Civil and political rights

A group of protesters demanding the release of three jailed environmental activists in Koh Kong province clashed with authorities on Tuesday, as they attempted to file a petition to the residence of the provincial governor. ...

When Sam Samnang’s son decided to join the ranks of environmental NGO Mother Nature, she knew he was in for trouble. ...

Cambodia’s young internet users are thinking twice before discussing politics online, say prominent bloggers, after the third case of government punitive action sparked by Facebook comments within a month.On Saturday, student Kong Raiya, 25, was charged over a Facebook post linked to him for comments ...

Not long ago, Sim Pov, a representative of 69 families from Kratie province, came to Phnom Penh to meet with urban housing rights protesters. He wanted to learn from them how he could organize his own community, which is locked in a land dispute with ...

While there are many issues for Cambodia’s journalists to cover these days—from the tensions with Vietnam over border issues to land disputes, the law to regulate NGOs, the labor sector and others—the country’s reporters are often disrupted from their work. ...

Some two-hundred vendors peacefully gathered in front of the residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen near Independence Monument, seeking the premier’s intervention to stop a planned construction of new Doeum Kor market. ...

Every Saturday afternoon, in a room in the Phnom Penh offices of a German political foundation, chairs are arranged in a u-shape. About 50 people, from a range of backgrounds, gather and chit-chat. ...

A United Nations agency will soon begin holding public meetings nationwide to consult the public on a long-awaited law that would give Cambodians access to important information held by the government. ...

Press freedom groups have condemned a violent attack on two reporters by security guards at a rally in Phnom Penh yesterday. ...

Authorities in Phnom Penh on Sunday arrested and released six people dressed in prison uniforms and chained together by their legs for protesting outside the National Assembly against a recently approved law that threatens to muzzle NGOs critical of the government ...

Six demonstrators were briefly detained as they protested against the recent passage of a law under which critics say the law will hinder the ability of NGOs to operate in the nation. ...

United Nations human rights expert Maina Kiai on Wednesday urged Cambodia to reject a draft law that would allow authorities to shut down and criminalize any group advocating for human rights, basic freedoms and good governance, saying it is not too late to reverse the ...

The government yesterday confirmed four changes to the controversial NGO law in response to widespread criticism; opponents, however, say the edits are insignificant and the legislation remains a “severe violation” of Cambodia’s constitution. ...

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today called on the Cambodian government to abandon its proposed Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organizations (LANGO), arguing that the ruling party has pursued a fundamentally undemocratic course in attempting to secure the passage of a law that threatens ...

In the first semester of the year, the number of demonstration and riot up but crime down, said a report of the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat. During that period, there were 236 cases of demonstrations and riots, up 55 cases compared to the same period of ...

Around 100 activists, including Buddhist monks, gathered in front of Cambodia’s parliament Monday to demand that lawmakers and the country’s Forestry Administration take action against illegal logging in endangered Prey Lang forest. ...

The international watchdog Frontline Defenders has called on Cambodian authorities to drop a defamation lawsuit against a prominent human rights worker. Ny Chakrya, head of legal assistance for the rights group Adhoc, is facing a suit filed by two court officials in Siem Reap province last ...

A ruling party lawmaker says pro-democracy and rights groups staging protests against a draft law at the National Assembly are trying to “topple the government.” On Wednesday, Chheang Vun, a lawmaker for the Cambodian People’s Party, said three days of protests over the draft are ...

When an anti-human trafficking group recently reported a 73 percent drop in the sale of children for sex, another referenced its list of 15 establishments offering minors to predators as evidence to the contrary. ...

Authorities in Cambodia on Thursday briefly detained three activists who protested in front of parliament, and a local rights group official who monitored the demonstration, calling on the government to stop a Vietnamese sand dredging company from polluting the environment in Koh Kong province. ...

Human Rights Watch says the World Bank is not doing enough to help people in Cambodia and elsewhere who are facing government harassment for speaking out against Bank-funded projects gone bad. ...

A senior US diplomat has raised concerns over a proposed law to govern NGOs in Cambodia. Hor Namhong told reporters Tuesday the draft law is not meant to impose undue burdens on NGOs. Civil society will have a chance to comment on the draft when ...