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Across the borders : a study of counter-trafficking work in Lao PDR / Emma Hansson. - Växjö : Växjö University. School of Social Sciences, 2009. - 55 p. (Master's thesis) In the wake of state borders becoming more porous the flows of people crossing them in search for opportunities have increased. This trend is evident in Greater Mekong Sub region where the economic boom of Thailand attracts thousands of migrant workers every year from neighboring countries making Thai industries dependent on the cheap labor. Alongside these developments, human trafficking, the slave trade of our time, has emerged as an increasing challenge. In Lao PDR the historic ties to Thailand make for a long history of cross-border relations and flows. With the relative economic differences, labor migration to the richer neighbor is becoming an accepted way of improving family conditions. However, the risks involved, exploitation and trafficking, are not widely known in the communities. Counter-trafficking work in Lao PDR has been evolving over the passed 10 years. This study has, through an ethnographic approach to organizational work combined with reflections and observations, tried to create a picture of the counter-trafficking work on the ground. Using semi-structured interviews projects, aims and assumptions could be derived and three main problems identified: Trafficking is hard to separate from labor migration, thus making it hard to effectively target; there is a dissonance between perceived and actual inter-sector communication, and; the trafficking sector is isolated from other sectors as dialogue across sector borders appear to be nonexistent. Reasons given for these discords mainly came down to dependency on donors and a need to meet their requirements. Essentially it seems that organizations working with this open-border phenomenon are rigidly closed to each other.
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:227499/FULLTEXT01
Keywords: Crime, Human trafficking, Laos, Law and legislation, Migration, Nordic Perspective, Publications, Social conditions, Southeast Asia, Sweden,

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Organization (AIPO) is a special body of ASEAN which is concerned with promoting cooperation between ASEAN parliaments and parliamentarians in order to encourage the growth of greater democracy in the region. Members include: Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia. The website provides information on the history, purpose of the organisation and its recent activities.
http://www.aipo.org/
Keywords: Cambodia, Democracy, Development. Poverty, In Focus, In Focus 2007, In Focus 2007 Week 35, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Political systems, Politics and society, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam,

ARTNeT is an informal and open network of research and academic institutions with a strong interest in trade and investment policy and facilitation issues. Institutions involved in the network are classified as ARTNeT Members, Core Partners, and Associate Partners. Please consult the ARTNeT membership guidelines or the list of members and partners for more information. iven the increasing complexity of the international trade environment, policy makers in the UNESCAP region are in need of more effective institutions able to deliver the research and analytical studies to make better decisions. In April 2004, developing countries in Asia and the Pacific expressed support for the establishment of a research network on trade to equip the region with a mechanism for enhancing the capacity of research institutions. This led to the creation of the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), an open regional network composed of leading trade research institutions across the UNESCAP region, and supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada. The UNESCAP Trade and Investment Division is the Secretariat of the Network and coordinate its activities, while an Institutional Advisory Board (IAB) has been set up to provide leadership and guidance during its initial phase. Three Permanent Advisors for Research, Professors Jagdish Bhagwati, Alan Deardorff and John Whalley, also provide strategic guidance on the ARTNeT research programme and its implementation.
http://www.unescap.org/tid/artnet/member.asp
Keywords: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, East Asia, Economic issues, Education, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos, Melanesia, Nepal, Oceania, Philippines, South Asia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam,

the work of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is aimed at improving the welfare of the people in Asia and the Pacific, particularly the 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, Asia and the Pacific remains home to two thirds of the world's poor. ADB is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 65 members , 47 from the region and 18 from other parts of the globe. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens.
http://www.adb.org/
Keywords: Burma - Myanmar, Cambodia, Development. Poverty, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Vietnam,

Lao People's Democratic Republic has been a member of ADB since 1966. Learn more about our * partnership * strategies and programs * Key Indicators * projects * cofinancing * procurement The Lao Resident Mission in Vientiane, Lao PDR plans, coordinates, and helps implement ADB's development work in the country.
http://www.adb.org/LaoPDR/default.asp
Keywords: Development. Poverty, In Focus, In Focus 2011, In Focus 2011 Week 20, Laos, Southeast Asia,

Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions. They also include audio or video clips from BBC archives.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1154621.stm
Keywords: In Focus, In Focus 2011, In Focus 2011 Week 20, Laos, Politics and society, Southeast Asia,

Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI) is based in the Research School of the Social Sciences at the Australian National University. It specialises in the study of issues relating to democratic development in the nations of South East Asia and the Asia Pacific. Key areas include: Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Laos , Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and East Timor. The website contains information on the aims and current research projects of the Centre. It includes access to some full-text papers and reports. Topics covered include: the development of the media and judiciary, civil society, democratic reform and the parliamentary process and accounts of election monitoring observations.
http://www.cdi.anu.edu.au/
Keywords: Cambodia, Development, Development. Poverty, East Timor, Freedom of Press, Human rights, Indonesia, Laos, New Guinea, News. Media, Philippines, Politics and society, Press, Social development, Southeast Asia,

(CIRDAP) is a regional, intergovernmental and autonomous institution established in July 1979 by the countries of Asia and the Pacific region. The member countries of CIRDAP are Afghanistan, Bangladesh (host-state), India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. CIRDAP works in close collaboration with the national governments, international organisations and development partners with the aim of improving production, income and living conditions of all sections of people, specially small farmers and the landless and other disadvantaged groups by encouraging their participation in socio-economic development process. Current priority themes are: * macro-economic policy issues in poverty alleviation * participatory approaches to employment generation, credit, provision of infrastructure and local resource mobilisation * gender issues; and * environment concerns for sustainable rural development including disaster management WWW site includes details of projects, staff and publications, videos and forthcoming events.
http://www.cirdap.org.sg
Keywords: Agriculture, Bangladesh, Burma - Myanmar, Development, Development. Poverty, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Rural development, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,

Charles de Gaulle et le prélude de la guerre d’Indochine du 18 juin 1940 au 19 janvier 1946 : le résultat de la politique indochinoise du général de Gaulle est-il la guerre? / Sofie Elisabeth Oraug-Rygh. - Oslo : Département des études de littérature, de civilisation et des langues européennes, Universitetet i Oslo, 2008. - 129 p. (Master's thesis) The master thesis “Charles de Gaulle and the prelude to the French Indochina war” analyses de Gaulle’s Indochina policies during the Second World War. The author asks if de Gaulle’s policies were outdated and led to the Indochina war. De Gaulle’s policies are compared with others world leader’s views on Indochina and also other French politicians’ views. The thesis concludes that de Gaulle’s policies were more advanced than others. He tried to modernise French colonial policies and offer more autonomy to the locals, but he, as the rest of the world leaders, did not understand the strength and resilience of the Vietminh movement. De Gaulle recaptured Indochina and put it back on French hands with the blessing of the world leaders.
http://www.duo.uio.no/publ/ILOS/2008/86611/Oraug-RyghxMasteroppgavexxdexGaulle.p...
Keywords: Cambodia, Cambodia, French Indochina (1883-1954), French Indochina (1887-1953), French Indochina (1893-1954), History, Indochinese war (1946-1954), Laos, Laos, Nordic Perspective, Norway, Publications, Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Vietnam,

This is the webiste of the Lao Embassy to the United States. It includes various information about the country, including an electronic version of the Lao Constitution made freely available under the News and Info section of the website. The Constitution was adopted in 1991 and is presented in HTML format. There are chapters dealing with the political regime, the socio-economic system, fundamental rights and obligations of the citizen, local government and the judiciary. There are also sections detailing the functions of the state bodies including the National Assembly, the President and the government.
http://www.laoembassy.com/
Keywords: Civil society, Constitutions, Laos, Law and legislation, Politics and society, Southeast Asia,