Social development

Although the number of land disputes across the country decreased in the first six months of the year—largely due to a freeze on the granting of economic land concessions—little has been done to resolve existing disputes, according to a report released Wednesday by rights group ...

Two more Cambodian women who were allegedly cheated by human traffickers into marrying Chinese men returned home yesterday. ...

Senators from Cambodia’s opposition party will not participate in a debate on controversial legislation passed by the lower house of parliament earlier this month on the regulation of nongovernmental organizations that operate in the developing country, an opposition Senate lawmaker said. ...

Just days after a dozen Montagnard asylum seekers returned to Vietnam having given up on being granted refugee status, 11 more arrived in Phnom Penh over the weekend, according to the United Nations. ...

The National Assembly may have approved the contentious Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO), but some young people are still urging the government to scrap it. ...

The reach of a US Supreme Court decision in favor of same-sex marriage has been far, even in Cambodia, where the decision was much discussed over social media. That has given some in the country’s LGBT community hope, but it has also exposed divisions in ...

More than 20 memorials have been built in Cambodian high schools since 2010, in an effort to educate young people about the Khmer Rouge. The aim of the project is to teach about genocide in order to prevent its return. ...

Phnom Penh Municipal Governor Pa Socheatvong yesterday accused civil society organisations of paying land rights demonstrators to protest against a controversial NGO law that recently passed the National Assembly. ...

The number of people arrested for drug trafficking during the first six months of this year has increased by 159 per cent, police officials announced on Friday. ...

The Education Ministry is failing students by not doing enough to improve schools before graduates face tougher competition from their Asean peers, the head of the National Assembly’s education commission, Yem Ponhearith, told Khmer Times. ...

How should one react when accused in court of defaming a provincial judge and prosecutor? Ny Chakrya just laughs. ...

Six activists from Phnom Penh’s Borei Keila and Boeung Kak communities were arrested on Saturday morning while handing out leaflets denouncing the controversial NGO law, passed by the National Assembly last week. ...

Authorities in Phnom Penh arrested and released five activists on Saturday for handing out leaflets urging residents to “Say No” to a pending NGO law that critics fear will be used to muzzle critics of the ruling CPP. ...

Foreigners who join protests against the government will now be subject to arrest and deportation, Phnom Penh’s governor and the government’s spokesman said yesterday, in the latest effort by the CPP to curb outside influence in the country’s political affairs. ...

The contentious law on associations and NGOs will likely pass the Senate this week, after it is reviewed tomorrow and Wednesday opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) senator Kong Korm said yesterday. ...

On a walkthrough visit of Phnom Penh’s Prey Speu social affairs center on Friday, municipal governor Pa Socheatvong pledged to send 10 new caretakers to work at the center, which has been the subject of claims of serious abuse at the hands of staff. ...

Cambodia’s budget for mental health care must be increased dramatically if the government aims to properly respond to the mounting demand for services in the Kingdom, health experts said yesterday. ...

U.N. human rights expert Maina Kiai on Thursday urged Cambodia’s Senate not to pass a controversial NGO law that the National Assembly approved this week, warning that the legislation could have “disastrous” effects. ...

The Ministry of Education plans to spend less than its allocated $3 million budget for the upcoming high school exit exam due to a decrease in this year’s exam registrants, an education official confirmed yesterday. ...

Opposition lawmakers in Cambodia’s Senate said Thursday that they would boycott an upcoming vote in the upper house of parliament on a draft law that regulates nongovernmental organizations working in the country if senators failed to amend the legislation. ...

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 Commerce Ministry on Wednesday released a draft of the country’s first food law, which establishes a Food Safety Authority charged with protecting domestic consumers and ensuring that exports meet international standards. ...

The International Committee of Jurists has given its backing to human rights activist Ny Chakrya, calling for the Cambodian government to end legal proceedings against him. ...

Young Cambodians are becoming increasingly engaged in social issues, with many university students volunteering for causes they consider important for national development, student leaders and youth organizers say. ...