Civil society

The UN’s special rapporteur on Cambodia yesterday slammed the Kingdom’s government at the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council, going so far as to express doubt as to whether next year’s crucial elections will be free and fair. ...

The floodgates of the largest and most controversial dam project in the country’s history officially closed yesterday at an inauguration ceremony presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who took aim at environmentalists, ambassadors and NGOs in a wide-ranging speech. ...

The Interior Ministry on Friday announced it had stricken critical environmental NGO Mother Nature from its registry, effective immediately, with the group saying it had requested the move and would continue to investigate sand dredging and export violations in the country’s southwest despite the de-registration. ...

Former opposition leader Sam Rainsy announced yesterday that he plans to create a France-based NGO called the Association for Democracy in Cambodia, though he declined to give a detailed account of the structure and goals of the organisation. ...

Following protests against land rights NGO Equitable Cambodia (EC) on Friday, several villagers in affected communities in Kampong Speu’s Oral district voiced concern yesterday that the protests might have been staged by the company that the communities stand in conflict with. ...

International condemnation for the government’s continued clampdown on NGOs and independent media organisations continued to flow in over the weekend, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) calling it an “escalating campaign of politically-motivated harassment, intimidation, and legal action”. ...

The US State Department has expressed deep concern over Cambodia’s spiralling democratic climate following the government’s diktat to shutter the USAID-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI), ostensibly for violating the highly contentious NGO Law. ...

The Cambodian Foreign Ministry yesterday announced that it was halting the operations of the US State Department-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) and expelling all its foreign staff from the Kingdom in the next week – a move that prompted the US Embassy to fire back ...

A project to increase the number of wild tigers in the northeastern part of Cambodia was put forward to the Cambodian government by a group of NGOs yesterday. ...

Prominent NGOs yesterday said they are trying to comply with the new law on organisations and will meet the Interior Ministry’s deadline to submit reports by the end of September. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has decided not to shut down a Christian anti-trafficking charity after its founder issued a “heartfelt apology” yesterday. The apology from Agape International Missions (AIM) CEO Don Brewster is the first public comment he has made since the social media fracas sparked ...

The U.N.’s human rights envoy to Cambodia condemned the government’s recent violent rhetoric, court action against politicians and attacks against NGOs that have ramped up ahead of a key national election next year, arguing that the country appeared to be “approaching a precipice.” ...

The Ministry of Environment has disputed an environmental NGO report that large-scale illegal logging continues unabated, with large quantities of timber being transported to Vietnam. ...

Leaked materials from the United States-funded NGO National Democratic Institute (NDI) have been portrayed on Facebook and in local media as being part of an “ill intended” strategy to help the opposition party win next year’s national election, with government officials yesterday publicly questioning the ...

An Economy and Finance Ministry spokesman denied any political motive for investigating NGOs and media outlets over tax payments on Tuesday, saying private enterprises were also under scrutiny. ...

At least three local NGOs have been called for questioning by the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Taxation Department to clarify their tax payments, amid an aggressive tax collection campaign that has recently gone after media outlets the Cambodia Daily, Voice of America and Radio ...

Only 200 of some 5,000 domestic NGOs have submitted required banking details to the Interior Ministry, its spokesman said on Monday, as the government steps up enforcement of tax requirements on organizations that may have racked up huge unpaid bills. ...

Government-aligned media outlet Fresh News has published a leaked letter from the Taxation Department to the Cambodia Daily claiming that it owes $6.3 million in back taxes, a disclosure accompanied by scathing anonymous “letters” attacking the English-language newspaper and prominent NGOs. ...

NGOs in Cambodia and Malaysia are working with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to repatriate six of the 30 Cambodians who sought shelter at the country’s embassy after the Malaysian government started mass arrests of undocumented migrant workers on July 1. ...

Though they live in orphanages, an estimated 13,000 children in facilities across Cambodia have at least one living parent. As part of a sea change in government policy in a country with a checkered history with orphanages, officials in Battambang province on Tuesday kicked off ...

Two key members of the election monitoring group dubbed the Situation Room are seeking a meeting with Interior Minister Sar Kheng to discuss a recent government order that would bar the NGO consortium from continuing its work for next year’s general election. ...

NGOs huddled yesterday to make sense of a letter from the Interior Ministry asking them to comply with controversial provisions of the Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO), with some considering requesting further clarification or an extension of a September deadline for compliance. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng took aim at civil society on Tuesday night, warning NGOs to comply with the law or face legal action, at the same time the ministry ordered the ad hoc election monitoring group the Situation Room to cease any future monitoring activities. ...

A series of letters issued by the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday night – one chastising two election monitors, and another offering a blanket warning to NGOs – have again raised the spectre of the Kingdom’s controversial and widely criticised Law on Associations and NGOs ...