Population and censuses

In 2001, Australia’s then-Conservative government first introduced its “Pacific Solution” as a way of stopping an influx of asylum seekers attempting to reach its shores by boat—and as a way of winning votes during an election defined by wedge politics. ...

A United Nations human rights expert has called for a speedy solution to the situation of the Montagnards from Vietnam still hiding in the forests of northeastern Cambodia, after crossing the border to escape alleged persecution. About 13 of the 50 Montagnards—Christian indigenous people from ...

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong met with Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton on Thursday to further discuss a refugee resettlement plan following an agreement struck by the two countries in September. ...

More than 600,000 migrant workers in Thailand who would have faced deportation at the end of the month when their temporary work permits were set to expire now have until the end of June to apply for a one-year renewal, an NGO said Tuesday. ...

Thai authorities deported 20 Cambodian monks through the Poipet International Checkpoint on Saturday after they illegally crossed into Thailand to seek alms, an immigration official said Monday. ...

There are now more than 1 million estimated Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand. This could be a threat to Cambodia’s economy and politics in the future, an analyst says. ...

As police closed in on Montagnard asylum seekers hiding in the forests of Ratanakkiri province last week, Klan Hoeun, 42, said Wednesday that he knew he had to at least try to get the group to Phnom Penh, to safety. ...

The chief of police in Ratanakkiri province on Monday denied that authorities arrested 36 Montagnards, who the U.N. and local villagers say were deported to Vietnam last week while attempting to reach Phnom Penh to apply for asylum. ...

Thirteen Vietnamese Montagnards have been recommended for refugee status by Cambodian authorities, pending approval by the Minister of the Interior. Spokesman Khieu Sopheak added that the refugee status for the remaining 13 now will be considered for official confirmation. ...

A group of 36 Montagnard asylum seekers who went missing last week after they left their hiding places in the forests of Ratanakkiri province have been arrested and deported back to Vietnam, the U.N. and local villagers said Sunday. ...

After the government deported Spanish environmental activist Alex Gonzalez-Davidson on Monday, the opposition CNRP has called on the Interior Ministry to turn its attention to thousands of Vietnamese immigrants living in the country illegally. ...

A group of nine Montagnard asylum seekers hiding out in Ratanakkiri province had a close brush with law enforcement officials yesterday, even as a new group of the Vietnamese ethnic minority crossed the border into Cambodia, a rights group and a villager helping the hiding ...

A day after opposition leader Sam Rainsy publicly took up their cause, a young Cham Muslim woman and girl were repatriated Tuesday after being trafficked into the Malaysian sex trade and were greeted by Foreign Affairs Minister Hor Namhong. ...

Thai immigration authorities sent 22 Cambodian migrant workers home on Sunday, saying their visas, which did not allow them to work in Thailand, had expired more than a week ago. ...

Although the number of migrant workers who crossed to Thailand through the Poipet International Border Checkpoint decreased slightly from 2013 to 2014, the number of people who died while working in Thailand appeared to increase, a provincial official said this week. ...

Local officials in Ratanakkiri province are actively preventing a team of U.N. workers in the area from making any attempt to reach nearly 40 Montagnard asylum seekers now hiding in the province. ...

A new group of six Montagnards from Vietnam have arrived in northeastern Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province to seek political refuge, as a United Nations team tries to locate and assist other refugees in hiding, a villager who provided shelter to the Montagnards said. The villager, who declined ...

A woman lured into marriage in China and a group of men forced to work on a Thai fishing boat in Indonesia are the latest Cambodians rescued after being trafficked abroad. ...

During negotiations yesterday, allegedly defrauded workers in Kampong Thom and a recruitment agency hammered out a deal that saw limited compensation delivered to the aggrieved would-be migrants. ...

Thailand’s army has asked Cambodia “not to jump [to] the conclusion” that its soldiers were to blame for the deaths of three Cambodian loggers who were shot dead earlier this month while searching for rosewood across the border, according to Thai media. ...

During negotiations yesterday, allegedly defrauded workers in Kampong Thom and a recruitment agency hammered out a deal that saw limited compensation delivered to the aggrieved would-be migrants. ...

A woman lured into marriage in China and a group of men forced to work on a Thai fishing boat in Indonesia are the latest Cambodians rescued after being trafficked abroad. ...

Nearly two-thirds of surveyed survivors of human trafficking in Southeast Asia show symptoms of depression, while another 40 per cent suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a new study. ...

The Ministry of Interior on Wednesday said it was standing by its decision to not renew the visa of outspoken environmental activist Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson in the face of mounting pressure from fellow activists, NGOs, unions, students and monks—even opposition leader Sam Rainsy—to reverse course. ...