News

Hundreds of opposition-aligned trade union activists and workers terminated their outlawed rally on Saturday after heavy security forces had been deployed in and around the capital’s Freedom Park to prevent them from entering the Park to hold a forum on the International Women’s Day. “Those activists ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Friday warned that a union-led public forum scheduled for Freedom Park on Saturday morning would not be allowed to proceed, adding that a fresh wave of union marches next week are also banned. The security minister’s comments came during a talk ...

The Phnom Penh Municipal Police held a special training at the capital’s Olympic Stadium on Thursday afternoon in preparation for any future demonstrations. More than 2,000 policemen, armed with shields and batons, joined the half-day training, Gen. Chuon Sovann, chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, ...

The government’s announcement on Wednesday that companies looking to start rubber plantations could skirt a moratorium on new economic land concessions (ELCs) by taking over existing, dormant ones continued to make a good impression on prospective investors in town Thursday. Ly Phalla, who heads the Agriculture ...

A spirited debate on human rights in Cambodia was heard in the Australian parliament this week after an opposition Labor Party MP introduced a motion calling on the government to condemn state violence against striking garment workers and ask authorities to release detained protesters. Clare O’Neil, ...

The government will not consult civil society groups on the latest iteration of a draft law that will regulate non-governmental organisations and associations, a senior Interior Ministry official said yesterday. Meas Sarim, deputy director-general of the General Department of Local Administration at the Ministry of Interior ...

The government has no intention of withdrawing its signature from the International Labour Organization’s freedom of association convention, despite calls for it to reconsider its position, a Ministry of Labour spokesman said yesterday. “I don’t think we will withdraw. The prime minister [Hun Sen] has already ...

The government can’t seem to agree on whether or not Prime Minister Hun Sen has lifted the ban on the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. Last week, Mr. Hun Sen said in a speech: “I will not prevent [demonstrations] because everyone has equal rights,” which ...

Following an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen last month to crack down on intimidation and harassment by tax collectors in local markets, City Hall pledged to take legal action yesterday. Phnom Penh governor Pa Socheatvong told municipal and provincial governors that fines for rogue collectors ...

The World Justice Project yesterday ranked Cambodia 91st out of 99 nations and at the bottom of the barrel regionally in terms of its devotion to the rule of law, despite its midlevel performance in terms of providing order and security. In its annual Rule of ...

Cambodia on Wednesday continued distributing China-donated relief items to some 3,088 families, who are victims of last year’s flood, HIV/ AIDS patients, disabled people and orphans. Cambodian Red Cross president Bun Rany, the wife of Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Bu Jianguo ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has told local business leaders that increased wages should be linked to improvements in the productivity of workers. Speaking at the 17th Government-Private Sector Forum on Tuesday, he said higher wages “must be attached to the production capacity of each worker and ...

A group of 18 labor unions and associations said they will proceed with plans for a public forum in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park on Saturday, despite City Hall’s rejecting their request, citing public security concerns. The unions, who are organizing a nationwide strike in the garment ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen told business leaders and government officials Tuesday that he will not tolerate “illegal” labor strikes that harm investment, but avoided judgment on a request to withdraw ratification of a U.N. convention protecting workers’ rights to unionize. Speaking at the 17th Government-Private Sector ...

Cambodia needs to build qualified and competent human capital to prepare for competition when the ASEAN Economic Community becomes a reality at the end of 2015, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday. “The Cambodian government will focus its attention on strengthening education quality and technical vocational ...

Many small and medium companies of Japan are showing their interest in doing business in Cambodia, according to an assistant of Prime Minister Hun Sen. 99 percent of Japanese small and medium companies are interested in investing in Asia, especially in Cambodia, which is located ...

28 complaints have been filed against labor union leaders who led and allegedly incited protests from December last year to January 5, 2014, said factory representative on Tuesday. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen said today that three draft laws will be adopted in the first semester of 2014 to ensure independence of the judiciary in Cambodia. ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday that the country’s banking sector has enjoyed strong growth in recent years and urged the banks to increase their lending to agriculture. According to the report of the National Bank of Cambodia, lending at the kingdom’s 34 commercial banks ...

The Government-Private Sector Forum was held here on Tuesday after it has had a hiatus for two consecutive years because of Cambodia’s ASEAN chairmanship in 2012 and general election in 2013.     The Tuesday’s dialogue was presided over by Prime Minister Hun Sen with the participation of ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reiterated Tuesday that the government would no longer tolerate illegal strikes or demonstrations led by the opposition and its aligned trade unions. Speaking during the 17th Government-Private Sector Forum, the premier said the opposition party and its trade unions have used ...

Two political activists were injured by district security guards outside the Daun Penh district office Monday morning after a protest to free 21 protesters beaten and imprisoned during a strike in January turned into an effort to reclaim a confiscated protest drum. The protesters, dressed in ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called on government bodies, local authorities, international organisations and the private sector to dial back Cambodia’s widespread theft of copyrighted works, like film and music, and encouraged the creation of more original, home-grown cultural works. Copying other countries’ cultural output – ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Tuesday his government wants to make it easier for Japanese travelers to visit Cambodia by introducing in-flight processing of tourist visas. Speaking at a government forum with private sectors in Phnom Penh, Hun Sen said the original idea from the ...