Social development

The government unveiled a long-awaited national plan to combat violence against children yesterday, four years after a countrywide survey revealed that more than half of children in Cambodia are physically abused. ...

The United States Embassy has pledged $55,500 to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts in part to preserve the clothes worn by victims of atrocities at S-21 prison. ...

Civil society this year marked International Human Rights Day much differently than last year, out of concern that any public gatherings would be likened to joining a colour revolution to overthrow the government. ...

The Ministry of Interior warned NGOs and associations yesterday to submit their annual financial reports or face legal action, including being shut down. ...

The Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Repression Directorate General (Camcontrol) opened a new laboratory in Preah Sihanouk province on Wednesday to monitor food and ensure its safety. ...

Representatives of 175 families in Koh Kong province gathered once again in front of the Ministry of Land Management yesterday to ask for a quicker resolution to a decade-long land dispute. ...

Amid accusations of bias in favour of the ruling party – and following the removal of the main opposition party from the electoral field – the National Election Committee has announced the creation of a new press reaction team to “attack back at negative points”. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen and members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces yesterday announced their intention to formally accuse former opposition leader Sam Rainsy of treason, after Rainsy urged soldiers and policemen not to shoot protesters. ...

Cambodia may have reduced its levels of extreme poverty to the single-digits, but its middle class is nearly nonexistent and approximately half of its population remains highly susceptible to economic shocks, according to a World Bank report released yesterday. ...

Japan has provided more than $300,000 to aid the government in its construction of a road and three hospitals in four provinces. The $329,736 grant was signed at the Japanese embassy yesterday by the Japanese ambassador, the director of the Preah Vihear provincial department of public ...

In an unexpected turn, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced on Saturday that the outspoken Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) will not be shut down, despite accusing the local NGO last week of serving foreign interests. In an article posted to government mouthpiece Fresh News, the ...

A Kampong Thom provincial military police officer is being forced to issue a public apology to Kampong Thom High School teachers after he cursed at them for instructing his daughter to change her clothes to match the school uniform. ...

In spite of recent pledges to expand social protections, the Cambodian government has failed to prioritise spending on services that reduce poverty and improve quality of life among vulnerable populations, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization. ...

The interim representative of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia met yesterday with the head of the Cambodian government’s rights body, voicing concerns about the threatened closure of a prominent outspoken local NGO. ...

Behind the traffic police station in Kampong Chhnang town, set against the picturesque backdrop of the Tonle Sap, immigration officials gathered thousands of ethnic Vietnamese to begin a nationwide process of revoking “improperly” issued documents this week. The plan to review birth certificates, identity cards, passports ...

In a speech to workers yesterday, Prime Minister Hun Sen pinned the blame for any damage inflicted on Cambodia’s garment industry by potential economic sanctions squarely on the opposition party. “You must remember clearly that if the purchase orders are reduced, it is all the ...

The Ministry of Interior yesterday confirmed that certain civil society organisations and their members are being “monitored” following accusations, levelled during the Supreme Court hearing on the dissolution of the opposition party on Thursday, that they participated in a purported “revolution”. ...

The Ministry of Social Affairs plans to create an elderly care centre, which would be the first centre in Cambodia focused on receiving and taking care of the elderly. Officials said it might be created next year. ...

A group of local journalists have written an open letter calling for the release of former Radio Free Asia journalists Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who were arrested earlier this month. ...

More than a month after the announcement of its ostensibly 30-day suspension, land rights organisation Equitable Cambodia remains stuck in limbo, with the Ministry of Interior saying the NGO must wait for the ministry’s approval to reopen. ...

Twenty-two NGOs released a joint statement yesterday demanding the release of two activists detained by Koh Kong Provincial Court after recording a video of sand dredging. ...

A Ministry of Health official yesterday said the ministry has banned the buying and selling of antibiotics without a prescription in an effort to curb the overuse that has led to an alarming level of antibiotic resistance in the Kingdom. ...

Families living in a commune flooded by the Lower Sesan II dam have set up a new village on their community forest without the permission of local authorities. Residents of Sre Ko commune were offered new homes in a different area and compensation to leave ...

The Ministry of Interior has said it will not allow any demonstrations in front of the Supreme Court during a hearing on Thursday to decide if the opposition CNRP will be dissolved, while the Koh Kong provincial governor’s office warned it will prevent residents from ...