Civil and political rights

Media outlets in Cambodia have came under increasing threat over the past year, according to a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), though the Ministry of Information, responding to a similar recent report, has insisted freedom of expression and the press is ...

The Ministry of Interior has officially registered a newly created “Kem Ley Foundation Association” after months of processing the application. Chhim Kan, director of the Interior Ministry’s Department of Associations and Political Parties, yesterday confirmed the association’s registration had been successful. ...

The “façade of media freedom” in the Kingdom “collapsed” last year, with journalists reporting a sharp drop in their hopes for independent press, according to the results of a new survey launched yesterday. The Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) study surveyed 75 journalists from ...

Six officials have filed a complaint to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court asking for their Funcinpec membership to be reinstated after they were removed from the party by its leader, Prince Norodom Ranariddh, at the end of last month. ...

The Council of Ministers released a no-holds-barred book about its efforts to root out a purported foreign-backed “colour revolution” in Cambodia yesterday, lashing out at superpowers like the United States for supposedly trying to cause “immeasurable catastrophe” in the country.​ ...

Cambodian opposition figures seeking asylum in Thailand have been visited by Thai police in recent days, fuelling fears they may be deported back to the Kingdom. Scores fled Cambodia after the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was forcibly dissolved following the arrest of its president, ...

Cambodia’s government has ordered internet service providers to block online access to The Cambodia Daily newspaper, which closed last year amid a widespread crackdown on media and civil society groups criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party.​ ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday took a swipe at a recent democracy report that labelled his regime “authoritarian”, before declaring no one is capable of “toppling Hun Sen besides Hun Sen”. ...

The state of democracy in Cambodia has declined to the point where it is now led by an outright “authoritarian” regime, according to the latest Democracy Index from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Democracy Index 2017, released yesterday, ranked Cambodia 124th out of 167 countries, ...

A proposed access-to-information law more than a decade in the making was unveiled to the public yesterday, with just one item left to finalise – punishments for officials who refuse to disclose public information. ...

The Constitutional Council is planning to meet later this week to discuss amendments to the Constitution, including changes to an article guaranteeing the right for citizens to form organisations and political parties. The document, a letter of invitation to local media, outlines an agenda for the ...

A group of US Senators has sent a letter to Nikki Haley, the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, urging her to work with other members of the UN Human Rights Council to pass a resolution on Cambodia’s political situation.​ ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen met with members of the press yesterday, not shying away from classifying some journalists and media outlets as extortionists and tax evaders, while applauding United States President Donald Trump’s efforts to go after so-called fake news.​ ...

Cambodia’s long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen berated journalists on Sunday at a dinner his government hosted for correspondents and accused some of spreading fabricated stories. ...

The report, “Freedom in the World 2018”, released on January 16, found that 2017 was the 12th consecutive year of decline in freedom globally, with 71 of the 195 countries included in the report suffering declines, including Cambodia. ...

Foreign-based members of Cambodia’s dissolved opposition party have launched a movement to demand the release of its detained leader and to call for free and fair elections and possibly protests. ...

Outspoken government critic Kim Sok was rejected bail at the Supreme Court this morning, with the prosecutor arguing that to grant Sok early release from an 18-month prison sentence would cause “chaos” in society. ...

Kem Monovithya, the daughter of jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha and a CNRP official, met with United States officials yesterday to discuss the possibility of further sanctions on the Cambodian government if measures taken in an ongoing political crackdown are not reversed. ...

The Information Ministry will use a new form of media pass for journalists working in Cambodia by the end of January in order to easily manage and collect data from journalists. ...

The prime minister lashed out at journalists and analysts today for questioning the current government’s reform record, a seeming reference to a Post article from December about a speech in which he touted his administration’s progress. ...

The National Election Committee (NEC) said only four political parties had registered to contest the February Senate elections, from which the country’s main opposition, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, will be excluded following its widely condemned dissolution by the Supreme Court in November. ...

Former Funcinpec Deputy Prime Minister Lu Lay Sreng could be facing a new court case after calling for peaceful protests against the government in a video posted to Facebook yesterday, issuing comments similar to ones that recently saw former opposition leader Sam Rainsy slapped with ...

“THE logical approach now”, reckons Naly Pilorge of LICADHO, a Cambodian human-rights watchdog, “would be to continue attacking.” She is talking about a crackdown on all forms of political dissent launched in August by Hun Sen, who has been prime minister for 32 years and ...

A Ministry of Information department director denied wrongdoing yesterday after the Anti-Corruption Unit released a letter on Friday detailing allegations of bribery, nepotism and improper hiring practices, as well as the accused official’s response. ...