Year: 2020

Inside stories: 75 years after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings: Stand for peace amidst covert nuclear stockpiling How dams affected IP communities in Myanmar and the Philippines? A&E Reflections by Aaliyah Hasna In defense of investments: US hegemony in Asia Pacific

The global pandemic has caused a meltdown of the world’s economies. Millions of businesses, most of them small and medium enterprises (SMEs), were forced to close down and billions of workers were left unemployed. Many of them remain deprived of economic amelioration from their governments. Worse than these economic disruptions, however, the militarist approach has […]

The world has been experiencing the far-reaching impacts of decade-long neoliberal globalization. The liberalization of trade and investments allowed the proliferation and foreign corporate take-over of natural resources both in labor and environment. The privatization of public resources such as education, health, and basic social services has worsened the living condition of the people. Thus, […]

Entering the year, the world is faced with many challenges: from the global pandemic of COVID-19; the impending economic recession; and the worsening human rights situation in many countries. Bearing the brunt of these are marginalized sectors across the world — from farmers, workers, indigenous peoples, among others — who continue to struggle for their […]

The negotiation for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement is nearing 9th year since its formation. It is the longest negotiated and largest yet mega-trade deal that will cover the two-thirds of the worlds labor population. It compromises of 6 negotiating countries such as China, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and, Japan with […]

Stepping into the new decade, the world is confronted with a multitude of crises. COVID-19 has continuously exposed and exacerbated existing societal ills across the world: from the overall poor public health systems that are ill-equipped to contain health crises; the failure of the prevailing neoliberal economic framework in providing to those who most need […]

Messages of Len Cooper, ILPS Chairperson, and organizers of the Education Series on People’s Resistance in South Asia. Join us in solidarity with the struggling people of South Asia. Initial Schedules: November 9: Webinar on South Asia: Land and People (Register at bit.ly/SouthAsiaLandandPeople )November 18: On the Human Rights Situation in South AsiaDecember 9: Imperialism […]

Join us! Education Series on People’s Resistance in South Asia The webinar will present major points on the economic, political and social-cultural situation of the people in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. DISCLAIMER: This video was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of Asia […]

The global spread of CoVID-19 has caused an unprecedented global health crisis, with the number of infections and fatalities exponentially increasing each day. Governments across the world, especially in the Southeast and South Asia region have implemented strict lockdowns, along with a mass deployment of troops and armed forces among urban and rural communities. Such […]

We are inviting everyone to join the global launching of the International Peoples’ Research Network (IPRN) on Thursday, 22 October 2020, [7:00 La Paz/13:00 Brussels/19:00 Manila]. To participate in the event, please click here: bit.ly/IPRNlaunching For your guide to your local timezone: https://bit.ly/2SFRYyg In line with this, an online discussion entitled “Towards Transformative Approaches to […]

Today’s crises exposed the effects of the neoliberal policy of the U.S.-led International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group (IMF-WB) on the people’s right to health and other socio-economic rights. But these institutions continue to work for domination of corporations in “development.” While the global South and their peoples are sinking even deeper in […]

Updated: August 2023 Economic response for whom? Even before the pandemic, the majority of these countries were already reeling from the impact of neoliberal policies that have been imposed mostly through the conditionalities of international financial institutions (IFIs). After decades of implementation, it has been proven that so-called push buttons for development and global competitiveness […]

The APRN Program on Building Democracy and Claiming Civic Spaces through its Workstream on Militarism and Program on Communities that Resist and Rebuild present the second episode of the APRN RnR video advocacy series. This is a series of videos aimed to discuss specific topics and issues CSOs face in the context of shrinking spaces. […]

The Asia Pacific Research Network, together with the International League of Peoples Struggles (ILPS), shall be launching a webinar/discussion entitled “Contagion and Conflicts: Rising repression and conflicts in the time of the pandemic”. The webinar shall discuss the rise of conflicts and the growing tensions within the Asia-Pacific region due to the unbridled emergence of […]

The dam was first proposed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the 1990s to promote Cambodia’s hydropower potential, but dropped off when their 1999 report found the dam’s potential repercussions outweighed the benefits. But the Cambodian government in 2007 proceeded with the project with the support of Vietnam’s EVN International Joint Stock Company. In 2012, […]

The World Bank funded Chico Dam Project in 1965 was the Marcos dictatorship’s answer to the oil and power crisis of 1973. It threatened to displace 100,000 people, deluge sacred burial grounds and rice terraces. Different tribes united and rose against the dam and militarization it brought. The death of leader Macli-ing Dulag in 1980 […]

As being one of the biggest in Southeast Asian region, did you know that Bakun dam is an inundated 700 sq. kilometers of forest and farms in Sarawak region in Malaysia? Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN), together with the International Indigenous People’s Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders (APNED) […]

The Mapithel Dam choked the Thoubal River ruining the environment, livelihood and culture of Indigenous Peoples living in the Mapithel Valley. For residents of submerged villages, Mapithel is the symbol of injustice. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) worked in financing its infrastructure and privatizing its water supply. Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN), together with […]

The APRN Program on Building Democracy and Claiming Civic Spaces through its Workstream on Militarism and Program on Communities that Resist and Rebuild present the launch of the APRN RnR video advocacy series. This is a series of videos aimed to discuss specific topics and issues CSOs face in the context of shrinking spaces. The […]

American independence has been based on the enslavement of Native Americans and peoples of color domestically; the primacy of neoliberal globalization clothed with the tenets of liberal democracy; and, its foreign policy of imposing unfair trade relations and flexing its military power to maintain global hegemony. The rise of US military dominance after World War […]

Inside stories: The UN Human Rights Council must act to stop the attacks on indigenous peoples, human rights defenders, and our communities Implication of Draft EIA Notification, 2020 in Manipur Decades of action: CSOs and people’s movement clamor for Development Justice to achieve Agenda 2030 in the era of Covid-19 The global mining industry and […]

The Asia Pacific Research Network (APRN) vehemently denounces the Duterte government’s shutdown of ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ top broadcasting station, which has been in existence for 74 years. While it is a corporate entity, ABS-CBN has been providing information and commentary that do not conform to those promoted by the government, especially about issues widely seen […]

As we continue to struggle against one of the most recent global crises in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, workers continue to sacrifice their health and safety in exchange for livelihood. Government policies and big businesses are pushing forward and demanding immediate normalcy status, putting workers at a high risk of infection, all while […]

Since the unprecedented lockdowns precipitated by the efforts to stop the spread of CoVID-19, governments have passed draconian laws restricting not only movement but also freedom of information. Worse, these laws are being used as a pre-text to silence and arrest regime critics. APRN believes that people’s rights should remain the fulcrum of pandemic response.