Summary
In recent years, there has been a surge in forced displacement resulting from land concessions for industrial sugar plantations in Cambodia. Motivated by the European Union’s “Everything But Arms” (EBA) preferential trade scheme for least developed countries, Thai sugar companies and a well connected Cambodian tycoon have developed industrial plantations in Cambodia to produce raw sugar for export to Europe. The EBA initiative provides duty-free access to the European market and a guaranteed minimum price for sugar that has been on average three times the world price. While the EBA scheme is intended to benefit the poor through job creation from export-led growth, the case of Cambodia’s rapidly expanding sugar industry tells a different story.
A country still transitioning to democracy, Cambodia needs a reliable police force to uphold the rule of law and instill confidence in the governance system among the country’s people. To this end, significant donor and government resources have been spent for initiatives creating new institutional rules and providing police training to boost capacity. In reality however, the police force is still perceived as one of the country’s most corrupt institutions. Moreover, acts of police brutality against civilians continue to occur, demonstrated during recent land eviction protests and demonstrations following the release of the highly contested results of the 28 July 2013 national election. Consequently, this paper seeks to discredit the fictitious view that new institutional rules and police training will necessarily lead to an adequate police force.
Nearly 40 years after the fall of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) the forced marriages and enforced conjugal relations experienced by thousands of Cambodians continue to be little understood as a central part of the general atrocity. These marriages eliminated choice, were without consent, and took place within a context of severe coercion.
The G20 is to launch a Global Infrastructure Initiative at its November Summit in Brisbane. There is a "bulldozing" consensus between the G7, the G20 and the BRICS.
The annual report 2013 of the Heinrich Böll Foundation summarizes the Foundation's work on the topics European policy, ecology and justice, democracy and human rights, foreign and security policy, education, social participation and opportunities for advancement.
This study analyzes whether and how gender is taken into consideration during the transitional period following wars, violent conflicts and dictatorships. The key question posed here is: To what extent can transitional justice institutions and mechanisms achieve gender justice? This stems from the assumption that forms of genderbased violence as well as gender differences need to be considered when coming to terms with wars, mass violence and severe breaches of human rights. Only by doing so can violent structures be eliminated, sustainable peace processes created and social justice established.
This second issue of "Perspectives Asia" provides a forum for the voices of authors from various Asian countries to express their thoughts on possible development models for the region. How can we achieve prosperity for all, without doing long-term damage to nature or threatening the subsistence of entire populations?
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