Social development

The government this weekend hit back at criticism of its embassies in China, Malaysia and Thailand, insisting that they are helping migrants in need. ...

For the first time since opposition CNRP lawmakers joined the National Assembly last month, they have called a government minister to answer questions before parliament, according to officials from the government and opposition. Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron will attend a session of parliament on September ...

Secret storage depots for illegal timber hidden in the forest in Ratanakkiri’s O’Chum district were discovered by ethnic minority villagers on Friday, prompting a rights worker to suggest local officials were involved in the illicit trade. ...

Evictees from the Borei Keila community protested in front of City Hall on Friday to demand their inclusion in a working group that has been tasked with resolving the long-running dispute in which a development firm failed to provide decent housing for hundreds of people ...

By the age of 17, Chan Chonreasmey was yet to have a conversation with another person—not with her mother, not with her father, and certainly not with any other children. Two years ago, Ms. Chonreasmey was enrolled in the Maryknoll Deaf Development Program’s (DDP) education ...

Cambodian labor unions this week lowered their demands for a 60 percent increase to the country’s $100 minimum wage, as talks loom next month on setting a new wage.Unions agreed to call for $150 a month during a meeting with officials from the Garment Manufacturers’ ...

Drive deep enough into Mondulkiri’s Pech Chreada district, and the rubber plantations that dot the roads fall away. Here, there is only mile after mile of lush, dark woodland: An ideal place to bury one’s dead and pay respects to the spirits that reside inside ...

Kompong Chhnang provincial authorities on Thursday urged villagers locked in a land dispute with KDC International to accept compensation from the development firm, promising to request that a social land concession be granted to them. ...

Manufacturers of soy and fish sauces should fortify the products with iron in order to improve Cambodians’ health, government officials said yesterday. During a workshop on iron fortification, Sat Samy, secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, called on producers to help combat ...

The Yakjin Trading Corporation, a South Korean company whose factory was at the center of major demonstrations earlier this year, has begun a review of its operations. ...

A draft law regulating the purchase and consumption of alcohol in Cambodia will, if passed, set the country’s legal drinking age at 21 years old, according to officials involved with the legislation, which many see as a tool to fight excessive youth drinking and drunken ...

A human rights group on Thursday urged authorities in Cambodia to end the prosecution of six trade unionists accused of stoking violent clashes between protesting workers and security forces, calling the case against them “politically motivated.” New York-based Human Rights Watch said prominent activists Pav Sina, ...

The government has finished calculating the additional compensation it will pay out to some of the families forced to move for a $143 million railway rehabilitation project being funded mostly by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), according to a new report. The report, released this week ...

Thirty-three Cambodian nationals were arrested for illegally logging rare rosewood trees in Thailand, where they are currently awaiting trial, officials said Wednesday. The arrests marked a long-called-for shift in tactics by Thai authorities: In the past, Thai soldiers and border police have often dealt with illegal ...

Civil society groups  campaigned Wednesday to seek support from three former Prime Ministers in order to limit terms for Premiership. Kol Panha, president of Committee for Free and Fair Election in Cambodia (Comfrel), told reporters that he met with Pen Sovann to ask him to ...

Thousands of employees from two Taiwanese-owned factories continued striking for better working conditions yesterday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said the pass rate of 25 percent in last month’s grade 12 national exam served as a warning that students could no longer pay their way through school and urged students who failed the exam to embrace their second ...

More than 30 activists from two communities impacted by land-grabbing demonstrated together in front of Phnom Penh City Hall on Monday to demand that authorities intervene in their cases. ...

Two more Cambodian women who were trafficked to China as brides are being assisted by officials at the Kingdom’s embassy in Beijing and will soon be repatriated, the government said yesterday. ...

Last month, Prime Minister Hun Sen was mocked for claiming in a speech on August 18 that he was unaware of a land dispute in Kratie province’s Snuol district over which villagers had repeatedly petitioned his cabinet. But Mr. Hun Sen’s admission that he was unaware ...

More than 5,000 workers from a footwear factory in Kompong Cham province went on strike Monday, calling on factory management to increase their benefits. The lively crowd rallied outside the Taiwanese-owned Juhui Footwear factory in Choeung Prey district, dancing to music pumped out of loudspeakers as ...

In 2012 and 2013, more than 80 percent of the Grade 12 high school students taking the national exam passed it. In 2014, 70 percent failed. The difference? This year cheating was not tolerated. ...

Cambodia on Monday launched a five-year policy and action plan for early childhood care and development with an aim to increase enrollment and enhance protection for children aged less than six years old. ...

Around 300 workers from a Taiwanese-owned Xin Fang (Cambodia) Garment Manufacturing Co., Ltd marched Monday to Ministry of Labor to seek intervention in their working conditions. ...