Human rights

The General Commissariat of National Police has recently established a new department called “Department for Anti-technology Crime”, said Gen. Khieu Sopheak, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior. ...

More than five months after being appointed as the U.N.’s new special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith will make her first official visit to the country later this month, according to the government’s Human Rights Committee. ...

For many young Cambodians, social media has become more than simply a way to communicate with friends, and is a major source of news about their country and the world. But while observers say such websites have increased awareness about political issues in recent years, ...

Police in Koh Kong province on Wednesday late evening set free 17 people, including for local rights workers who were arrested over a protest in the province. ...

Seventeen members of a Cambodian rights group and environmental NGO were briefly detained by authorities in Cambodia’s southeastern Koh Kong province Wednesday as they observed protests calling for the release of three activists held for interfering with sand-dredging operations, sources said. ...

Police in Koh Kong province on Wednesday detained at least 17 people, who had been protesting the detention of three environmental activists. ...

A group of protesters demanding the release of three jailed environmental activists in Koh Kong province clashed with authorities on Tuesday, as they attempted to file a petition to the residence of the provincial governor. ...

The garbage-strewn, riverside area that contains Chrang Chamres commune may be unsightly, but the local Cham community fears that a future away from their niche in Phnom Penh’s far north would be far worse. It’s a common refrain. Over the years, numerous communities across Phnom ...

When Sam Samnang’s son decided to join the ranks of environmental NGO Mother Nature, she knew he was in for trouble. ...

Cambodia’s young internet users are thinking twice before discussing politics online, say prominent bloggers, after the third case of government punitive action sparked by Facebook comments within a month.On Saturday, student Kong Raiya, 25, was charged over a Facebook post linked to him for comments ...

An anti-government activist has been imprisoned over a social media post in which he called for people in Cambodia to join him in a “colour revolution”, though critics of the arrest say he enjoys no political influence. ...

A group of 12 international and local human rights organizations sent a letter to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Thursday urging it to support a resolution addressing “the deteriorating human rights situation in Cambodia.” ...

Not long ago, Sim Pov, a representative of 69 families from Kratie province, came to Phnom Penh to meet with urban housing rights protesters. He wanted to learn from them how he could organize his own community, which is locked in a land dispute with ...

While there are many issues for Cambodia’s journalists to cover these days—from the tensions with Vietnam over border issues to land disputes, the law to regulate NGOs, the labor sector and others—the country’s reporters are often disrupted from their work. ...

Some two-hundred vendors peacefully gathered in front of the residence of Prime Minister Hun Sen near Independence Monument, seeking the premier’s intervention to stop a planned construction of new Doeum Kor market. ...

Every Saturday afternoon, in a room in the Phnom Penh offices of a German political foundation, chairs are arranged in a u-shape. About 50 people, from a range of backgrounds, gather and chit-chat. ...

Despite differing political situations, citizens of Myanmar and Cambodia face many of the same issues and can learn from each other, activists from the two countries told a conference here on Saturday. ...

A United Nations agency will soon begin holding public meetings nationwide to consult the public on a long-awaited law that would give Cambodians access to important information held by the government. ...

Press freedom groups have condemned a violent attack on two reporters by security guards at a rally in Phnom Penh yesterday. ...

Authorities in Kampong Chhnang took down two Vietnamese religious statues on Tuesday that had appeared overnight, after it was discovered their base was made of bricks allegedly stolen from two ancient temples. ...

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 ...

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. ...

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 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. ...