LIBRARY

22 January 2021

More than 70 workers and union leaders gathered outside Phnom Penh’s Wat Langka this morning to demand justice for murdered unionist Chea Vichea, who was gunned down in the street 17 years ago today. The peaceful Buddhist ceremony was shadowed by more than 60 uniformed and plain-clothes police and security forces.

Speaking at the ceremony, Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association president Vorn Pao called for further investigation into the union leader’s murder, as well as demanding justice for those still facing harassment or imprisoned unjustly. Although two innocent men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeurn, were falsely convicted and imprisoned for five years before their sentences were overturned, Vichea’s real killers have never been brought to justice.

Almost two decades after Vichea, the leader of the Free Trade Union of the Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, was killed, Cambodia’s pro-worker union leaders continue to face threats to their lives. In February last year, a deputy union leader at a Phnom Penh garment factory was left seriously injured after three masked men on a motorbike beat him on the head with a steel pipe outside his workplace. As in the case of Vichea’s murder, the perpetrators were never arrested.

15 January 2021

Two men have been sent to prison after being arrested by police yesterday morning while peacefully gathering outside the Phnom Penh Municipal Court during the ongoing mass trials of more than a hundred people accused of being connected to the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP). Police seized four men who had gathered outside the court and turned them over to the Tbong Khmum provincial police. The two imprisoned men are believed to have been arrested in connection with a warrant issued by the provincial court accusing them of being an accomplice to incitement to commit a felony under articles 29, 494 and 495 of the Criminal Code. They were sent to Tbong Khmum provincial prison this afternoon. The other two men were released yesterday evening after questioning.

The arrests came after dozens of supporters of the former opposition party gathered outside the court to protest a series of mass trials set for the coming days and weeks, in which more than 130 people are facing charges of plotting against the state or incitement to disturb social order. This morning, a group of non-violent demonstrators were barred from gathering outside the court and threatened with arrest unless they dispersed immediately. Both days, security guards attempted to stop journalists and human rights monitors from taking photos outside the court.

Yesterday’s trial, in which 60 people were summonsed to answer charges of incitement and plotting, will continue on January 28. Today, Cambodian Confederation of Unions president Rong Chhun appeared in court alongside former CNRP youth activist Sar Kanika, Ton Nimol and Khmer Win Party leader Soung Sophorn, also facing incitement charges. Kanika was one of more than 20 young activists arrested for peaceful demonstrations calling for the release of the imprisoned unionist, who was arrested in July over public comments he gave about border issues shortly after he visited farming communities along the Vietnam border.

14 January 2021

We, the civil society groups, unions and communities listed below, express our deepest condolences and concern over the arrest and detention of three land community representatives, as well as the recent indictment of more than 50 land community representatives. We ask the court to drop the charges and release them.

3 January 2021

About 80 unionists, land activists, and CSO members gathered at the office of Solidarity House in Phnom Penh this morning to mark the seventh anniversary of the shooting on Veng Sreng Boulevard, in which security forces opened fire on striking workers, leaving at least four dead, dozens wounded and one missing.

A Buddhist ceremony and memorial service was held to remember the January 3, 2014 shooting, and several family members of killed and missing workers continued their call to find justice for their loved ones.

The four workers who were killed are Kim Phaleap, Sam Ravy, Yean Rithy and Pheng Kosal. Khem Sophath, another worker, has been missing since the shooting, and was last seen in the custody of security forces with a bullet wound in his stomach.

22 December 2020

The Siem Reap court today found two rappers, Kea Sokun and Long Putheara, guilty of incitement to commit a felony under Article 495 of the Criminal Code over songs they released addressing social issues. Sokun was sentenced to 1.5 years in prison, of which he must serve 1 year in prison with the remainder suspended. Putheara was sentenced to 5 months in prison, of which he must serve 3 months and 11 days in prison with the remainder suspended.

Sokun, who was 22 at the time of arrest, and Putheara, who was 17, were arrested in September and put into pre-trial detention over lyrics in rap songs they produced that were critical of the government’s response to social issues such as the economy and Cambodian border. The complaints against the two rappers were filed by the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts.

18 December 2020

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) today is releasing “The Fight for Freedom: Attacks on Human Rights Defenders, 2018-2020”.“The Fight for Freedom” is not an exhaustive list of all attacks targeting human rights defenders since the beginning of 2018. Instead, it highlights a number of high-profile cases where human rights defenders have been targeted for intimidation, arrest or imprisonment while trying to peacefully exercise their rights to association, assembly and expression as guaranteed both in Cambodia’s constitution and under international law.

10 December 2020

Family members of at least five imprisoned human rights defenders called for their loved ones’ release today, as communities across Cambodia were forced to turn to social media to celebrate Human Rights Day. With a number of local authorities refusing to allow grassroots communities to gather together to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, citing the threat of a potential COVID-19 outbreak, more than two dozen communities chose instead to launch social media campaigns calling for their fundamental freedoms to be respected.

For the first time in 27 years, Cambodians were unable to celebrate human rights day as a public holiday after the government stripped it from the calendar last year. Despite this, dozens of communities across the country organised events bringing together hundreds of farmers, workers and grassroots groups to speak out about land grabbing, workers’ rights and ongoing human rights violations facing their communities. With Cambodia experiencing its first case of COVID-19 community transmission barely two weeks before the planned celebrations, many groups turned to social media, promising an online campaign stretching until December 25. A handful of people from one community in Koh Kong province who launched their digital campaign by filming themselves posing with a banner were observed by a large group of local police.

10 December 2020

On Human Rights Day, we the 67 undersigned civil society organizations, call on the Royal Government of Cambodia (“RGC”) to respect the democratic principles and human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR”) and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (“the Constitution”), and fulfil its human rights obligations. We further call on the RGC to immediately end the targeting of activists, human rights defenders, journalists, political opposition supporters, and other critical voices that has tarnished 2020, and unconditionally release all of those arbitrarily detained.

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.

9 December 2020

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) call on the Royal Government of Cambodia to take urgent action to safeguard the right to health of people in detention, prison officials and the wider community by conducting rigorous testing of those in prisons for COVID-19, implementing effective hygiene and physical distancing measures in prisons and taking immediate steps to reduce prison overcrowding.

8 December 2020

Madam Minister,

We, the undersigned Cambodian civil society groups, are concerned about the recently announced plan to close the Embassy of Sweden in Phnom Penh at the end of 2021. We urge the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reconsider their decision, or to seriously consider appointing a senior political or human rights officer from the Ministry based in Phnom Penh, to ensure strong continued engagement in human rights.

19 November 2020

As the 9th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights convenes in Geneva, Equitable Cambodia, Inclusive Development International and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) renew our long-standing call for redress for the Cambodian communities who were forcibly displaced by the Thai sugar company, Mitr Phol.

18 November 2020

Two community representatives from Koh Kong province have been placed under judicial supervision as hundreds of community members from Sre Ambel district gathered outside the Koh Kong Court of First Instance to call for the charges against their representatives to be dropped. Both women face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Phav Nheung and Seng Lin had appeared before an investigating judge on charges of defamation and incitement to disturb social security. The women, who will now have to report monthly to district police, appear when summoned by court authorities and will not be able to move house without the court’s permission, represent almost two hundred families who have had hundreds of hectares of vital farmland seized by the Heng Huy Agriculture Group since 2008 to make way for a sugar plantation.

Both representatives were the target of a complaint launched by former community representative Chhay Vy. Vy’s brother, the late commune chief, was accused by the three women in 2019 of having seized land for himself during the unresolved land dispute. Another woman, Khorn Phun, had also been summoned for questioning over defamation charges. However, judicial supervision is not applicable for this charge.

20 October 2020

Every year, communities all over the world come together to celebrate World Habitat Day and the right to shelter. For many Cambodians, the right to adequate housing remains unfulfilled. Land conflicts with large corporations rob families of their farmland. Lack of essential infrastructure such as roads, schools and health centres keep communities from accessing the basic services they need to live secure and dignified lives. Year after year, these communities have joined together in peaceful demonstrations to call on authorities to ensure that these fundamental rights to life and livelihood are respected.

22 September 2020

Nineteen activists, artists and human rights defenders have been imprisoned since July for peacefully exercising their constitutional rights to free expression and assembly. This relentless crackdown began with the nighttime arrest of union leader Rong Chhun following public statements he made after visiting farming communities living along the Vietnam border. Over the next month and a half, activists who publicly called for Chhun’s release were arrested and sent to pre-trial detention. They face up to two years in prison if judged guilty.

The crackdown soon extended beyond activists calling for Rong Chhun’s release. Environmental activists, young rappers and a Buddhist monk have all been imprisoned for speaking out about issues affecting their country and communities. Former members of the outlawed political opposition party have also been jailed. Representatives from a number of international bodies have condemned the arrests or publicly called for the release of these imprisoned human rights defenders, who remain locked in Cambodia’s overcrowded prisons. These are the men and women who have lost their freedom while exercising their fundamental rights.

9 September 2020

We, the undersigned civil society groups, condemn the arrests of seven young activists over the past few days, and call for all charges against those imprisoned to be dropped immediately. We urge the government to end its campaign of fear and repression against peaceful youth and environmental human rights defenders, and ensure the rights of the Cambodian people to peacefully advocate for themselves, their families and their communities are respected.

6 September 2020

Authorities on Sunday charged three youth environmental activists with incitement and ordered them to pre-trial detention over the trio’s peaceful activism calling attention to the government’s filling in of Phnom Penh’s Boeung Tamok lake.

The three environmental activists - Thun Ratha, a 28-year-old man, Long Kunthea, a 22-year-old woman, and Phuong Keorasmey, a 19-year-old woman – are members of the Mother Nature Cambodia movement and were charged on Sunday over their organising of a planned peaceful march from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house by Kunthea to express her concerns regarding the filling and construction inside Boeung Tamok.

4 September 2020

A 49-year-old woman was rushed to hospital this morning after being hurled to the ground by district security guards while peacefully calling for the release of her imprisoned husband.

30 August 2020

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, our organizations call on the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to adequately investigate all cases of enforced disappearances in their respective countries, determine the fate or whereabouts of the victims, and ensure the victims’ families have effective access to justice and receive adequate reparations.