightens political tensions in Cambodia
Political tensions are intensifying in Cambodia following the brazen daytime killing of a high-profile activist in the capital Phnom Penh.
Dancing with dictators
Unbowed by prison terms and vicious beatings, human rights lawyer Robert Sann Aung has been battling Myanmar’s much-derided judiciary for more than 30 years.
Cambodia carve-up under the spotlight
PHNOM PENH -There were scenes of jubilation in Cambodia’s capital last month when a group of 13 imprisoned women – including a 72-year-old grandmother – was set free by an appeal court. The women were arrested in May during peaceful demonstrations against the forced eviction of thousands of families living around Boeung Kak Lake, an...
Annus horribilis for Cambodian rights
PHNOM PENH – On April 26, a prominent Cambodian anti-logging campaigner was shot and killed by military police in the Cardamom Mountains in the country’s southwest. Chut Wutty, the director of the Natural Resources Protection Group, was reportedly escorting two local journalists through a densely-forested part of Koh Kong province when his car was stopped...
Cambodia: prison labor concerns
A new law legalizes the use of prison labor by private companies, putting Cambodia’s “sweatshop-free” reputation on the line.
Inside Bangladesh’s organ bazaar
In what is supposed to be a microfinance mecca, many go to extreme measures to pay off debts.
Cambodian NGOs under the gun
PHNOM PENH – These are tough times for Cambodia’s embattled non-governmental organizations (NGOs). As the government gears up to pass controversial legislation regulating the country’s estimated 2,000 civil society groups, it has drawn strong criticism for a coordinated crackdown on land rights groups working on a foreign donor-funded railway renovation project.
Bangladesh’s Troubling Death Squad
The Rapid Action Battalion has enjoyed strong public support for routinely killing alleged criminals. But is it always acting within the law?
The walking dead
Convicts in Myanmar are used as disposable pack-horses by the military, facing terror and death on jungle battlefields
Fraying at the seams
Cambodian garment workers uneasy as factories shift to shorter-term contracts that increase pressure, while a labour standards group reports excessive hours and banned solvents that contribute to fainting
