Civil society

National Assembly President Heng Samrin has given himself the power to deny access to the assembly compound, including the offices of all lawmakers, to anyone not employed by the government and has barred all private citizens from testifying before—or sitting in on—assembly commission meetings. In ...

Child rights groups Action Pour Les Enfants and International Justice Mission have said they carried out a “detailed and impartial” investigation into claims of sexual abuse before removing six young boys from their families against their parents’ wishes last week.  In a statement defending their work ...

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has distanced itself from Australia’s still unsigned deal to transfer refugees from the Nauru refugee detention center for resettlement in Cambodia, one of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations. First raised in February, the cash-for-refugees deal is believed to be imminent. ...

Authorities in western Cambodia have detained 11 activists after they tried to stop further studies for a planned Chinese-built dam. About 30 local villagers and environmental activists in the Areng Valley went to the area Monday to protect barricades they had erected earlier this year to ...

The National Assembly’s Human Rights Committee has laid out its plan to mediate negations to settle a more than decade-long land dispute between villagers and a powerful development company in Kompong Chhnang province’s Lor Peang village. The bipartisan committee announced early this month that it would ...

Minority villagers from Ratanakkiri’s O’Chum district climbed up a mountain to a community forest yesterday morning to challenge a company they claim is illegally felling their trees. ...

Following the detention this week of homeless children as young as 1 year old at Phnom Penh’s notorious Prey Speu vocational training centre, UNICEF yesterday called for an end to street sweeps and arbitrary detentions. Three people rounded up on Sunday said in separate accounts this ...

Cambodians staged a protest Thursday to share the concerns of more than a quarter of a million people who are calling on Laos to suspend construction of the Don Sahong hydropower project on the Mekong River. At the protest Chhith Sam Ath, country director of the ...

A group of NGOs yesterday called for more detailed information on national budgets to be made public before their approval, maintaining that the public had a right to know about and comment on the expenditures that would ultimately affect their day-to-day lives. Tek Vannara, director of ...

Following reports of abuse and poor conditions at the Kingdom’s shelters, the government yesterday launched official recommendations that seek to ensure better care is offered to victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. ...

More than 100 workers who were fired by a Taiwanese-owned garment factory this week for striking over demands for further benefits will meet with union leaders “as soon as possible” to discuss potentially launching protests, a union representative said Tuesday. The workers were fired by the ...

Om Yintieng, Chairman of Cambodia’s Anti-Corruption Unit, on Tuesday afternoon vehemently rejected an NGO report claiming that the country’s integrity system is weak and requires significant improvement. The official’s remarks came after the TI Cambodia, a branch of the Berlin-based TI, released its 233-page assessment ...

A plan floated in Thailand to cut state educational support to migrant workers’ children has drawn the ire of rights groups, which say thousands of Cambodian youths could be denied their basic right to education. According to Thai media, Kamol Rodklai, secretary-general of the Office of ...

With security footage of elephants, clouded leopards and other wildlife caught on hidden cameras in Cambodia’s Eastern Plains flashing on a TV screen, Toby Eastoe of Conservation International noted that their cameras also catch other activity. Presenters ranging from anti-corruption advocates to health service workers ...

Ol Sok Hour, a keen and promising student, had his life turned upside down two years ago when his parents died of AIDS. Yesterday, the NGO celebrated the launch of its Graduation House, a facility that will offer accommodation and support for orphaned tertiary students. ...

The government this weekend hit back at criticism of its embassies in China, Malaysia and Thailand, insisting that they are helping migrants in need. ...

Secret storage depots for illegal timber hidden in the forest in Ratanakkiri’s O’Chum district were discovered by ethnic minority villagers on Friday, prompting a rights worker to suggest local officials were involved in the illicit trade. ...

By the age of 17, Chan Chonreasmey was yet to have a conversation with another person—not with her mother, not with her father, and certainly not with any other children. Two years ago, Ms. Chonreasmey was enrolled in the Maryknoll Deaf Development Program’s (DDP) education ...

Cambodian labor unions this week lowered their demands for a 60 percent increase to the country’s $100 minimum wage, as talks loom next month on setting a new wage.Unions agreed to call for $150 a month during a meeting with officials from the Garment Manufacturers’ ...

Civil society groups  campaigned Wednesday to seek support from three former Prime Ministers in order to limit terms for Premiership. Kol Panha, president of Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (Comfrel), told reporters that he met with Pen Sovann to ask him to ...

Local rights group Adhoc on Thursday called on Prime Minister Hun Sen and other government officials to hold regular meetings with NGOs in order to better understand the human rights situation in the country. ...

British conservation group Fauna & Flora International says it has captured the first image of a yellow-bellied weasel in Cambodia under a joint initiative with Oxford University. In a statement released Wednesday, the group said researchers led by FFI field biologist Channa Phan were conducting a ...

Ny Chakriya, senior official from human rights group ADHOC, said that freedom of assembly is hostage in hand of politicians. When they get along well with each other, the freedom of expression and assembly is widely opened. Chakriya said Thursday during a ceremony held to announce ...

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to intensify self-regulatory efforts against corrupt practices to help foster a stronger business environment, NGO Transparency International (TI) Cambodia said yesterday. At a seminar in Phnom Penh, TI Cambodia executive director Preap Kol told business representatives that while government corruption ...