VOA Khmer

Cambodian migrant workers working legally or illegally in neighboring Thailand and other countries in the region have remitted more than $1 billion dollars annually, which contributes significantly to the economy, an opposition lawmaker says. But their emigration has affected local farming as well, emptying rural villages, ...

Cambodia has made some progress in improving its education system in line with its 2015 UN Millennium Goals, but dropout rates remain high, due to endemic poverty and corruption. Universal literacy and 9th-grade education were the second-highest goal in the development plan, whose progress Cambodia will ...

A US delegation led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader, wrapped up two days of meetings in Cambodia on Tuesday, having met with Prime Minister Hun Sen and key rights and democracy workers. ...

Cambodia is not meeting many of its UN Millennium Development Goals, which are coming due this year, but it has made progress in the reduction of infant mortality. Currently, 28 of 1,000 children born in Cambodia die before reaching the age of one. That number is ...

A US delegation led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader, wrapped up two days of meetings in Cambodia on Tuesday, having met with Prime Minister Hun Sen and key rights and democracy workers. ...

At the Coffee Resort in Sen Monorom, the capital of Mondulkiri province, business is booming. In just an hour, about 50 tourists, local and foreign alike, come through, ordering coffee or avocado shakes to go. Coffee beans and avocados grow well here, and now, thanks to ...

Thailand’s National Assembly has passed amendments to anti-trafficking laws with harsh penalties. The legislation comes as American media reports put spotlight on slave-like conditions on Thai fishing vessels triggering calls for Thailand to crack down on labor exploitation, especially in the seafood industry. ...

Poor governance and uneven distribution of wealth to rural communities are both behind Cambodia’s poor record of girls’ education, an expert says. Despite the country’s high economic growth rate in recent years, few opportunities are available in rural areas, which leads to girls dropping out of ...

Seoung Sarat survived several bloody Cambodian regimes and civil wars. But only when his country was at peace was he shot and lost a leg. The indigenous Tompuon man, now living in a borrowed home in the forest of Ratanakiri province, says he lost his right ...

Impoverished girls in Siem Reap say they hope for a better education, in the wake of First Lady Michelle Obama’s visit. Girls in Siem Reap province say they are aware of the importance of education, especially higher education, to escape poverty. ...

Following the fanfare surrounding the visit of First Lady Michelle Obama over the weekend, life in Siem Reap returned to normal this week. Many here say they were not aware of the first lady’s visit, and some said even though they were, they aren’t sure ...

Cambodia’s growth largely depends on a labor-intensive economy in agriculture, garment factories, and goods and services. Due to lower wages and poor incentives, there is a large outflow of Cambodian workers to Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and China, and that, in the long run, could cause ...

China’s newly proposed, yet controversial, regional investment bank could be an opportunity for Cambodia to​ prove it can use foreign aid more effectively, a Cambodian Fulbright scholar says. ...

Phorn Chan Bonavy is a 6th grader at Kesaraream Elementary School in Siem Reap, where First Lady Michelle Obama just completed a three-day visit—the first sitting first lady to do so. However, she seems determined to complete school, even though that will require she help ...

Following First Lady Michelle Obama’s three-day visit to Cambodia to promote her “Let Girl Learn” initiative, Cambodian officials say they hope for positive changes in girls’ education. Cambodia has nearly 1.5 million female students studying at primary and high schools, he said. But only 42 ...

Criticism of two draft laws aimed at reforming Cambodia’s electoral system continues to grow. On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying the draft laws “violate basic human rights and democratic norms and should be substantially revised before being presented to the National Assembly for ...

First Lady Michelle Obama embarks on a five-day Asia trip Wednesday to launch the Obama Administration’s initiative “Let Girls Learn,” promoting the education of millions of girls worldwide. Ahead of her stops in Japan and Cambodia, Obama and her husband said the inability of an ...

Lawyers for two opposition supporters have filed an appeal against a two-year sentence issued to each last week. Opposition supporters say the sentences have more to do with political harassment than law. ...

The impending visit of First Lady Michelle Obama to Cambodia will serve as an opportunity for people and officials to revisit their attitude towards girls’ education, a lawmaker says. ...

Keo Chkriya was pregnant when she was sentenced to prison, on charges of drug distribution. By the time she left, she had been caring for her son in a cell for nearly two years. ...

Human Rights Watch says lax labor laws in Cambodia are allowing garment factories, including many suppliers for Western brands, to take advantage of vulnerable workers. In a report released Thursday, the New York-based rights group documented a “persistent pattern of labor rights violations,” including forced overtime, ...

The ruling party and opposition on Monday held a workshop to discuss two draft laws on election reform, but many civil society groups refused to attend, claiming parts of the bills fall short and are unconstitutional. Koul Panha, executive director for Comfrel, told VOA Khmer on Monday that more ...

Cambodia has much potential in the growth of science and technology, particularly given the motivation of young students, a US official says. In a visit to Cambodia last week, Geraldine Richmond, the US science envoy to Southeast Asia, told VOA Khmer she was surprised to see how ...

There are now more than 1 million estimated Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand. This could be a threat to Cambodia’s economy and politics in the future, an analyst says. ...