The U.N. special rapporteur on the freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai, began a three-day unofficial visit to Cambodia on Wednesday, just one month after military police shot dead five protesters in Phnom Penh and the government imposed a ban on public gatherings. Mr. ...

The Kampong Thom Provincial Court yesterday charged a man with clearing state-owned forestland after he was arrested on Monday along with 13 other villagers, according to provincial prosecutor Ben Sarath. Heoun Sokha was arrested in Kraya commune’s Santuk district after he was found by police clearing ...

Zhen Yong Garment Factory Co Ltd has agreed to some of the demands of about 400 workers who went on strike last week, including paying annual bonuses early next month Prum Veasna, deputy of the labor dispute department at the labor ministry, said yesterday that the ...

The Kingdom’s strong economic growth so far this year has driven petroleum imports 67 per cent higher year-on-year through October, according to Ministry of Commerce data. Total imports reached 1.2 million tonnes, or US$1.14 billion worth, in the first 10 months of the year, compared to ...

The number of visitors arriving in Cambodia in the first six months of this year has increased 13.4 percent to 1,385,029, compared to the same period in 2010, Kong Sophearak, director of the statistics department at the Ministry of Tourism, said yesterday. The largest influx ...

As reports continue to flood in detailing rampant abuse of Cambodian migrant workers abroad, the Cambodian Migrant Workers’ Association (CMWA) said it would be registering with the Ministry of Interior today as the country’s first migrant workers representative organisation, according to its director. “The idea is ...

As reports of the death of yet another Cambodian maid in Malaysia surfaced, opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua said yesterday that a bilateral agreement between Cambodian and Malaysia was necessary if the two countries were serious about protecting the rights of Cambodian domestic workers living in ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy is set to issue the country’s first commercial underground mining license to Indian company Mesco Gold in two weeks, despite opposition by residents of two villages concerned about compensation and environmental damage. The company plans to break ground on its ...

The value of imports from neighboring Thailand has decreased by almost $500,000 in the first seven months of this year, a possible sign of health of Cambodia’s domestic production capabilities. According to figures released by the Thai embassy, the value of imports dropped by 16 percent ...

Female workers are still being paid less than their male counterparts on construction sites, while building companies value male construction workers as more skilled than women, according to a CARE Cambodia report released Friday. CARE’s research paints a comprehensive picture of the situation of women working ...

People with disabilities and their families in two Cambodian provinces – Kampong Cham and Tbong Khmum – experience significant psychological distress, endure discrimination and stigma and their rights “re-main largely unrecognised”, a new study has found. ...

Free Trade Union president Chea Mony has announced that his union will leave the Cambodian Confederation of Unions and sever all ties with its long-time ally, the Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association. In a letter to Minister of Labour Vong Sauth, dated June 27 and obtained by ...

As criticism continues to mount over the arrest of outspoken Beehive Radio owner Mam Sonando, a government spokesman shot back yesterday, accusing NGOs of undermining the country’s rule of law. “NGOs are not a judge and [the] rule of law reflects from the people,” said ...

Cambodia’s financial system appears to be shifting to excessive credit growth. The credit-to-GDP ratio has reached 37 percent, well above the low-income economies (LTCs). If credit growth were to continue at the current pace, by mid-2013 the ratio would exceed even the median for more ...

The government is drafting a rubber law to regulate the sector in response to the rapid growth of rubber plantations across the country, an official said. Ly Phalla, director general of the General Directorate of Rubber at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, said officials ...

About 200 villagers from Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district who are involved in a long-running land dispute with two businessmen gathered outside the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, waiting to hear the verdict in their case—which was ultimately delayed. The villagers are representatives of 320 families in ...

A development company with a government concession for a high-end property project on the island of Koh Pos, also known as Snake Island, has announced that it will significantly alter its original plans for the project. The new plan, which must first be submitted for ...

Six prime government-owned properties in Phnom Penh and Battambang province have been reclassified as privately held state properties in order to pave the way for the land to be sold or swapped with private companies, according to a sub-decree signed November 8. Signed by Prime Minister ...

A two-day meeting between union leaders, senior government officials and representatives of the SL Gar­ment Factory failed Tuesday to reach a solution for factory workers, who have been on strike since early August and on Monday demonstrated in front of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Phnom ...

More than two months of research into relations between NGOs and the government was officially presented in Phnom Penh on Thursday, with an overriding message of distrust, and concerns that the proposed NGO Law will be repressive. Following the release on Wednesday of a summary of ...