News

A controversial draft law to regulate Cambodia’s NGOs has passed a major hurdle and will be moved on to the National Assembly for legislative debate. Om Chandara, a spokesman for the council, told VOA Khmer that two articles were withdrawn at the behest of Prime ...

The Cambodian government has been taken to task in a lengthy report by Amnesty International for two years of “violent repression.” Researchers for the human rights organisation found that between Nov. 2013 and May of this year, people’s basic rights to assemble were stifled, excessive and ...

As Ashton Carter toured Asia this week amid rising tensions over the South China Sea, Cambodia once again backed China’s position in the dispute, warning that recent remarks by the U.S. defense secretary were “provocative” and threatened the very peace the U.S. claims to be ...

A spokesman for the government on Thursday released a 20-minute video monologue accusing deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha of secretly harboring a “communist” tendency, only days after Mr. Sokha used the same word to describe the ruling CPP. ...

Ahead of deputy opposition leader Kem Sokha’s scheduled court questioning on Wednesday, a television station controlled by the daughter of Prime Minister Hun Sen aired on Sunday night a film produced by the government that builds a case that Mr. Sokha plotted a coup d’etat. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday met with a visiting delegation of U.S. Congress members, including House of Representatives minority leader Nancy Pelosi, a government spokesman said. ...

As anticipated, the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday approved U.K. professor Rhona Smith as the new special rapporteur to Cambodia on human rights, replacing Surya Subedi, whose six-year term ends this month. ...

A spokesman for the Cambodian Secretary of State says Cambodia supported the Abbott government’s $40 million refugee resettlement agreement on “humanitarian” grounds and to strengthen ties with Australia. ...

A spokesman for the Cambodian Secretary of State says Cambodia supported the Abbott government’s $40 million refugee resettlement agreement on “humanitarian” grounds and to strengthen ties with Australia. ...

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 ...

The revised national election law—expected to come before parliament this month—includes a provision that allows National Assembly seats to be taken away from any political party that attempts to boycott parliament following an election, according to a draft of the law made public Thursday. ...

Civil society groups have contributed significantly to the development of Cambodia over the past 20 years, working as a government partner, but sometimes they face challenges in the areas of good governance and legal education, an expert says. Government spokesman Phay Siphan said there are ...

Referring to Cambodia as “my country”, Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, a vocal environmental activist and Spanish national who was deported Monday, yesterday vowed to return and continue his struggle to save the Areng Valley. ...

fter rights group Licadho released a statement Thursday saying that more than 10,000 Cambodian families were newly affected last year by land disputes in the 13 provinces where it has monitors—a three-fold increase from 2013—a government spokesman on Friday slammed the NGO’s report as “baseless ...

The number of families newly affected by land disputes last year was three times that of 2013, according to figures documented by local rights group Licadho. In a statement released yesterday, the group “strongly expresse[d] its concern” at the surge in disputes, noting that in 2014 ...

In the highest-profile sacking since Prime Minister Hun Sen promised to rid the government of corruption after the CPP’s shock losses in the July 2013 election, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s chief judge was removed this week amid claims that millions of dollars had reversed ...

Phnom Penh Municipal Court director Ang Mealaktei was removed from his position on Tuesday pending an investigation into rampant corruption at the court since he became its chief judge less than a year ago. The decision was made public hours after Prime Minister Hun Sen criticized ...

The mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts—which has the second-largest population of Cambodian-Americans in the U.S.—on Friday visited 10 anti-eviction activists inside Phnom Penh’s Prey Sar prison, emerging to announce that he would lobby the government for their release. Wrapping up a five-day visit to Phnom Penh, Rodney ...

A government spokesman yesterday accused opposition deputy leader Kem Sokha of not doing his job properly after the politician claimed the government was bleeding more than $400 million in possible revenue per year due to corruption. ...

An activist monk set to face trial today on widely disputed charges of incitement alongside a so-called “terrorist” leader vowed yesterday to use the hearing to preach to the judiciary. In a statement released Sunday, 16 NGOs called for authorities to drop the charges against ...

More than 155,000 people in Cambodia are living as modern “slaves”, according to a global index released this week. The Global Slavery Index 2014, released on Monday by Australia-based NGO Walk Free Foundation (WFF), ranks Cambodia 14th out of 167 countries for the prevalence of slavery, ...

Cambodian scholars have voiced their support to Chinese President Xi Jinping for his announcement of China’s contribution of 40 billion U.S. dollars for the establishment of a Silk Road Fund, saying that such a fund is vital for developing countries. Chheang Vannarith, senior researcher of ...

A 60-year-old woman was injured and sent to hospital yesterday when police cracked down on anti-eviction protesters blocking a busy bridge in Koh Kong province, villagers said. More than 100 villagers locked in a dispute with the company that manages the Koh Kong Special Economic ...

Local and international NGOs yesterday rallied behind the inaugural United Nations-declared International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists by urging the government to bring perpetrators to justice. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said yesterday that the government was not responsible for any ...