Climate Disinformation in Cambodia: Undermining Indigenous Peoples’ Agency
Download Full Report In Cambodia, the rise of digital media and social media platforms since the mid-2010s has intensified a surge in climate disinformation. It affects Indigenous Peoples (IPs), who make up about 3% of the population and live in forests highly vulnerable to climate change and deforestation. From false climate solutions to greenwashing and denial of deforestation, these narratives contribute to IPs’ exclusion from meaningful climate discussions, land dispossession and the criminalisation and silencing of environmental defenders. This report explores how both online and face-to-face climate disinformation – often state-aligned – restrains IPs’ voices, discredits Indigenous knowledge and legitimises harmful environmental practices, ultimately undermining IPs’ agency to take corrective action. The report offers concrete policy recommendations, urging governments, international and local actors to integrate climate disinformation into human rights monitoring, support Indigenous-led initiatives and strengthen digital access. Tackling climate disinformation is key to ensuring just, inclusive, and effective climate action in Cambodia and beyond.
Asia Centre AI Hub: Supporting CSOs’ Digital Transformation
Unlike their prominent role in leveraging social media for advocacy in the early 2000s, human rights-based civil society organisations (CSOs) are now sidelined in discussions dominated by governments and technology companies. This exclusion limits their ability to ensure that Artificial Intelligence (AI) serves public interests, especially in areas related to democracy and human rights. To close this gap, Asia Centre has established the AI Hub for CSOs. Since 2024, Asia Centre has actively contributed to AI-related discourse across the region by engaging in collaborations with UN agencies, international NGOs and technology companies. These efforts include participating in high-level events and hosting discussions on AI literacy in electoral management, gender-sensitive AI policies and digital democracy. Through these activities, Asia Centre has built strong networks and developed expertise at the intersection of AI, governance and civil society. These experiences have directly informed the creation of the AI Hub, equipping the Centre with the insight and partnerships necessary to lead regional efforts that place CSOs at the heart of AI governance. The Asia Centre AI Hub for CSOs will officially launch on 1 September 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand, to address the lack of AI literacy among human rights-based civil society organisations. Strategically located in Phayathai Plaza Building in central Bangkok, the Hub offers a fully equipped, collaborative workspace that supports CSOs in adopting AI tools aligned with their missions. The facility includes a welcoming reception area with a pantry and lounge, a main workspace with modern workstations, a large meeting room, a discussion room and an administrative office, providing the environment needed to build digital capacity and foster innovation. Beyond physical infrastructure, the AI Hub is designed to ensure that human rights-based CSOs are meaningfully included in AI policy discussions and ethical frameworks. It will serve as a platform for inclusive dialogue by connecting tech experts, policymakers and civil society actors, enabling them to exchange ideas and co-develop rights-respecting AI solutions. The Hub also promotes responsible AI use that upholds human rights principles and democratic values. By empowering CSOs to lead in AI-driven advocacy and governance, the AI Hub strengthens their role in shaping a digital future that is inclusive, ethical and just. Its central location in Bangkok, with easy access to public transport and regional networks, makes it an ideal base for collaboration and outreach across the Asia-Pacific region. AI is transforming societies across the Asia Pacific, but this progress remains uneven. Despite AI’s increasing influence on governance, the voices of CSOs are notably absent from policy and development processes. Asia Centre is pleased to step in to help bridge this gap. The Asia Centre AI Hub is one of four specialised hubs that comprise the wider Asia Centre network in the region. There is the Research Hub in Bangkok, Thailand, the Media Hub in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and the Training Hub in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Together, the Asia Centre Hubs each serve a distinct function to advance the Centre’s mission to support CSOs across Asia and beyond. If you are interested in collaborating with Asia Centre, please send us an email query at contact@asiacentre.org or make an appointment to visit us at our office. You can also reach us through Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Asia Centre is a civil society research institute in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It serves as a knowledge partner and undertakes evidence-based research as well as provides capacity-building training for end beneficiaries. If you would like to collaborate with the Centre on AI Hub for CSOs, please send an expression of interest to.ai@asiacentre.org Follow Asia Centre’s social media channels for more information.
Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in Cambodia: Impact on the Civic Freedoms of Women Journalists and Human Rights Defenders
Download Full Report The increasing use of digital platforms for advocacy by women in Cambodia has been accompanied by a rise in technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV), a form of harassment perpetrated online. While all women and girls are at risk, those highly visible in the public sphere – such as women human rights defenders (WHRDs), Indigenous advocates, journalists, and civil society leaders – face heightened exposure. Despite its severity, TFGBV remains poorly documented in Cambodia. This report examines TFGBV targeting high-profile women in advocacy and argues that it is an extension of gender-based violence (GBV), sustained by patriarchal structures and a fragmented protection ecosystem spanning multiple sectors. The findings highlight three primary forms of TFGBV: (1) online harassment aimed at discrediting women, (2) online sexual harassment, and (3) the manipulation of digital content to misrepresent or vilify survivors. Although legal mechanisms, CSO-led reporting channels, and awareness raising strategies and public education exist, to a certain extent, as key defences, they remain largely ineffective due to the absence of survivor-centred approaches. Addressing TFGBV requires a multistakeholder response, involving government reforms, CSO-led monitoring and awareness initiatives, technology sector accountability, and responsible media practices. Without action, TFGBV will continue to drive women out of public spaces, reinforcing the silencing effect of TFGBV.
Shaping Justice: How Media is Transforming Crime Investigations in Thailand
Download The article “Shaping Justice: How Media is Transforming Crime Investigations in Thailand” examines how growing public distrust in Thailand’s law enforcement has led media outlets to take on a more prominent role in investigating crime and exposing corruption. As confidence in the police diminishes, the media emerges as a critical platform for whistleblowers, citizen journalists, and independent experts. Yet, while this shift promotes transparency and accountability, it also raises concerns about sensationalism, misinformation and the risk of undermining formal investigative processes.
Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword in Thailand’s Cyber Scam Crisis
Download The article “Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword in Thailand’s Cyber Scam Crisis” examines the role of social media in cyber scams in Thailand through two high-profile cases: the iCON Group case, a pyramid-based investment and sales scam, and the case of Chinese actor Wang Xing, who was trafficked to a scam compound in Myanmar, along the Thai border. These two cases show the complex relationship between fraud operations and digital platforms, where social media facilitates exploitation to lure victims while, at the same time, being used for scrutiny and public accountability.
Do Thais Enjoy Social Media Just For Fun? Evolving Social Media Trends and Thai Digital Citizenship
Download The policy paper “Moving Beyond COVID-19 Restrictions in Southeast Asia: Pushing Back Against Authoritarian Pandemic Governance” explores how the use of powers by Southeast Asian governments during the COVID-19 pandemic derogated rights. Emergency and temporary laws, as well as special provisions in infectious disease laws, impacted fundamental rights beyond what was necessary to keep the virus at bay. Consequently, control over the population was tightened and democracy backtracked. The paper demonstrates that governments used COVID-laws to amass disproportionate power and over-restrict civic freedoms on four ends. First, strict lockdowns were used to stifle freedom of assembly and protest. Second, anti-COVID measures were used by ruling political elites to limit campaigning activities and ensure that the status quo remained unchanged, partially disenfranchising voters from electoral processes. Third, fake-news laws were implemented to contain the spread of false information regarding the pandemic. Still, such laws were also used to silence political dissent. Fourth, online and physical surveillance increased to track the spread of the virus and, more generally, to track people’s actions beyond the essential to ensure public health. Given these developments, this paper includes a set of recommendations directed at governments, international organisations, and civil society organisations to improve governance in the post-pandemic era so that anti-COVID measures do not derogate people’s fundamental rights. Implementing these recommendations can help prevent and push back against the implications of authoritarian pandemic governance in Southeast Asia.
Digital Security for High-risk Users in the Asia-Pacific: Needs Assessment Report
Download Full Report Since the mid-2000s, the internet has shaped politics in the Asia-Pacific region. As internet and social media penetration increases, the risks for those using new technologies to advocate for public accountability have also increased. In 2022, the region accounted for 31% of global cyberattacks, with governments and proxies as key perpetrators. These attacks often target governments like Taiwan and in other jurisdictions, opposition politicians, civil society organisations and rights defenders. Methods of attack include digital surveillance, hacking and disinformation campaigns. Current mitigation efforts, such as VPNs and multi-factor authentication, are insufficient; and digital security is not prioritised widely. Therefore, and against this backdrop, there is a critical need for enhanced digital security training to protect high-risk users. This report undertakes a needs assessment to identify the key elements needed to improve digital security for high-risk users in the region. The findings show that there are three main clusters of threats: legal regulation, digital surveillance and information operations. To address these threats, the report provides recommendations to strengthen digital security training, including more contextualised and region-specific training, improved monitoring systems, and adopting open-source technologies to build stronger digital defences. As new technologies evolve, periodic updates to digital security strategies and training curricula are essential to ensure continued online safety for those advocating for public accountability.
Pandemic Governance & Civic Freedoms: Best Practices from Japan
Download Pandemic Governance & Civic Freedoms: Best Practices from Japan evaluates the approach taken to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. For the Japanese people, civic freedoms are a fundamental aspect of citizens’ rights. Hence, Japan’s approach during the pandemic was to balance civic freedoms while ensuring public health and safety. With a range of less coercive measures, such as a less coercive state of emergency and legislative amendments, transparent communication, collaborative efforts from state and non-state actors, and healthcare-led decision-making, the country’s fatality rate was among the lowest globally. Japan’s prioritisation of civic freedoms contrasts with the measures adopted by other governments in China and Cambodia, for example, where people’s freedoms were severely curtailed. Nevertheless, some areas for improvement are also underscored in the report in the form of recommendations: such as optimising social media communication and fostering stronger collaborations between state and non-state actors to improve the effective response to future emergencies. Overall, this report argues that Japan’s ability to balance civic freedoms and public health can serve as a role model for other nations to follow in the event of future outbreaks.
Online Content Regulations in the Asia-Pacific: Limiting Civil Society’s Capacity to Hold Governments Accountable
Download Full Report Online Content Regulations in the Asia-Pacific: Limiting Civil Society’s Capacity to Hold Governments Accountable reviews laws enacted by governments in the Asia-Pacific region to regulate the online information sphere. These laws have been used to penalise content creators for incitement, defamation, or spreading fake news. At the same time, government authorities routinely order internet service providers and technology companies to block or remove online content considered sensitive or illegal. Some governments also impose internet shutdowns, particularly during politically sensitive periods, to control the flow of information. Trolling has emerged as a mainstream non-legal strategy to harass and intimidate civil society actors. As a result, INGOs, CSOs, and independent media outlets have limited the scope of their communications and activities. They have also refrained from public visibility and practised self-censorship to shield themselves from legal prosecution or non-legal harassment, thus exercising self-inhibiting behaviours to safeguard themselves from government regulations and to remain operational in a given jurisdiction. Overall, the net impact of these laws is the diminished ability of civil society to hold governments publicly accountable. This is the changed landscape that the report notes. The report concludes with a set of policy recommendations for international organisations, governments, internet service providers and technology companies, and civil society actors. The goal is to safeguard civil society’s ability to hold government accountable in the era of digital advancements.
Digital Security and Human Rights Defenders Landscape: Recommendations for NHRIs in the Asia-Pacific
Download Full Report Digital Security and Human Rights Defenders Landscape: Recommendations for NHRIs in the Asia-Pacific examines the challenges encountered by human rights defenders (HRDs) in the Asia-Pacific region within the context of the digital era, offering a comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in safeguarding HRDs. In doing so, this report delves into the landscape of digital security threats arising from legal constraints, disruptions in internet accessibility, digital surveillance practices, and the proliferation of government-supported “cybertroops”. The examination of the initiatives implemented by NHRIs sheds light on their current institutional constraints. Recognising the critical support framework outlined in the Marrakech Declaration, the report recommends several measures for NHRIs to increase the capacity to monitor and report on rights violations, increase the impact of advocacy and capacity-building activities, and enhance the networking of NHRIs. These measures encompass developing a clear action plan for digital rights protection, actively engaging with diverse stakeholders such as parliaments and tech companies, strengthening the capacity of NHRI personnel, and promoting increased collaboration among NHRIs at both regional and international levels. By implementing these strategic actions, NHRIs are poised to more effectively champion the crucial role played by HRDs, thereby contributing to a more robust defense of human rights in the evolving digital landscape.