Welcome to hbs Southeast Asia
Student Protest in Jakarta

More than Sex: Indonesian Students as Last Line of Defense for Justice

Opinion

More than romanticizing the Reformation in 1998, the student protest was incited by numerous controversial bills to be passed by the parliament. One of them being the Revision to the Criminal Code (RKUHP) which is now being framed as the ‘Sex Law’ by many international media. The reason why it’s referred as the ‘Sex Law’ is probably because its parts that would criminalize pre-marital sex and same-sex relations. But this label does not do justice, both to the Criminal Code revision and also to the current student movement in Indonesia.

By Margianta Surahman Juhanda Dinata

Recent Articles

TYTD

A Climate Call for Thailand

Opinion

Thais often associate climate change action to plastic waste which is not the whole point of it. It’s easier to feel empathy for marine lives who suffer from plastic waste but not be responsible for the carbon footprint. Many of us still don’t get the big picture. Fighting climate change would involve reducing carbon emission, driving less, saving energy, being vegetarian, using local products, avoiding aviation, waste separation, recycle and more.

By Sanathorn Ratanapoompinyo
IDP3

Life in the Border: The Forgotten IDPs in Southern Shan State

Refugees

It is just an uphill-muddy trail glued to the border with Thailand. But thousands of ethnic Shan call it home since they were evicted at gunpoint from their villages in northeastern Myanmar over two decades ago. And as the war in the country’s ethnic regions flares up and peace talks between the government and non-state armed groups collapse, their protracted displacement is quietly becoming a permanent one.

By Jordi Calvet
Climate Justice Now!

Click here

Articles on Climate Change from Southeast Asia

Cement and the Kendeng Mountains

Threatened Biodiversity and Empty Wombs: Climate Change and Women’s Plight in Central Java

Study

With the increasing threats of climate change, corporate investment and industrial expansion in the area, women are faced with new challenges in the form of migration and trafficking. The impacts of climate change are charted as follows: decreasing crop yields; threats to food security; increased water stress and drought; increasing fluvial flooding and rainfall; frequent fluvial flooding; an increasing number of tropical cyclones (in certain areas); and rise of sea level affecting livelihood in coastal regions.

By Dewi Candraningrum

Kendeng Movement: Speak Up for Mother Earth!

Read more

Podcast | Our Voices, Our Choices

This series hands the microphone to people whose voices don’t often get heard - people now making choices which don’t conform to laws or customs - or whose views have long been disregarded, even censored. Its about communities fighting for basic human rights and its about the diverse tools of their struggles. We discover how women are securing their rights through political protest, we look in detail at women’s reproductive rights and we go into LGBT communities worldwide.

Dossier: 70 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 - 2018

Click Here for Articles and Videos on 70 Years of UDHR

The UDHR and Migrant Workers Rights in ASEAN - Jolovan Wham

The UDHR and Human Rights in ASEAN - Dr. Dinna Wisnu

The UDHR and Democracy in ASEAN - Dr. Naruemon Thambhumpon

The UDHR and LGBTI Rights in ASEAN - Dr. Dédé Oetomo

Articles on 70 Years of UDHR

Human Rights After Seventy Years: The View from the South

Read more

Rethinking the Mobility (and Immobility) of Queer Rights in Southeast Asia: A Provocation

Read more

Human Rights Against Populism: A Progressive Response to the Politics of Duterte and Mahathir

Read more

Ecology & Social Justice

Impacts of Tourism Expansion on Social and Environmental Degradation in Yogyakarta

Read more

Climate Change Art: Artists Speak Up for Climate in Vietnam

Read more

Sliding down the Slippery Slopes of Unsustainability: Rampant Hill Development in Penang

Read more
Read more on Ecology & Social Justice

Democracy & Participation

“The civil union bill misses the target” says Thailand’s first transgender MP

Read more

The 2019 Philippine Elections: Consolidating Power in an Eroding Democracy

Read more

Jokowi’s Triumph in the 2019 Presidential Election and the Future of Binary Politics

Read more
Read more on Democracy & Participation

About the Foundation

Articles and Podcasts on 50 Years of ASEAN

Blogs

Air Quality Measurement - Click here to follow our station!

ASEAN explained in 5 Minutes

50 Years of ASEAN - Still Waiting for Social and Ecological Justice

Within 50 years of existence, ASEAN has made progress on environmental policies – at least on paper. On the ground, paradigms around economic development and growth still shape realities of the people who find it literally harder and harder to breathe.

Forest fires and the haze, daily traffic routines and large-scale industry make the extent of environmental damage in Southeast Asia visible. In this podcast series, we look behind ASEAN´s promises to be sustainable and people-oriented and find that the institution still falls short of social and ecological justice.

State of Democracy in Southeast Asia

Recent Publications

cover_afraid_of_thelight

Afraid of the Light: Unmasking the Discourse on Irregular Migration and Its Implications for Migration Governance in ASEAN

This paper attempts to investigate the issue of irregular migration in the ASEAN region. The space and attention given to a burgeoning reality of irregular migration is yet to be given its due space at national policy-level and regional discussions. The primary objective of the paper is to function as a baseline study for future advocacy on protection of the rights of undocumented migrants in the region. Primarily, it focuses on the governance of migration, or the lack thereof, by contextualising the current status of irregular migrants in major destination countries of the ASEAN region, being Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

pdf

Safeguarding People and the Environment in Chinese Investments (Second Edition): A Reference Guide for Advocates

This publication provides a practical guide to the policies, standards and guidelines for Chinese outbound investment. The updated guide builds on our 2017 edition, adding new details on the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s new vision for enhancing global connectivity, along with updates to administrative guidance from China’s central state agencies on outbound investment.  It also covers new guidelines on rubber, agriculture, infrastructure projects and more. The guide explains the key actors involved in Chinese overseas investment and describes the environmental and social standards and guidelines that apply. It provides practical tips on how these standards can be used in advocacy with relevant Chinese actors and institutions.

pdf

Annual Report 2018

The year 2018 was marked by new political developments that presented a formidable challenge to the liberal, multilateral order: the isolationism of the United States under Donald Trump, a shift to the right in Latin America that intensified with the election of Jair Bolsonaro as president of Brazil, the continued rise of China, and the suppression of the liberal-democratic spirit in numerous European countries by right-wing populist forces. All of this underscores the fact that the international order is changing, and the resulting shifts in power are shaking old certainties.

pdf

Perspectives Asia #7: Nationalisms and Populisms in Asia

Nationalistic sentiments spurred by populist rhetoric have been on the rise globally. Asia is no exception to this trend. Some Asian leaders communicate visions that can instill a feeling of pride, creating a rarely felt sense of belonging among people. Yet the current streak of Asian nationalism can also become a setbackfor democracy and human rights.

 

pdf

ATLASES

Agrifood Atlas – Facts and figures about the corporations that control what we eat

The list of the world’s largest 500 companies by turnover contains a huge number of firms engaged in agriculture and food. And the trend continues towards a further concentration of power. Agrifood corporations are driving industrialization along the entire global value chain, from farm to plate. Their purchasing and sales policies promote a form of agriculture that revolves around productivity. The fight for market share is achieved at the expense of the weakest links in the chain: farmers, and workers.

pdf

Coal Atlas: Facts and figures on a fossil fuel

Global demand for coal is still rising: EU member states have been reluctant to take action against coal projects and continue to subsidize coal related business with almost 10 billion euros per year. King Coal also generates 43 percent of Germany’s total energy.

Our Coal Atlas contains the latest facts and figures on the use of coal and its environmental and social consequences. With more than 60 detailed graphics, the atlas illustrates the coal industry’s impact on nature, health, labour, human rights and politics.

pdf

Meat Atlas

The publication sheds light on the impacts of meat and dairy production, and aims to catalyse the debate over the need for better, safer and more sustainable food and farming.

pdf

Soil Atlas: Facts and figures about earth, land and fields

We are using the world’s soils as if they were inexhaustible, continually withdrawing from an account, but never paying in. For it takes several thousand years to build a thin layer of fertile topsoil, but only an hour of heavy rain to lose it. The average European needs 1.3 hectares – two football pitches – to produce all of the food and other products he or she consumes each year. That is about six times more than is available to each Bangladeshi. Almost 60 percent of the area consumed by Europeans lies outside the European Union.

pdf
Follow us
Click to subscribe
Click here

Subscribe to ASEAN Region - Press Review