Australian Embassy Roundtable, 24 September 2026
It was a privilege to join the civil society roundtable “Grounding the Response: Perspectives on Criminal Markets, Their Enablers and Community Resilience in the Mekong”, held at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok on 24 September 2026.
The discussion brought together civil society voices from across the Mekong region to share grounded perspectives on organized crime, its impacts on communities, and the importance of strengthening community resilience.
AHRA was grateful for the opportunity to contribute from the harm reduction and public health perspective, highlighting the importance of listening to communities who are often among the first to experience changing risks and impacts.
AHRA also shared AHRA’s experience with community-led approaches such as the Drug Early Warning System (DEWS), which demonstrates how community knowledge can help identify emerging drug-related risks and support earlier and more appropriate public health and harm reduction responses.
A key message we took from the discussion is that communities should not only be viewed as populations affected by organized crime. They are also important contributors to prevention, early warning, protection and resilience.
Thank you to the Australian Embassy, GI-TOC and the Mekong Network to Counter Transnational Crime (MNET-CTC) for creating space for meaningful exchange between civil society and policymakers, and for listening to perspectives from communities working on the ground.
It was also an honour to hear from the Australian Government’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon. Matt Thistlethwaite MP, who joined the discussion and engaged with civil society perspectives.
Grateful for the opportunity to contribute, learn and continue strengthening community-led approaches across the region.
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