LIBRARY

8 March 2021

This #IWD2021​, LICADHO is calling for immediate improvements to the grave conditions facing every woman and girl locked in Cambodia's dangerously overcrowded prisons.

Among these women are human rights defenders Chhoeun Daravy, Eng Malai, Long Kunthea and Phuon Keoraksmey. They have tirelessly stood up for the rights of others, but they have been put behind bars in an attempt to stifle their peaceful activism.

7 March 2021

Mother Nature Cambodia activist Phuon Keoraksmey was arrested in September for her peaceful work protecting Cambodia’s natural resources from private greed.

At first, it was hard for Keoraksmey’s mother to support her daughter’s daring activism. Now, she says, she couldn’t be prouder.

7 March 2021

Arrested in September 2020 for planning a one-woman protest to call for the preservation of Phnom Penh’s largest lake, Long Kunthea has been locked in prison for more than 180 days.

Kunthea’s cell is constantly filled with smoke from other detainees. Every day, she struggles even to breathe.

6 March 2021

Last September, Khmer Thavrak youth group member Eng Malai was arrested after attending a non-violent protest demanding justice for Rong Chhun after the union leader’s imprisonment.

In prison, Malai faces a daily struggle with disease, injury and stress.

6 March 2021

In August last year, youth activist Chhoeun Daravy was dragged into a van by plainclothes security after taking part in a peaceful demonstration calling for imprisoned unionist Rong Chhun’s release.

Since her arrest, Daravy has shaved her hair and is boycotting some meals to protest her unjust imprisonment.

10 December 2020

Women and children who are raped by a family member are too often being denied both the safety that they need and the justice they are entitled to. This December, to mark the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign which runs from 25 November to 10 December, LICADHO is releasing “Broken Silence: Rape by Relatives and Barriers to Justice in Cambodia”.

10 December 2020

Too often, women and children who are raped by a family member are being denied both the safety that they need and the justice that they are entitled to.

"The police told me not to tell anyone. I said, 'This happened, and you want to keep it a secret too?'"

More than a year after Seiha* reported being raped by her grandfather, he has still not been arrested for his crimes. And Seiha is far from alone.

5 May 2020

For many families in Cambodia’s northwest, migrant work is the only way they can manage their rising microfinance debts. In this video, men and women from the Thai border share their fears of what will happen when they can no longer pay back their loans.

8 March 2020

Last year, to mark the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence campaign, LICADHO shared videos highlighting the experiences of pregnant women and mothers incarcerated with their children in Cambodian prisons. Months later, little progress has been made to improve the lives of these women and children. January saw the tragic death of a five-month old baby incarcerated with her mother in Correctional Centre 2 prison.

To mark International Women’s Day this 8 March, LICADHO is sharing the full stories of three women and their children who endured the harsh realities of Cambodia’s prisons – severe overcrowding, inadequate food and access to health care, scarce contact with their families, and limited time and space for children to play.

Many incarcerated pregnant women and women with children are entitled to release on bail, yet remain in pre-trial detention without access to a lawyer. As of January 2020, 43 pregnant women and 103 children living with their mothers remained behind bars.

18 February 2020

A five-month-old baby incarcerated with her mother in Correctional Centre 2 prison died on Sunday, 26 January, at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh. This tragic death once again illustrates the urgent need for authorities to prioritise bail for mothers with children.

The mother of the child who died was sent to pre-trial detention in mid-2019 after authorities alleged she possessed a sachet of methamphetamine worth just 10,000 riel, or $2.50. The woman was not provided a lawyer and was unaware of her right to apply for bail. She was eight months pregnant when she was sent to prison.

9 December 2019

To mark the international campaign, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (25 November - 10 December), LICADHO is highlighting pregnant women and mother and children incarcerated in Cambodian prisons. Over the 16 days, we will profile women who will share their stories of pregnancy, motherhood and of survival in the Cambodian prison system.

Life is extremely harsh for people incarcerated in Cambodia’s prisons. Violations of basic human rights such as denial of access to food, clean water, time outside cells and legal representation occur on a mass scale and the realities of prison life are such that if prisoners do not have money to pay for these basic necessities, then they will go without.

2 December 2019

To mark the international campaign, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (25 November - 10 December), LICADHO is highlighting pregnant women and mother and children incarcerated in Cambodian prisons. Over the 16 days, we will profile women who will share their stories of pregnancy, motherhood and of survival in the Cambodian prison system.

Life is extremely harsh for people incarcerated in Cambodia’s prisons. Violations of basic human rights such as denial of access to food, clean water, time outside cells and legal representation occur on a mass scale and the realities of prison life are such that if prisoners do not have money to pay for these basic necessities, then they will go without.

25 November 2019

To mark the international campaign, 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (25 November - 10 December), LICADHO is highlighting pregnant women and mother and children incarcerated in Cambodian prisons. Over the 16 days, we will profile women who will share their stories of pregnancy, motherhood and of survival in the Cambodian prison system.

Life is extremely harsh for people incarcerated in Cambodia’s prisons. Violations of basic
human rights such as denial of access to food, clean water, time outside cells and legal
representation occur on a mass scale and the realities of prison life are such that if prisoners
do not have money to pay for these basic necessities, then they will go without.

8 August 2019

The average size of a microloan in Cambodia is now the highest in the world. Many farmers are trapped in a cycle of debt, forced to get larger and larger loans to survive. Watch the video below to learn one man's story.

7 August 2019

More than 2 million Cambodians currently have a loan with a microfinance institution, or MFI. Levels of debt have skyrocketed in recent years, leading to a number of human rights abuses, including coerced land sales, child labour, debt-driven migration, and bonded labour, according to a joint report from the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), two Cambodian human rights NGOs.

Collateral Damage: Land Losses and Abuses in Cambodia’s Microfinance Sector details the size and scope of Cambodia’s MFI sector and seeks to highlight the human rights abuses that researchers discovered. The research spans 10 communes in 4 provinces as well as Phnom Penh and features seven detailed case studies of abuses, chosen from the 28 MFI clients who suffered human rights abuses that were interviewed by researchers.

7 August 2019

More than 2 million Cambodians currently have a loan with a microfinance institution, or MFI. Levels of debt have skyrocketed in recent years, leading to a number of human rights abuses, including coerced land sales, child labour, debt-driven migration, and bonded labour, according to a joint report from the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT).

Collateral Damage: Land Losses and Abuses in Cambodia’s Microfinance Sector details the size and scope of Cambodia’s MFI sector and seeks to highlight the human rights abuses that researchers discovered. The research spans 10 communes in 4 provinces as well as Phnom Penh and features seven detailed case studies of abuses, chosen from the 28 MFI clients who suffered human rights abuses that were interviewed by researchers.

12 June 2019

Today, LICADHO marked World Day Against Child Labour by organising community events in two brick factories in Kandal province: Tboung Pich in Mukh Kampul district and Kheng Hok in Ksach Kandal district. Around 200 people attended the events, including brick factory owners, workers, and children. The events sought to raise awareness in the brick production sector about the criminality and consequences of employing child labour and debt bondage, and the importance of prioritising workplace safety.

The events were organised at the two brick factories to ensure that both factory owners and their employees were brought together to have a better understanding of the risks of employing child labour and the use of debt-bonded labour. Presentations were made and leaflets were handed out to the owners and workers about the legal provisions in the Labour Law and Cambodia’s commitments to the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 182 to stop the worst forms of child labour.

8 April 2019

On 18 February 2019, Prime Minister Hun Sen urged the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Women’s Affairs to review the situation of women detainees in pre-trial detention. Through a speech and a post on his official Facebook account, the prime minister said women detainees face many challenges, such as having children living outside of prisons with no support and being abandoned by their husbands.

LICADHO agrees with prime minister’s call for urgent action to address the needs of women in prison, specifically the situation of vulnerable populations – mothers with children and pregnant women in prison. This issue should be resolved through the use of existing legal measures, such as prioritising trials for women in pre-trial detention and expediting the processing of bail applications.

30 March 2018

Thousands of Cambodian children were adopted overseas between the late 1980s and 2009. During that time it emerged that many of the adopted children were not orphans but had parents who placed them in orphanages because of extreme poverty. Their parents placed them there on the understanding that they would return home at a later date. They did not consent to their children's adoption. Instead, orphanage directors, with the help of local authorities, created documents falsely stating that the children were orphans or had been abandoned.

When evidence of this came to light, many countries suspended the adoption of children from Cambodia and in 2009 Cambodia itself suspended them. The parents of the children adopted abroad were often illiterate and lacked awareness of their rights or of where to turn to for help and so were unable to find out what had happened to their children.

2 December 2017

LICADHO’s report No Punishment, No Protection: Cambodia’s Response to Domestic Violence presents evidence of the failure of the Cambodian justice system to properly protect victims of domestic violence or to punish the perpetrators. It is based on a review of 237 closed domestic violence cases, investigated by LICADHO between the beginning of 2014 and the end of 2016.