Social development

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 ...

UN rights experts yesterday urged the government to reconsider constitutional amendments, including a law that forbids insulting the monarchy, saying the changes were too vague and failed to meet international standards. Parliament last week adopted a law that forbids insulting the monarchy, along with other amendments ...

A group of 35 international labour and human rights advocacy groups yesterday called for charges against a trio of Cambodian civil society activists to be dropped. “We, the undersigned global unions and international human rights and workers’ rights organizations, call for the charges against Cambodian human ...

The Ministry of Labour and United Nations yesterday pledged to continue working on a project that is aiding young women and men in their search for decent and productive employment opportunities. ...

The Japanese government yesterday provided grant assistance worth nearly $350,000 to support IT education for disabled young Cambodians, as well as the construction of hospital buildings in three provinces across the kingdom. The agreement was signed at the Japanese embassy in Phnom Penh yesterday afternoon between ...

A moratorium on the movement of chickens, dead or alive, has been put into effect in a commune of Prey Veng’s Ba Phnom district after a chicken sample tested positive for A1H5N1 bird flu, the provincial Department of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries said today. ...

The Ministry of Education has fired four ex-Cambodia National Rescue Party members from their teaching jobs in Siem Reap province, according to a letter from Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron. ...

Forty mobile clinics and other tools will arrive in the kingdom in April and October following an agreement signed between the Health Ministry and the Chinese embassy in Cambodia. The signing ceremony for the agreement was held earlier this month, according to Health Minister Mam Bun ...

Twenty-four beggars and homeless people escaped from the Phnom Penh Transit Centre in Por Senchey district on Monday and police are seeking their return. ...

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.​ ...

Representatives of more than 400 families in Kratie’s Snuol district protested yesterday following the temporary detention of two fellow community members at a demonstration the day before, when locals blocked a road to demand the government find a solution to their land dispute with a ...

In its annual report signed yesterday, the Cambodian National Council for Women lauded the government’s efforts to increase gender equality throughout society, though women’s rights activists today raised doubts about the achievements.The council highlights in the report that the economic and political status of women ...

NGOs and foreigners have been warned that they could face fines or expulsion from the country for causing confusion or affecting the results of the upcoming Senate elections. NEC spokesman Hang Puthea said the NEC has made regulations and procedures based on existing laws in Cambodia. ...

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, ...

Two activists who were convicted of incitement to commit a felony and violation of privacy by Koh Kong Provincial Court may be released today following the completion of their five-month prison terms. The two environmental activists, Hun Vannak and Doem Kundy, are being detained in Prek ...

Civil society organisations yesterday asked the government to strengthen legal measures against perpetrators of violence against women and children.The request was made at the 2018 One Billion Rising Campaign at the Chenla Theatre in Phnom Penh, where more than 300 people gathered to discuss protecting ...

Cambodia’s economic freedom score dropped seven ranks in the annual Economic Freedom Index released by the Heritage Foundation, a US-based, conservative-leaning think tank. The 0.8 point dip in the score from last year put Cambodia’s economy in the “Mostly Unfree” category, ranking 101 out of ...

In an apparent reversal, Stung Treng province authorities on Friday said they would build public infrastructure for the 83 households from Srekor and Kbal Romeas villages who were displaced by flooding from the reservoir of the controversial Lower Sesan II Dam but declined to move ...

Violence in Cambodia has escalated in recent months with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s attempts to quash competition ahead of the upcoming elections on July 29, 2018. Security and surveillance measures have been strengthened, media outlets have been closed down, protests have been met with violence and mass ...

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a 30-month sentence for land activist Tep Vanny on charges relating to a 2013 protest outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house that turned violent, leaving the Boeung Kak resident to serve out more than a year of her remaining ...

Phnom Penh City Hall yesterday said that demonstrations, strikes and protests increased last year when compared to 2016. A report released yesterday said that 2017 saw 1,760 demonstrations, strikes and protests, an increase of 162 compared to 2016. Last year, there were 613 protests by citizens and ...

A new laboratory to monitor food products and ensure their safety opened on Tuesday in Svay Rieng province, near the border with Vietnam. It is the third such facility to open in the kingdom in the last few years, after other labs came online in Banteay ...

More than 1,700 beggars and homeless people were removed from the streets of Phnom Penh and sent to social affairs centres last year. According to City Hall’s annual report, which was released yesterday, authorities rounded up 1,727 beggars and homeless people from all city districts over ...