Civil society

At least three women – one pregnant – and a man were hurt in a clash with security forces at Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after land rights activist Tep Vanny was jailed for two and a half years over a 2013 protest. ...

Fifteen national and international organizations representing 38 civil society groups met with the National Assembly’s first commission yesterday to discuss eight major land dispute cases in an effort to find a solution for those affected.   ...

The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Frederica Mogherini, yesterday released a letter outlining Europe’s continued concern with what it perceives as a deteriorating political situation in Cambodia. ...

Members of Mekong River Commission and civil society groups will be heading to Luang Prabang in Laos to attend the regional stakeholder meeting on Wednesday to discuss Laos’ proposal to build a third dam on the Mekong mainstream, the Pak Beng. ...

Cambodian environmental groups on Friday asked the government to reject Laos’ 912-megawatt Pak Beng hydropower project, alarmed by the potential impacts on fisheries and sediment flow in the Mekong. ...

National Assembly effectiveness declined last year with prosecutions of opposition lawmakers, partisan passing of laws and many assembly members visiting constituents only to shore up their vote, an election watchdog claimed yesterday. ...

A group of non-profits have banded together to push for the recruitment of thousands more election observers they say are necessary for the June 4 commune elections. ...

Environmental organizations and civil society groups have expressed concern at plans to build another dam along the Mekong River in Laos and asked the Lao government to suspend the project due to the effects it will have on communities, water flow and fishery resources in ...

In a joint statement, 48 civil society organizations have urged the Appeal Court to overturn a ruling by the Koh Kong Provincial Court in a case against three Mother Nature activists. The statement says the three activists are not criminals,but brave environmental protectors who had contributed ...

Government officials reacted strongly yesterday to a recent statement by NGO Global Witness calling on Switzerland, the host of this year’s World Economic Forum, to turn away Prime Minister Hun Sen and not give him a platform to find new international business partners. ...

An NGO is taking aim at development companies in a new report detailing the troubling tactics of construction companies forcibly evicting residents of Phnom Penh. The study, released yesterday, showed that among 77 sites since 2011 throughout Phnom Penh where residents were evicted so their building ...

More than 40 unions have joined together to ask the Labor Ministry to make changes to 10 articles in the draft Minimum Wage Law, saying the law did not cover all sectors and restricted the rights of union representatives in wage negotiations among a host ...

Civil society organizations, unions and citizens celebrated Human Rights Day in Phnom Penh on the weekend, but were not permitted to march through the streets and many opted to hold their celebrations in Freedom Park. On Saturday, Yang Kim Eng, the chairman of the Cambodian Human ...

Local garment sector stakeholders failed to find common ground at a meeting on supply chain safety protocols, with the government and employers expressing reluctance to take on an additional level of responsibility. ...

Civil society organizations and youth groups have called for young people to be more involved in human rights and the environment. They also demanded greater protection for young activists who have suffered threats, violence and court action. The call was made in a youth forum on young ...

Civil society groups yesterday urged the government to step up transparency in the judiciary to create an environment where activists could address social injustices without having to worry about being prosecuted. ...

Just weeks after Laos announced its plans to begin constructing a third mainstream dam in the Lower Mekong River region, Prime Minister Hun Sen used a bilateral meeting with his Laotian counterpart to signal that the controversial Don Sahong dam will no longer receive opposition ...

Several civil society groups yesterday issued a joint statement urging members of parliament to review the national budget which is set to allocate close to 35 percent of national spending solely to the Defense Ministry and a contingency reserve. ...

Civil society members and Ministry of Mines and Energy officials came together recently to discuss discrepancies in the export figures of sand from Cambodia to Singapore, after 47 NGOs wrote an open letter early this month to the ministry seeking an explanation. The letter from civil ...

Cambodia fell four spots in a 2016 ranking of internet freedom across the world released yesterday, with the organization behind it tying the drop to a spate of arrests for nothing more than Facebook posts and a much-maligned telecommunications law that critics say gives the ...

A new tech-centered co-working space is challenging the country’s young leaders to find practical ways technology can be utilized to create a positive impact on the day-to-day lives of people. ...

Companies should embrace the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their operations and encourage a positive impact through their activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public, said an NGO official yesterday. “CSR-focused businesses would proactively promote public ...

Civil society groups are getting closer to unveiling a new set of guidelines that will change how the impact of big development projects is assessed across the Mekong region, NGOs said yesterday, following the end of a two-month public consultation period. ...

The public has spoken and among their top priorities for spearheading sustainable development in Cambodia are eradicating poverty, administering quality education and achieving peace and justice, according to a new survey published by NGO World Vision. The survey takes focus on 2030’s UN Sustainable Development Goals ...