Social development

In a lush, gated compound 12 kilometres south of central Phnom Penh, the young minds that will one day lead Cambodia are being shaped – or at least that’s what one philanthropic foundation, which is investing millions of dollars in a unique, long-term project, hopes. “When ...

Injecting methamphetamines is on the rise in Cambodia, particularly among younger addicts, as recreational users have begun to switch from smoking and pill-popping to mainlining, a report by the Australian National Council on Drugs suggests. The report, released yesterday, details how amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) and their ...

Monks marching toward Phnom Penh to mark International Human Rights Day on Tuesday in front of the National Assembly have continued to receive a cold reception from some pagodas along their way and blocked a national road Thursday afternoon in protest. About 100 marchers, including several ...

More than 80 monks and activists marching to Phnom Penh for International Human Rights Day blocked National Road 5 in Kampong Chhnang town yesterday evening after local authorities allegedly pressured a pagoda to deny them permission to rest there. Independent Monks Network head But Buntenh claimed ...

Prisons across the country will soon be referred to only as “correctional centres” to change a public perception that they are places where people are simply locked up, the Ministry of Interior announced yesterday. Nuth Sa An, secretary of state at the ministry, said the change ...

The Ministry of Interior’s general department of prisons has been advised to address prison overcrowding and transportation issues between prisons and courts as it begins to tackle its 2013 to 2018 strategic plan for the country’s jails. The advice was given at the start of a ...

An indigenous Bunong minority community in Mondolkiri province’s Keo Seima district on Wednesday filed a complaint claiming that authorities had destroyed their homes, but authorities allege that the villagers are living on land owned by a private company. Villagers claim that since November, 37 homes in ...

Anti-human trafficking NGO SISHA announced the results of its internal audit yesterday, attempting to clear financial misconduct allegations made earlier this year. Retired police detective and founder of the NGO Steve Morrish came under fire in August after two of the charity’s former employees leaked information ...

As temperatures drop during the cool season, children, infants and the elderly should take extra measures to ward off common seasonal illnesses, officials from the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday. In a press release issued by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization’s ...

The Ministry of Health said Thursday it would shut down a Phnom Penh health center that claims to cure diseases such as cancer and diabetes with the help of detoxifying machines, according to officials. Immanuel Bicom True Healing Center in Chamkar Mon district did not have ...

Monks and their supporters marching to Phnom Penh on a 10-day “Peace Walk,” as part of International Human Rights Day, said Wednesday that pagodas along the way have repeatedly tried to shut them out, and they have scuffled with police on at least one occasion. About ...

Local and international organizations on Tuesday marked International Day of Persons With Disabilities by calling on the government to extend its efforts to employ more disabled people beyond Phnom Penh’s environs. A sub-decree attached to the government’s Disability Law, enacted in July 2009, states that the ...

Cambodia will on Tuesday introduce measures intended to better serve disabled people living in the provinces and will hold its first workshop on the draft of a new five-year plan to improve disability services, the government said at an annual meeting of members to the ...

In an epic, six-hour address in September, Prime Minister Hun Sen apologized for the government’s many “problems” and promised a more reformist government over the next five years of his rule. Targeting corruption, deforestation and the lack of transparency across government sectors, the prime minister made ...

A team of 12 Chinese military experts on Thursday started offering a six-week mine clearance course to 52 Cambodian peacekeeping force. The training is being held at the Institute for Peacekeeping Forces, Mine and Explosive Remnants of War Clearance. According to the Cambodian Mine Action Authority, ...

Representatives from civil society and the opposition gathered yesterday to push for the adoption of an access to information law – a move that comes less than a month after Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the Ministry of Information to hasten its development. Two laws dealing ...

Two people who were quoted in a report implicating tycoon Try Pheap in illegal logging have been issued fresh summonses to appear in Kandal Provincial Court on defamation charges. Sen San and Ouk Sambo were originally scheduled to appear in the court last Friday, but San ...

A semiannual study of defendants’ rights in Cambodian courts released this week found an alarming prevalence of pre-trial detention in cases involving juvenile suspects, who are routinely blended with adult prison populations. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights’ sixth semiannual report of trial rights, which cited ...

Cambodia is now ranked as being perceived by investors as Southeast Asia’s most corrupt country, surpassing Laos and Burma on Transparency International’s annual corruption index. Cambodia ranked 160 of 175 countries in the report, with its index score a mere 20 out of 100. That’s two ...

A medical team of 10 Chinese ophthalmologists from the Beijing Tongren Hospital have helped operate on eye patients in Cambodia as a part of the celebrations of the 55th anniversary of China-Cambodia diplomatic ties. The team have spent a two-day humanitarian mission at the Preah Ketomelea ...

A senior ruling party official yesterday accused foreign journalists and media outlets in Cambodia of interfering in the Kingdom’s governance and urging political instability. Speaking to reporters in the capital, Cambodian People’s Party lawmaker and National Assembly spokesman Chheang Vun said a number of journalists – ...

Cambodian authorities frequently hold suspects, especially the young, in detention pending trial, even though the law could allow them to be released on bail while awaiting the completion of their judicial proceedings, according to a report released Wednesday. Minor crime suspects are also provided a “worryingly ...

Cambodia will resume international adoptions in 2014, more than four years after suspending them over concerns about child exploitation, an official said Wednesday. Deputy Social Affairs Minister Nim Thoth told reporters that foreigners interested in adopting Cambodian children would be able to make applications in the ...

Cambodian political analysts said Prime Minister Hun Sen needs to make “serious and deep reforms” over the next five years to restore his popularity after his party survived with a slim majority in July’s disputed general election. Sok Touch, deputy director of the Royal Academy ...