LIBRARY

16 January 2020

We, the undersigned Cambodian civil society groups, call on the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to ensure that the long-awaited trial of former opposition leader Kem Sokha is open to the public, independent media outlets and the full participation of civil society organisations. We also call on the court to record and broadcast the trial proceedings live, as they have done in the past.

Kem Sokha’s trial on charges of “conspiring with a foreign power” – for which no credible evidence has yet been made public and which carries a sentence of up to 30 years in prison – is of significant public interest both to Cambodians across the country and those living overseas.

10 January 2020

NagaWorld has reinstated suspended union president Chhim Sithar after a two-day strike that gathered thousands of workers in front of the central Phnom Penh casino. NagaWorld representatives also told the assembled workers this evening that the company would be raising workers’ salaries after further negotiation. Workers are expected to return to work tomorrow.

The agreement came after union officials including Chhim Sithar, who was indefinitely suspended with pay in September 2019 while campaigning for better wages and working conditions, met this afternoon with NagaWorld representatives and senior officials from the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training to negotiate a settlement.

9 January 2020

More than 2,000 workers from NagaWorld went on strike and peacefully assembled near the Malaysian-owned casino in central Phnom Penh this morning to protest the indefinite suspension of union leader Chhim Sithar. Workers called for an end to the ongoing harassment of union members and for a living wage for workers, while dozens of police and private security forces looked on.

Chhim Sithar, president of the Labour Rights Supported Union of Khmer Workers at NagaWorld, was suspended with pay in September 2019 while campaigning for a living wage for the thousands of workers employed in the casino complex. In June, nearly 4,000 workers signed a petition demanding a wage increase to cover the rising cost of living in the capital.

Although Sithar joined the strike and met with NagaWorld representatives and local authorities in Chamkarmon District this afternoon, company representatives have failed to reach an agreement with the workers, who said the strike will continue.

6 January 2020

The Appeal Court denied bail for Tbong Khmum community representative Phon Chhoeun in Phnom Penh this afternoon. Chhoeun was arrested in October alongside fellow community representative Sam Sang and faces multiple charges related to a land dispute between Chinese rubber company Harmony Win Investment and several communities in Dambae district, Tbong Khmum province.

In October, villagers in Dambae marched to protest the two representatives’ arrest and were blocked by security forces from observing the initial court process at Tbong Khmum Provincial Court. They were also prevented from observing an ongoing civil case filed by Harmony Win Investment seeking to deny the villagers access to their communal forest land.

More than 600 families who have relied on the land for housing and farming have been affected by the dispute, which has been ongoing since 2012. As recently as last month, Harmony Win Investment representatives brought in multiple tractors to clear the disputed land and were accompanied by approximately 30 soldiers and police. Villagers have continued to call for local and national authorities to resolve the conflict.

3 January 2020

About 70 unionists, land activists, workers and rights activists gathered in Phnom Penh this morning to mark the sixth anniversary of security forces opening fire on striking workers on Phnom Penh’s Veng Sreng Boulevard on January 3, 2014, leaving four dead, one missing and dozens injured.

Participants held a Buddhist ceremony and memorial service at the office of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), which was also attended by several family members of the killed and missing workers.

30 December 2019

The Appeal Court this morning upheld a verdict ordering the re-investigation of the case of two Radio Free Asia journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who were charged with Articles 38 and 39 of the human trafficking law.

LICADHO continues to call for all charges against the two former journalists to be immediately dropped.

The Appeal Court verdict this morning upheld part of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s decision in October to further investigate charges under Articles 38 and 39 of the human trafficking law. The Appeal Court is scheduled to rule on the separate charges of Article 445 of the Criminal Code for activities which can “undermine national defence” on 20 January 2020.

10 December 2019

December 10 - Around 6,000 community members and civil society activists participated in events in Phnom Penh and provinces across Cambodia to celebrate International Human Rights Day between December 7 and December 10, 2019.

Several communities reported being threatened by local authorities to not hold events, particularly in Sihanoukville, Kampot, Koh Kong, and Kampong Speu provinces. Some communities went ahead with planned events despite pressure from authorities.

In Phnom Penh, representatives from civil society groups, unions, Buddhist monks and youth groups gathered alongside representatives from various embassies to discuss the importance of human rights at Freedom Park.

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.

1 December 2019

To mark International Human Rights Day on December 10 2019, LICADHO is publishing summaries of major events and human rights abuses spanning the last decade. Each day will feature a new year, starting on December 1 with a summary of events in 2010 and culminating on December 10 with a look back at 2019.

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.

7 November 2019

Soldiers, military police and police have mobilised across Cambodia this week ahead of the planned return of former leaders of the Supreme Court-dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party. In many provinces this has included public processions of armed security forces down main thoroughfares, sometimes with children lining the streets to observe the armed forces, as organised by their public schools. Government-aligned media and official Facebook pages have shared videos of armed forces alongside machine gun turrets, grenade launchers, artillery, assault rifles and sniper rifles. LICADHO has confirmed that convoys of security forces have traveled through public streets in Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampong Thom, Koh Kong, and Svay Rieng provinces.

This deployment of armed forces takes place amid an unprecedented wave of arrests of former opposition members, with at least 50 people arrested since August 2019.

4 November 2019

The Supreme Court issued a verdict this morning denying bail to Kong Raiya, who was arrested on 9 July 2019 after advertising in a Facebook post that he was selling t-shirts featuring the image of slain political analyst Kem Ley.

Raiya was charged with “incitement to commit felony”, along with Soung Neakpaon, who was arrested the day after Raiya at a memorial event for Kem Ley and faces the same charges. Both men are currently being held in CC1 prison in Phnom Penh.

Eighty-seven civil society groups, unions and grassroots communities, including LICADHO, issued a statement calling for the release of both Raiya and Neakpaon a few days after their arrest in July. The statement noted their arrests were arbitrary and a clear violation of the pair’s right to freedom of expression under the Cambodian Constitution. Five current human rights special rapporteurs from the United Nations (UN) also called for the dropping of all charges against both Raiya and Neakpaon and urged the Cambodian government to release both men. International human rights organization Amnesty International has labeled Raiya and Neakpaon “Prisoners of Conscience” and also called for their release, as has the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

23 October 2019

More than 500 people from land communities, civil society organisations, unions and independent analyst groups gathered in Phnom Penh on Wednesday morning to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the Paris Peace Accords.

The celebration occured at the relocated Freedom Park, and speeches were given praising the promises of peace, democracy, respect for human rights and development enshrined in the Paris Peace Accords. Representatives from the US and EU embassy joined participants to listen to speeches from independent analysts and union leaders, who discussed the importance of respect for human rights and pluralistic democracy. Dozens of plainclothes and uniformed security officers were also present.

Organisers were denied permission to march from The Council for the Development of Cambodia and instead held the event in the confines of Freedom Park. The government announced earlier this year that October 23, Paris Peace Accords Day, will no longer be an official holiday starting next year.

21 October 2019

More than 100 community members were blocked by mixed security forces in Tbong Khmum province today as they traveled to protest the arrest of two community representatives last week and observe a civil case filed by a rubber company seeking to deny them access to community land.

Community members posted on their community’s Facebook page this morning that the villagers from Dambe district were traveling to observe the court process at the Tbong Khmum provincial court, but their vehicles were stopped by authorities en route. After about 100 security forces halted the community and barricaded the roads about 20 kilometers from the court, the community members were forced to walk the remaining distance and, after arriving at the court, were observed by about 50 additional security forces.

Villagers went to monitor a civil case filed by a representative of Harmony Win Investment Co, a Chinese-owned rubber plantation that is involved in a long-standing conflict with the community over communal forest land. Villagers have repeatedly called for local and national authorities to resolve the conflict, which affects more than 600 families. They also called for the release of two community representatives involved in the dispute, Phon Chhoeun and Sem Sang, who were arrested last week and are currently being detained in Kampong Cham prison over charges related to the land dispute.

3 October 2019

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court this morning once again delayed a verdict announcement for two former Radio Free Asia journalists, Uon Chhin and Yeang Sothearin, who face charges of providing information to a foreign power that could undermine national defence. The judge ordered further investigation of the case, a judgement that came amidst a trial that has failed to provide any credible evidence substantiating the charges.

LICADHO calls for all charges against the two former journalists to be immediately dropped.

A Phnom Penh Municipal Court judge announced this morning that the court would not issue a verdict announcement in the case and instead would further investigate several key facts, including conducting further forensic analysis on hard drives that have been in the court’s possession for more than 18 months. No timeframe was given for such an investigation. This ongoing legal process means that the two former journalists could continue to face charges without any credible evidence indefinitely.

19 August 2019

Farmers often take microfinance debt, but then struggle to repay it due to falling crop prices or crop failures. Selling their land is sometimes the only way they can repay their microfinance loans.

13 August 2019

Many Cambodians have had family members migrate to pay off microfinance debts. A report by the IOM in 2016 found that more than 40% of Cambodians who migrated abroad did so to pay debts. End debt-driven migration.

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.