<p><em>This article is published as the first in a series to mark the ILO's Asia and the Pacific Regional Meeeting to be held 4-7 December in Kyoto, Japan.</em></p> <p><strong>Siem Reap, Cambodia</strong> &ndash; Nit&rsquo;s family lives in a shaky thatch hut a short walk from the magnificent Ta Prohm ruins in the Angkor World Heritage Site. Her grandfather abandoned his family 15 years ago, and with no farm land, everyone has done their bit to stay together. Like her mother, aunt and grandmother, Nit now sells bracelets, postcards and magnets to tourists. </p>

<p>Cambodian women are increasingly at the forefront of the battle against a wave of forced evictions sweeping the country, Amnesty International said today in a new report that urges the government to halt the practice. </p>

<p>Southeast Asia has unfortunately earned a reputation for not being a safe place for journalists. The threats? Take a number. They range from imprisonment for crimes in outdated libel and slander laws, detention without trial, violence against media personnel, and impunity in the killing of journalists. </p>

<p><em>Detention of 13 a Step Back for Reform</em></p> <p>(New York, November 21, 2011) &ndash; The Malaysian government&rsquo;s detention of 13 people under the Internal Security Act (ISA) contradicts Prime Minister Najib Razak&rsquo;s pledge in September 2011 to repeal the abusive law and is a setback for reform, Human Rights Watch said today in a <a href="http://www.hrw.org/node/103074">letter</a> to the prime minister.</p>

<p>The recent deployment of the big-bag dyke by the government has come to represent a very visible aspect of a top-down, centralised approach that ignores the issues of justice and fairness. The big bag floodwall has become a symbol of what is wrong and unjust about Thailand's national development over the past decades.</p>

<p>A Red Shirt prisoner support group led by <a href="http://www.cleanclothes.org/media-inquiries/press-releases/lingerie-giant-triumph-sacks-workers-to-get-rid-of-unions">trade unionist</a> and political activist, <a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/feature/humanrights/34630/sisters-in-arms">Jittra Kotchadet</a>, delivered a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, in Bangkok today [16 Nov]. The group also staged <a href="http://www.prachatai3.info/journal/2011/11/37878">a small protest</a> of 200 people outside the Government House in Bangkok and called for the immediate release on bail of all lese majeste and political prisoners.</p>

<p><em>Press Government to Free Political Prisoners, End Impunity for War Crimes</em></p> <p>(Manila, November 17, 2011) &ndash; The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should set clear human rights benchmarks for Burma as a condition for its chairmanship of the regional grouping in 2014, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<p>The latest Shan Drug Watch report, released today, reveals that opium cultivation and drug production have surged across Shan State in areas of government control since Burma&rsquo;s 2010 election.</p>

<p>After launching nearly 20 &quot;successful&quot; coups d'etat, the Army has established a firm presence in Thai politics, arguably becoming almost a state within a state. Now, the flood crisis and the Army's role in assisting flood-affected residents has, whether intentionally or not, reinforced this view and suggested how difficult it would be for Thailand to cut back on the power and introduce solid civilian control over the top brass.</p>

<p><em>Joint Appeal to the Yingluck Shinawatra government by Asian Forum on Human Rights and Development, Clean Clothes Campaign, Front Line Defenders, International Federation for Human Rights, Lawyers' Rights Watch &ndash; Canada, Protection International, Southeast Asia Press Alliance, and World Organisation against Torture</em><em><br /> </em></p>

<p>On 9 November 2011, Front Line, together with ACAT France, Access Now, ARTICLE 19, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Index on Censorship, and Reporters Without Borders submitted a letter to Hoang Chi Trung, Director-General of the Department of International Organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, calling for the release of more than 20 detained journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders.</p>

<p>Despite the decreasing flood-water in some areas, volunteers are still needed to help with relief and recovery efforts in many provinces, including Bangkok, red-shirt volunteer leader Sombat Boon-ngam-anong said.</p>