Civil and political rights

Better Factories Cambodia has found that more and more factories in the country are complying with its standards when dealing with critical worker issues after it began conducting studies on factory compliance. These critical issues include child labour, discrimination, forced labour and freedom of association. ...

The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) spokesman warned Kem Monovithya on Thursday that her attempt to damage “national reputation and prestige” would lead to her father, Kem Sokha, receiving even harsher punishment. ...

History was created by the European Parliament on September 13. For the time since the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission known as UNTAC (United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia), the Parliament passed a 13-point resolution aimed at according tougher actions against Cambodia and its rulers similar ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday freed on bail, two former Radio Free Asia (RFA) reporters, who were charged with espionage. Oun Chhin, 49, and Yeang Sochea Meta (Sothearin), 35, were arrested by the Meanchey district authorities on November 14, last year, and spent ...

The Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) on Monday said ‘fake news’ has been polluting publications and sparking controversy in the Kingdom, especially on social media. The remarks were made on Monday at a roundtable discussion organised by CCJ in Phnom Penh. ...

Local and international civil society groups operating in Cambodia face government-imposed restrictions on their operations and have been significantly hindered in their work in the lead up to Sunday’s general election, according to a recent report by a U.S.-based think tank. ...

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng on Wednesday instructed police officials and local authorities to serve the people without considering political affiliations or religion. In the handover ceremony of 1,646 motorbikes to police stations nationwide, Kheng told police officials that they must serve the people regardless ...

Some 116 organisations and associations have urged Cambodian officials to dismantle the new inter-ministry working group that was recently set up to monitor social networking sites, claiming it is an “abuse on the rights and freedom of expression via the internet”. ...

The lawmakers were set to discuss the Cambodia Democracy Act and an amendment that could see Phnom Penh handed further sanctions over its crackdown on the opposition, civil society, and independent media. ...

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the Cambodian authorities to end “baseless” convictions of former opposition officials and activists ahead of this year’s general election. The prominent US-based rights group said in a statement on Monday that the authorities should throw out the cases against 11 ...

Human rights groups and former opposition officials have expressed concerns over the impact of the recent sale of the Phnom Penh Post newspaper to a Malaysian investor with historical ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen. ...

All but a handful of foreign journalists on staff at The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia’s last remaining independent daily newspaper, resigned on Wednesday. Citing differences over the meaning of “editorial independence,” they quit within days after new owners fired its editor-in-chief who refused to remove a published ...

Kay Kimsong was fired on Monday after representatives of the new owner ordered senior staff to remove an article about the sale from its website, claiming factual inaccuracies.​ ...

Saturday’s announcement by Post Media CEO Bill Clough identified the buyer of the English-language Phnom Penh Post as Sivakumar G., who was described as having an experienced journalist’s background and representing a strong investment group from Malaysia. No price was given. ...

Saturday’s announcement of the sale of The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia’s oldest and most respected newspaper, came as no surprise to many who had been following recent events in the country. Rumors had circulated for months about the fate of the country’s last independent English-language ...

Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi’s admission last week that she was unable to name a Cambodian woman journalist sparked a minor controversy on social media, with current and former journalists taking to social media to criticise her remarks. ...

As the world celebrated Press Freedom Day on Thursday, the mood among Cambodian journalists was subdued following a months-long crackdown on dissent in the media. The theme of this year’s event was “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law”, and special attention ...

Cambodia has become more autocratic and its government’s claim of stable economic development rests on uncertain basis, according to a comprehensive new report. The Bertelsmann Stiftung’s Transformation Index (BTI), published on Thursday, claims that the quality of Cambodia’s democracy, market economy and governance performance has ...

A gathering in Svay Rieng province of some 40 villagers led by a farmers’ organisation was shut down by local police on Thursday because the group allegedly had not requested permission, though provincial authorities had been notified the week before. ...

The International Federation for Human Rights has urged the European Union to pressure the Cambodian government to cease its crackdown on civil society and the political opposition. ...

Telecommunications officials have raised the possibility that a series of hacks against government officials and ministries could have been so-called SS7 attacks, a recently discovered hacking method that involves taking over a person’s cellphone number. At a meeting with local cell companies on Tuesday, officials ...

Shrinking political and civic space in the Kingdom is highlighted in a new report from the United Nations’ human rights commissioner and secretary-general ahead of a UN Human Rights Council discussion this month on Cambodia. ...

Cambodia’s Ministry of Information has chalked up 2017 as a “huge success for the government”, saying supporters of jailed journalists were “killing” democracy and the closure of multiple media outlets was necessary. ...

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday published a batch of communications held with the Cambodian government since June last year, showing that the international body has voiced its concern about a range of issues from the arrest of ...