LIBRARY

12 January 2012

On January 3, 2012, the well-connected Phan Imex Corporation proceeded, with the help of armed state forces, to destroy the homes of some 300 Borei Keila families. This forced eviction was in violation of a legal agreement between the corporation and the Borei Keila residents that entitled all families living in the area to obtain on-site apartments.

12 January 2012

We, the ten undersigned civil society organizations, call for the immediate release of Borei Keila residents detained yesterday and since unlawfully detained at the Prey Speu Social Affairs Center. We also call for the permanent closure of the Prey Speu center, which has been proven time and again to be nothing more than an extra-judicial detention facility.

3 January 2012

HRTF, CYN, IDEA, BABC, CLEC, BKLW, ACRP, CCFC, FADP, PLCN and LICADHO strongly condemns today's violent destruction of the homes of some 300 families living in Phnom Penh's Borei Keila settlement.

The destruction of these homes marks yet another sad turn for a development that was once promoted as a model alternative to the eviction and off-site relocation of the Phnom Penh's urban poor.

22 December 2011

Donors, who provide approximately half of Cambodia's national budget, should make clear to the Cambodian government that the fourth draft of the Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO) must be revised to protect civil society or be withdrawn, a group of concerned international human rights organizations said today. Any revisions should involve meaningful consultation with civil society organizations and aim to support their activities instead of creating a legal framework allowing for arbitrary closure of organizations or the denial of registration.

20 December 2011

On the morning of December 20, 2011, at 8:30 AM, over 100 Cambodian citizens from Phnom Penh and 23 provinces peacefully unrolled a 230 meter long blue kramar petition in front of the National Assembly. The petition addressed in Khmer to the Royal Government of Cambodia from the citizens of Cambodia calls on the government to: '... halt its intention of passing the Law on Associations and Non governmental Organizations, the Law on Trades Union and the Law on Farmers' Cooperative which restrict the basic rights and freedoms of Cambodian citizens."

20 December 2011

LICADHO condemns the National Assembly for its decision today to lift the parliamentary immunity of opposition party lawmaker Chan Cheng.

The vote, which took place Tuesday morning, was a politically-motivated attack against Cheng, who is a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP)representing Kandal Province.

"Cambodia's democracy is already foundering, and this brings the system one step closer to becoming a total farce," said LICADHO's Director, Naly Pilorge. "The suspension of Chan Cheng's immunity renders the concept of parliamentary immunity meaningless. This is yet another disgrace for Cambodia's democracy."

The National Assembly is dominated by the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and has previously stripped the immunity of opposition politicians under dubious circumstances.

15 December 2011

On Dec. 12, 2011, the Royal Cambodian Government released the fourth draft of its proposed Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO). The release comes almost exactly one year after the first draft was introduced in mid-December 2010.

The contents of the three earlier drafts provoked extensive criticism from local and international civil society organizations, donor governments, and legal analysts. Twice previously the government has acknowledged these criticisms and promised to come up with a better draft. Twice previously they have failed.

With the fourth draft, they have failed again.

9 December 2011

More than 52,000 Cambodians - including community groups, trade unionists, land activists, students, farmers, fishermen, musicians,entertainment workers, tuktuk drivers, motorcycle drivers and NGO workers - will gather in their communities on December 10 to celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD) this year.

These celebrations are tied together with the common theme "We All Need Rights, Decent Living Wages & Justice!" and a common symbol ‐ the blue Kramar to represent the important role of human rights defenders in Cambodia.

29 November 2011

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, deeply regret the Phnom Penh authorities' decision to bring criminal charges against four Boeung Kak Lake residents following their participation in a protest on Nov. 28.

We do, however, commend Investigating Judge Chhay Virak's decision to release the accused under court supervision today.

The four female activists - Tep Vanny, Bo Chhorvy, Heng Mom and Kong Chantha - appeared before the Phnom Penh Municipal Court today, and were charged with insult and obstruction of public officials, respectively, under articles 502 and 504 of the new penal code. If tried and found guilty, they face up to one year in prison and fines of up to 2 million riel.

24 November 2011

On November 22, 2011, Boeung Kak Lake resident Chea Dara leaped to her death from a bridge in Phnom Penh. She was actively involved in the lake residents' struggle against their wrongful eviction from the site. Although a deal was reached earlier this year to resettle most of the remaining families, Chea Dara's family was arbitrarily excluded. After years of fighting for justice, she lost hope. This video commemorates her life.

21 November 2011

In early November, some 300 Prey Lang network activists traveled deep into the Prey Lang Forest to observe land clear-cut by the CRCK Development Rubber Company, which had been granted an economic land concession in the area. The activists' goal was to prevent further illegal logging of the area. The journey took several days on foot. This slideshow documents their walk.

26 October 2011

Since 2008, the Cambodian government has embarked upon a furious campaign to propose and enact a wide range of new laws. While this new legislation is typically touted as evidence of Cambodia’s progress toward the rule of law, a new LICADHO report has found that in many cases, it actually marks the opposite.

In the report, “The Delusion of Progress: Cambodia’s Legislative Assault on Expressive Rights,” LICADHO analyzes five key laws proposed or enacted since 2008: the Penal Code, the Anti-Corruption Law, the Law on Associations and NGOs, the Law on Peaceful Assembly, and the Law on Unions of Enterprises. Overall, the analysis reveals several disturbing trends: Legislation is littered with improper restrictions on freedom of expression, provisions are misapplied, and vast sections are deliberately drafted to be used as weapons against those who speak out against the political and financial elite.

20 October 2011

Through Cambodia's infamous Boeung Kak Lake land grab, this LICADHO video takes a look at three incidents showing the impacts on women within communities affected by forced evictions. These abuses are perpetrated in the name of "development".

19 October 2011

A draft prison law which is set to go before the National Assembly is a positive step for Cambodia's prison system, but falls short of fully protecting prisoners' rights in several key respects.

The draft law's shortcomings are detailed in a new briefing paper from the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO). The paper also highlights a handful of the law's positive provisions.

18 October 2011

On the morning of October 18, 2011, over 200 Boeung Kak lake residents peacefully gathered in front of the Phnom Penh court to show support for six of community representatives who were summoned by the court. The summons were in relation to complaints filed by local authorities, who accused the six of defamation and of making unlawful threats and insults.

17 October 2011

Cambodian recruitment agencies continued to send domestic workers to Malaysia on Monday morning, despite the Prime Minister's written order on Saturday imposing a complete ban on the practice.

LICADHO monitors at Pochentong Airport observed at least 25 Cambodian maids checking in for an Air Asia flight AK 273 to Kuala Lumpur on the morning of October 17, 2011. The maids were identifiable by their short haircuts and shirts, which were emblazoned with the name of their recruitment agency. LICADHO monitors also confirmed the women's destination by speaking to recruitment agency staff who accompanied the women.

15 October 2011

Yesterday, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) sent an open letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Alain Juppé. The two organizations urges France, co-chairman of the Paris Conference, to pressure the Cambodian Government to drop its efforts to enact the widely criticized Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations in Cambodia.

17 September 2011

Yesterday witnessed the most violent forced eviction of Boeung Kak lake residents to date. Early in the afternoon, a hundred “anti-riot” intervention police officers and Daun Penh district security guards positioned themselves nearby homes of lake residents. Two excavators, protected by the armed group, proceeded in destroying homes of families arbitrarily disqualified from the 12.44 hectares of land given to the remaining lake families.

Later in the afternoon, as the excavators were on the move to destroy more houses, lake activist Suong Sophorn was savagely assaulted by a mob of intervention police officers who left him for dead after kicking and beating him with bricks and batons.

16 September 2011

The Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) strongly condemns Phnom Penh's wilful misinterpretation of the government plan to resettle nearly 800 families threatened by redevelopment at Boeung Kak Lake. The municipality has arbitrarily excluded of over 10 percent of the threatened families, while simultaneously granting nearly two dozen land titles to CPP senator Lao Meng Kim - owner of lake developer Shukaku - within the dedicated "resettlement zone."

15 September 2011

Ten international organizations wrote to representatives of 17 United Nations (UN) agencies urging them to press the Cambodian Government to end its efforts to promulgate the repressive Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO).

A copy of the letter sent to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) can be viewed in English or in Khmer.

(The letters were sent to FAO, UNFP, IFAD, UNHCR, ILO, UNICEF, IOM, UNIDO, OHCHR, UNODC, UNWomen, UNESCO, WHO, UNEP, WFP, UNDP and UNAIDS)