International relations

Members of the government, military and civil society met on Monday to form a working group to undertake security reform and reporting. The working group will have 26 members from a wide spectrum of government and nongovernment agencies to produce policy recommendations to Cambodia’s leaders. The formation ...

A Cambodian human rights group today asked the caretaker government of Thailand to end executions of Cambodia civilians after 15 Cambodians were shot dead this month. In its statement released today, The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) expresses its deep concern regarding the continued arbitrary ...

Cambodian and Chinese senior military officials on Monday vowed to deepen bilateral ties and cooperation for mutual benefits. The commitment was made during a meeting between Gen. Pol Saroeun, commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces ( RCAF), and Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff ...

The Belgian demining NGO APOPO, which is pioneering the use of mine-detecting rats in the former battlefields of Cambodia, has received funding from the German government to expand its mine-clearance work in the country. In November, the government gave the green light for APOPO to begin ...

Opposition lawmakers-elect yesterday lambasted reports that Cambodia has asked Iran for a $54.45 million loan. Following an official visit to Tehran last week by a delegation from the National Assembly led by First Vice Chairman Nguon Nhel, Cambodia’s official news agency, Agence Kampuchea Press, reported that ...

The ruling party wants “biased” election watchdogs to be on a tight leash by the next election and wants the opposition to agree to it, senior Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker Cheam Yeap said yesterday ahead of the third meeting of a bipartisan election reform committee ...

The European Union has called on Cambodia to release 21 jailed activists and protesters and told the government during high level talks held here this week that a failure to reform the judiciary and electoral process could have severe consequences for the ruling party by ...

The World Bank on Thursday asked Phnom Penh municipal officials to do more to help the thousands of families the city evicted from the Boeng Kak neighborhood to make way for a CPP senator’s private real estate project, and is now waiting for a reply, ...

Twelve Cambodians were shot dead by Thai security forces on March 5 after illegally crossing the border from Choam Ksan district in Preah Vihear province to log timber, Cambodian officials said yesterday. Another three illegal loggers were killed on Wednesday and two others are still missing, ...

Cambodian environmental groups yesterday stepped up their calls for the Don Sahong dam in Laos to be cancelled, after a visit to the site failed to convince them the hydropower project would not harm the Mekong River and the people who depend on it. ...

Four days of high-level policy meetings between the European Union and Cambodia wrapped up in Brussels yesterday, after seeing “frank and in-depth exchanges” on a number of issues, including human rights, according to an EU press statement released last night. Ahead of the meeting of ...

Cambodian garment manufacturers and the association that governs them are failing to meet the standards set by the U.N.’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as evidenced by lethal violence against workers during garment strikes in January, when five people were shot dead and ...

The 8th EU-Cambodia Joint Committee was held in Brussels on Thursday, preceded by the subgroups on development cooperation, on trade and on institution building, administrative reform, legal and judicial reform, governance and human rights, the European bloc said in a press release. The two sides ...

Government officials have got to work parsing a controversial request that Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the region with a spotty record handling refugees, take some of Australia’s asylum seekers. Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop made the request to Prime Minister Hun Sen ...

A draft trade union law that the government has pledged to introduce by the end of the year includes provisions that will allow for unions to be suspended if their activities are deemed illegal, the head of Cambodia’s largest employers association said Wednesday. Van Sou Ieng, ...

Corruption remains the most significant challenge facing Cambodia’s economy, according to a survey of more than 300 employers conducted last year by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the results of which were released Tuesday. Despite legislation meant to stamp out graft, corruption continues to be perceived ...

Work is finally under way to repair damage to Preah Vihear temple caused during clashes between Cambodia and Thailand more than two years ago, officials said yesterday. Long Kosal, deputy director of the National Authority of Preah Vihear, said a restoration project has been ongoing ...

More than 100 representatives of Mekong River Commission (MRC) member countries, development partners, international NGOs, and Lao and foreign media yesterday visited the site of the planned Don Sahong hydropower project. The two-day site visit provided an opportunity for participants to learn from experts how fish ...

France’s Institut Pasteur du Cambodge on Tuesday inaugurated a new facility here for a regional research platform in Asia, focusing its research on infectious diseases in the region. Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng, Vincent Deubel, director of the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge, and French Nobel Prize ...

Road traffic accidents are killing more Cambodians per year than those who died annually as a result of war during their country’s more than two decades of armed conflict, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday. Speaking in Battambang province’s Bavel district at the inauguration of the ...

The International Labor Organization said it would launch on Wednesday two reports outlining ways to improve the investment climate in Cambodia. The first report, by the ILO, analyses Cambodia’s performance in 17 areas and contains a national survey of workers and employers. Key areas include ...

Production from freshwater capture fisheries and aquaculture in the Lower Mekong Basin is estimated to be worth up to $7 billion a year, the Mekong River Commission says. The newsletter said total first-sale value was estimated at $3.9 to $7.0 billion per year. “Over the ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday inaugurated the China-funded road No. 57B in northwestern Battambang province, saying that the road will contribute to developing economy and reducing poverty. The inauguration ceremony, held in the province’s Bovel district, was attended by Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu ...

Cambodia Ambassador Tuot Panha said the viability of Clark International Airport will make it one of the progressive international gateways in the Philippines. The ambassador said she would like to see flights between Clark and Phnom Penh or Clark and Siem Reap, now one of the ...