Human rights

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. ...

The government yesterday confirmed four changes to the controversial NGO law in response to widespread criticism; opponents, however, say the edits are insignificant and the legislation remains a “severe violation” of Cambodia’s constitution. ...

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today called on the Cambodian government to abandon its proposed Law on Associations and Non-governmental Organizations (LANGO), arguing that the ruling party has pursued a fundamentally undemocratic course in attempting to secure the passage of a law that threatens ...

About 100 homeless and mentally ill Cambodians who are being detained in a center on the outskirts of Phnom Penh implored an opposition lawmaker on Tuesday to request that the facility serve them better quality food and stop torture and other rights abuses. ...

In the first semester of the year, the number of demonstration and riot up but crime down, said a report of the Phnom Penh Police Commissariat. During that period, there were 236 cases of demonstrations and riots, up 55 cases compared to the same period of ...

Around 100 activists, including Buddhist monks, gathered in front of Cambodia’s parliament Monday to demand that lawmakers and the country’s Forestry Administration take action against illegal logging in endangered Prey Lang forest. ...

The international watchdog Frontline Defenders has called on Cambodian authorities to drop a defamation lawsuit against a prominent human rights worker. Ny Chakrya, head of legal assistance for the rights group Adhoc, is facing a suit filed by two court officials in Siem Reap province last ...

A rights group and journalist organization on Thursday slammed a lawmaker from Cambodia’s ruling party for barring an opposition MP from addressing the media with his concerns over a controversial draft law on nongovernmental organizations currently under review by parliament. ...

A ruling party lawmaker says pro-democracy and rights groups staging protests against a draft law at the National Assembly are trying to “topple the government.” On Wednesday, Chheang Vun, a lawmaker for the Cambodian People’s Party, said three days of protests over the draft are ...

When an anti-human trafficking group recently reported a 73 percent drop in the sale of children for sex, another referenced its list of 15 establishments offering minors to predators as evidence to the contrary. ...

The U.S. State Department released its 39th annual human rights report on Friday, reviewing abuses against the citizens of 199 countries and painting a forensic picture of the shortcomings of the Cambodian government’s efforts to protect the rights of its population. Under the heading “Arbitrary or ...