Human rights

A Ministry of Justice spokesman and Cambodia’s Permanent Mission to the UN Office at Geneva (Unog) have described demands for the treason charge against Kem Sokha to be dropped as tantamount to interference in the judiciary. Rhona Smith, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation ...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Wednesday said the government was studying the EU Commission’s preliminary report on the human rights situation in the Kingdom that could lead to a suspension of access to its “Everything But Arms” (EBA) agreement.The EU launched ...

Rhona Smith, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia on Friday issued a statement expressing “grave concerns” over the “heightened political crackdown across Cambodia”. ...

The Union of Journalist Federations of Cambodia has established a working group tasked with promoting media freedom and evaluating content to foster quality journalism in the Kingdom. The UJFC in a statement on Tuesday said the working group is dubbed the Cambodian Committee for Media Assessment ...

The Union of Journalist Federations of Cambodia has urged local unions and media associations to collaborate and conduct a joint evaluation of the Kingdom’s media freedom. UJFC president Huy Vannak, who was re-elected to his position during its congress on Saturday, said all local unions and ...

The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia are to hold a national-level workshop on Wednesday to ensure the implementation of recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR). ...

The Information Ministry yesterday announced that the draft Law on Access to Information is ready to be reviewed during an unspecified inter-ministerial meeting next month after it deemed that the draft’s contents are in line with international standards and the constitution. It also said the draft ...

The government has tasked the Cambodia Human Rights Committee with preparing a draft law on establishing the National Human Rights Unit in the Kingdom, a move in line with the Paris Principles adopted by the United Nations in 1993. A CHRC statement yesterday said that on ...

Cambodina Human Rights Committee (CHRC) spokesman Chin Malin on Wednesday rejected a report by a group of NGOs to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that the Kingdom is facing an “ongoing human rights crisis”. Malin said he also expected that the possible adoption of ...

The government yesterday ordered two NGOs to retract a critical report on the negative impacts of microloans after summoning their representatives for a meeting to defend their research. The report, published last month by Licadho and Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, featured seven case studies of abuse chosen ...

The Ministry of Information on Tuesday concluded the final revision by key ministries of the draft Law on Access to Information, without making any major amendments. It will be submitted to the Council of Ministers to be rubber-stamped by the end of September or beginning ...

The Ministry of Information and the National Committee for Counter Trafficking (NCCT) joined hands to strengthen the capacity of journalists, TV presenters and commentators to upgrade their skills in helping to address human trafficking. ...

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ket Sophann yesterday said the government has submitted a report to the European Commission detailing efforts made to improve human rights in the Kingdom. The report, submitted on Tuesday, is in response to a 30-page note sent by the EC in March ...

CHRC President Keo Remy said after the meeting that he and the Japanese team – led by Masato Otaka, Ambassador in charge of UN Affairs and Deputy Assistant Minister of the Foreign Policy Bureau at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs – discussed human rights issues ...

In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review on July 31, Mogherini – who is also the Vice-President of the European Commission – was asked whether the EU’s possible sanctions would lead to reforms in Cambodia, to which she said the Kingdom “needed to respect ...

The Suoy indigenous people of the Kor Dauntey community in Kampong Speu have expressed concerns over the loss of reserve land for future generations after allegedly receiving a $2,500 per hectare offer. ...

A middle-aged man was arrested and sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court Wednesday while three other supporters of slain political analyst Kem Ley were also arrested as they were attempting to sell t-shirts with Kem Ley’s portrait and commemorating his assassination’s third anniversary. According to ...

After Prime Minister Hun Sen returned from his July 3-5 visit to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Switzerland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation described the meetings as “successful”. ...

A fifth iter-ministerial meeting was held on Wednesday to continue reviewing and discussing the first draft of the Access to Information Law, even as civil society called on the ministries to accelerate its discussions.​ Following the meeting, which was led by the Ministry of Information, ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said “the forest had not been seen for the trees” when the human rights situation in Cambodia was assessed and that the Kingdom would not bow to preaching on the matter. Hun Sen was presiding over a ceremony on ...

A senior government official on Sunday reacted to a US report which said the Kingdom had not fully met the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, saying it seemed to be biased against the Cambodian government. ...

Cambodia is not doing enough to combat human trafficking, the United States said on Thursday, leaving the Asian nation at risk of economic sanctions unless it takes firmer action. Corruption impedes law enforcement, prosecutions and provision of services to victims, the influential Trafficking In Persons ...

Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement on Wednesday urging Cambodian authorities to drop espionage charges which it deemed politically motivated against two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) journalists and free them of court supervision. But Ministry of Justice spokesman Chin Malin dismissed the statement ...

UN human rights experts have expressed concern about what they call an escalating trend of silencing political opinion, saying the government has used criminal law to deny former Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) members’ the rights to expression and to hold gatherings. However, senior government ...