Social development

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 ...

Authorities rounded up around 30 homeless people in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district late last week and sent most of them for detention in the notorious Prey Speu detention centre, despite mounting criticism regarding the human rights violations in the government facility. ...

The number of reported dengue fever cases has risen to 2,688 dengue in the first six months of this year, up 116 percent from the 1,245 cases over the same period last year, a statement from the Health Ministry said. ...

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. ...

As hundreds of protesters rallied outside the Senate Friday morning, 44 ruling party senators voiced their support for the controversial NGO law before approving it unanimously and sending it on to the Constitutional Council. ...

At a dialogue yesterday with parliament members, youth representatives called for more electoral transparency and for participatory roles in government. ...

A deal signed Thursday with the China Law Society will give Justice Ministry officials access to scholarships at Chinese universities and see Beijing fund the construction of a legal research center in Cambodia, ministry spokesman Chin Malin said. ...

Each year, more than a quarter of possible teaching hours are lost at the primary school level – the equivalent of 50.5 school days – due to teacher absences, missing class hours and the high number of school holidays, a report released yesterday found. ...

Cambodia’s Senate today gave its expected approval to the controversial law on associations and non-governmental organisations (LANGO), amid street protests and a boycott from opposition representatives.All 44 Cambodia People’s Party senators present voted unanimously to endorse the draft legislation, which will next week head to ...

The Senate is scheduled to vote Friday on the controversial Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO), despite a boycott by the opposition party and heated opposition from civil society.  ...

For more than 30 years, Svay Simorn, a social worker in Phnom Penh, has cared for her daughter and grandson, both of whom are mentally disabled. Over time, she has experienced discrimination and isolation. ...

This month’s early release of convicted French pedophile Philipe Broaly – despite ongoing court appeals – is an insult to victims and a huge step backwards for child protection in Cambodia, multiple NGOs have warned.  ...

A school meal program run by the World Food Program (WFP) has run out of funds, forcing it to transfer about half of its schools to government care. ...

Hundreds of people gathered in provinces around the country Wednesday to demonstrate against a pending NGO law that opponents fear will be used to muzzle groups that criticize the ruling CPP. ...

The Education Ministry plans to improve the quality of education in primary schools across the country by enforcing stricter protocols for teaching hours, said Education Minister Dr. Hang Chuon Naron on Thursday.  ...

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. ...