Social development

Cambodian police broke up a rally in the capital on Tuesday and briefly detained 11 activists who were calling for international assistance to secure the release of protesters arrested in a recent crackdown. The detentions came as the country’s main opposition party called off a planned ...

Ahead of the 10-year anniversary on Wednesday of the assassination of Free Trade Union (FTU) President Chea Vichea, police said Monday that despite their inability to bring anyone to justice for the high-profile slaying, the case remains open. However, Chea Mony, the brother of Chea Vichea, ...

Cambodia reported about 17,533 dengue fever cases in 2013, down 59 percent from the 42,362 cases in a year earlier, a health official said Monday. The disease killed 59 children, representing a 69 percent decrease from the 189 deaths in a year earlier, said Char Meng ...

Hun Sen’s army of student land measurers may have marked ground for them in 2012, but representatives of about 20 ethnic families in Ratanakkiri province said yesterday that their combined 50 hectares of land has now been invaded by hordes of families digging for gems. Chhay ...

Speaking two weeks after crushing opposition party demonstrations demanding his resignation, Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday called on supporters of his ruling CPP to prepare to stand up against any group aiming to overthrow his government. “All of you who voted for the CPP, be ...

Four of six men arrested on Thursday for allegedly clearing more than three hectares of protected forest within Mondulkiri’s Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area were charged on Saturday, court officials and rights monitors said yesterday. Sou Sovichea, provincial deputy prosecutor, confirmed yesterday that the four suspects charged ...

Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong on Friday visited evicted residents of the Borei Keila community, now living in a slum atop piles of garbage near their former homes, and promised, yet again, to build proper housing for the 150 families who refuse to move from ...

Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), said Friday that he feels the teachers’ movement is under threat after he received a notice from the Ministry of Interior, summoning him to explain his work on Monday. The letter, dated Thursday and signed by ...

Phnom Penh Municipal Police this morning released a union leader they scooped off the street yesterday evening for allegedly leading a protest despite a ban on public demonstrations. Sok Chhun Oeung, acting president of the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA), left the police station ...

Last week marked the end of the annual fishing season and many who had gathered on the riverbanks to buy and sell fish in the Russei Keo district of Phnom Penh called it the best season in years. An abundance of fish, there were bargain prices ...

A coalition of 30 brands and three global unions have sent a letter to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen calling for an investigation into the recent use of deadly force against striking garment-sector workers. The letter, dated Friday, urged the government to launch a new process ...

A United Nations official Friday urged Cambodian government and opposition officials to keep negotiating in an effort to end a political impasse. At the end of a five-day visit to Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi, the U.N. special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the country, ...

Cambodia recorded 41,850 malaria cases in 2013, down 40 percent from 69,550 cases a year earlier, a health official said Sunday. The disease killed 12 people last year, down 74 percent from 46 deaths a year earlier, Char Meng Chuor, director of the National Center for ...

Challenging the ban on demonstrations in Phnom Penh, activists rallied Friday at the U.S. Embassy, the Japanese Embassy, the Australian Embassy and the German Embassy before stopping for lunch and rallying again, in the afternoon, at the British Embassy, the European Union and World Bank ...

About 150 garment worker union representatives will defy a ban on public assemblies and mark the 10th anniversary of the assassination of union leader Chea Vichea by marching from their office in Chamkar Mon district to the site of his murder at Wat Lanka on ...

The UN envoy concluded his six-day visit to Cambodia producing a concrete report, which reflects both the positive and negative aspects of human rights situation in the Kingdom. As for the post-election political impasse, Prof. Surya P. Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the ...

Non-Governmental Organizations received green lights from the Royal Government of Cambodia to kick off a draft law on the establishment of a National Independent Committee on Human Rights in Cambodia. Prime Minister of Cambodia tasked the Civil Society Organizations to develop a draft law on the ...

A draft US law that would require the World Bank to regularly report to congress about the condition of families displaced or still living in the Boeung Kak lake area was approved Wednesday by the House of Representatives. The bill includes language that specifically requires the ...

UN rights envoy Surya Subedi wrapped up his six-day fact-finding mission to Cambodia yesterday by calling for a thorough investigation into security forces’ role in the deadly crackdown on garment workers early this month. He also offered to act as a mediator between the ruling Cambodian ...

UN human rights envoy Surya Subedi yesterday said he was “alarmed” by anti-Vietnamese language used by the opposition party to rally its supporters, a message he said he had conveyed to Cambodia National Rescue Party leaders during his visit. Speaking at a press conference to conclude ...

Cambodia is changing fast. Over the past decade, the capital city, Phnom Penh has expanded exponentially: its bodies of water have been filled in and green spaces diminished. Rural to urban migration has changed the shape of the countryside. Great shifts are under way and ...

Ten lawyers representing 22 of the 23 striking workers, union officials and political activists imprisoned at a maximum-security prison in Kompong Cham province since their arrests at two protests in Phnom Penh earlier this month submitted bail requests for their clients Thursday, one of the ...

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a spending bill that would suspend some funding to Cambodia until the government carries out an independent investigation of July’s disputed national election and reforms its electoral system, or until the opposition ends its boycott of parliament. The ...

Today, a month to the day after his stomach ruptured, Term Hun, 49, remains hospitalised. He was operated on and has long since healed. But without the money to pay for his treatment, the clinic refuses to let him go. After receiving emergency surgery at ...