CCHR Deplores the Curtailment of Fundamental Freedoms and the Silencing of Civil Society

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights condemns a series of attempts by the Cambodian authorities to curtail the rights to freedom of expression and assembly of ordinary people and civil society organizations in and around the five-day summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations […]

Joint Statement of the 2012 ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum

We, more than 1,200 delegates representing various civil society organizations and movements of workers from rural and urban sectors as well as the migrant sector, peasants and farmers, women, children, youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, urban poor, Indigenous Peoples, victims of human rights violations […]

Press Statement of the 2012 ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum

We, more than 1,200 delegates from all ten ASEAN countries representing various civil society organizations and movements of workers from rural and urban sectors as well as the migrant sector, peasants and farmers, women, children, youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, urban poor, Indigenous Peoples […]

Cambodia Curtails Freedom of Expression at ASEAN Civil Society Conference

Four workshops organized by civil society organizations were forced late last night to move their workshops to La Palaranda hotel, away from the main venue of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC)/ASEAN People’s Forum (APF), the Lucky Star Hotel (on Street 336, Phnom Penh). Three of the workshops dealt with land rights, eviction and environment issues and the fourth focused on Burma’s current political and human rights situation and the challenges this poses to the country’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2014 […]

ASEAN Leader’s Visit to Burma Unwittingly Shows Many Needed Steps

This past week, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan traveled to Burma where he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President Thein Sein and Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin. While ASEAN and its leaders tend to view developments in Burma through rose-tinted glasses, several of Surin’s comments during and after his visit illustrated just how many more steps are actually needed for there to be genuine reform in the country.

At a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand following his trip, Surin said, “If Myanmar is going to carry out its chairmanship successfully, many things need to happen within the next two years.” He elaborated that the country will need to invest in roads, telecommunications, hotels and internet systems for the thousands of national leaders, delegates and journalists that will attend […]

ASEAN Must Address Issue of Rights Abuses and Lack of Protections of Migrant Workers

The ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today called on ASEAN and its member governments, as well as international organisations, to take urgent and concrete measures to ensure the protection and rights of migrant workers across the region […]

MPs and Politicians from ASEAN on February 23-25 Fact-Finding Mission to Phang Nga, Thailand to Highlight Plight Faced by Burmese Migrants

Leading ASEAN MPs and members of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) will be in Thailand on a three-day fact-finding mission from February 23-25 to raise awareness on issues surrounding migrant […]

ASEAN Should Support and Promote a Credible and Transparent Process of Peace and Reconciliation in Myanmar and Mechanism of Human Rights Protection

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today welcomed the upcoming visit of ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan to Myanmar on 20 February but noted its continued […]

Open Letter to Secretary General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations

We write to you today on behalf of the undersigned ASEAN civil society organizations to share our lingering concerns about on‐going human rights violations in Burma/Myanmar ahead of your mission to the country on 20 February 2012. We would like […]

AIPMC Welcomes Cambodia as ASEAN Chair but Urges Rapid Reforms on Human Rights and Democracy

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus today welcomed Cambodia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but made clear it wanted to see increased focus and improvement in the protection of human rights and the strengthening of democratic institutions in Myanmar and across the region […]