Social development

Cambodia’s upcoming elections have been dubbed the “Cambodian Spring”, with an unprecedented number of young activists taking to the streets and social media, demanding a change. More than a third of registered voters are aged between 18 and 30, and the Opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party ...

Former Bavet town governor Chhouk Bandith has appealed — from hiding — his conviction for shooting three women at a protest earlier last year, his lawyer said. His attorney, Sun Bunnarith, said that he had filed the appeal about two weeks ago, and that Bandith’s ...

In the middle of an election campaign in which wages have been a prominent issue, the Ministry of Education did something out of the ordinary Monday: It made public the official pay scale it uses to remunerate its teachers. The list contains figures that are somewhat ...

Construction of a special economic zone (SEZ) near the Vietnamese border in Ratanakkiri province’s eastern O’Yad­aw district is on track, but who exactly will avail of the facility and its services remains a mystery—even for senior provincial officials. The latest announced venture of agro-industry land concession ...

Cambodia’s Free Trade Union (FTU), one of the biggest unions in the country, threw its weight Monday behind the largest opposition party ahead of upcoming elections, citing the party’s commitment to raising the minimum wage for factory workers. Union representatives from 37 factories and enterprises met ...

The Ministry of Education is preparing to distribute questionnaires nationwide to assess the gap between the job market and subjects being studied by university students. As Cambodia’s economy develops, employers have complained that there are too many graduates in subjects such as management and business, ...

Romam Gvin could be described as a counterintuitive voter. Intuition might lead you to believe that Mr. Gvin blames the government for the loss of his land to the Vietnamese rubber company that now owns everything for as far as the eye can see here in ...

A 3-year-old boy from Prey Veng province’s Kompong Trabek district has contracted avian influenza, a deadly disease that has killed seven children and two men so far this year in the largest outbreak the country has seen, the Ministry of Health said in a statement ...

At a congressional hearing in Washington on Tuesday that scathingly rebuked Prime Minister Hun Sen and his ruling CPP, a U.S. lawmaker called for legislation to cut American aid to Cambodia following the national election on July 28. Representative Steve Chabot, who chaired the House Subcom­mittee ...

A controversial land titling program set up by Prime Minister Hun Sen has been suspended ahead of the July 28 elections, but critics say the program should not be restarted. The titling program itself began in December 2012 and is expected to end after elections scheduled ...

Japanese sports brand ASICS has agreed to pay compensation to the families of victims who died in a factory collapse in May, a brand representative said. ASICS Corporation managing executive officer Ron Pietersen, who arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday, said the company profoundly regretted the ...

Lawmakers in the U.S. and human rights activists are pushing for cuts of more than $70 million in aid to Cambodia if Prime Minister Hun Sen wins the July 28 elections. Many factors have pushed the U.S. to this point be it unfair and unjust, such ...

Rem Vannak remains in poor health after enduring about two years of 21-hour days working for no pay on a fishing boat in Fiji, where he was beaten when he complained. Lin Yu Shin, who owns Giant Ocean – the company Vannak worked for that allegedly ...

During a presentation at the 2013 International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Cambodia showed its new initiative called “Cambodia 3.0” which aims to eliminate new infections of HIV by 2020. Cambodia had one of the fastest growing HIV ...

A six-year-old Cambodian girl has died from bird flu, bringing the country’s toll from the deadly virus to nine so far this year, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday. The girl, from the southern province of Kampot, died in a children’s hospital in the capital Phnom ...

Civil society organisations and local communities yesterday called on the government to cancel an order banning all media from broadcasting foreign election-related reports in the five days before the election. The joint statement, signed by 21 civil society groups, comes after the government on Saturday rescinded ...

Ministry of Interior officials held a closed-door meeting Monday with NGO representatives to contest Cambodia’s recent downgrade on the U.S. State Department’s Global Trafficking in Persons Report, which the ministry will discuss in a meeting with the U.S. Em­bassy this week. The annual report, released last ...

Forty-four Number One and OK condom packers, out of work since their contracts ended on Sunday, protested outside the office of health NGO Population Services Khmer (PSK) in Phnom Penh yesterday, demanding “unpaid” seniority bonuses. Representative So Nita said the workers, four of whom have physical ...

At least two women were injured Monday as housing rights activists clashed with police in Phnom Penh. The activists had been demonstrating by sitting in a major street in front of City Hall to demand land titles in two ongoing land disputes in the capital, those ...

In light of ongoing disputes over working conditions in the garment sector, the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights (CCHR) released yesterday details on hundreds of factories it believes will offer greater transparency along the garment supply chain – from producers to buyers – and shine ...

The Ministry of Information has banned the broadcast of all Khmer-language programs by foreign radio stations for the entire 31 days of the pre-election campaign period and on election day, July 28, warning that legal action will ensue if stations fail to comply. The ban, announced ...

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of $55 million to help transform the rice sector of Cambodia into a viable commercial industry as well as taking care of the land and water resources. ADB’s Climate-Resilient Rice Commercialization Sector Development Program―which will run ...

The construction of two hydroelectric dams proposed for the Mekong River would lead to steep declines in the availability of fish-an essential source of protein for Cambodians- potentially threatening food security, according to a new report by the fisheries administration. The study by the administration’s Inland Fisheries ...

A Cambodian court sentenced a former governor in absentia to 18 months in prison for shooting three female workers at a factory supplying sportswear giant Puma, a judge said yesterday. The women, employees of Puma supplier Kaoway Sports, were wounded when someone opened fire on protesters ...