LIBRARY

1 June 2011

Phnom Penh - LICADHO and friends will mark International Children's Day on June 1, 2011 by distributing food and materials to children and pregnant women in 14 of Cambodia's prisons.

In cooperation with prison department at Ministry of Interior, LICADHO will also hold special Children's Day events at Correctional Center 2 ("CC2") and Takhmao prisons. The events at CC2 and Takhmao will include games, prizes and guest speakers who will discuss children's issues.

Some 730 juvenile prisoners were incarcerated in Cambodia's 25 prisons as of April 2011, according to government statistics. The General Department of Prisons defines juvenile prisoners as those who were between ages 14 and 17 when they committed their crime; they may continue to be classified as juvenile prisoners if they reach their 18th birthday in prison. Fourteen is the age of criminal responsibility in Cambodia.

8 May 2011

ADHOC, CLEC and LICADHO strongly condemn the government's brutal dispersal of union garment workers in Phnom Penh on Sunday morning during an ongoing strike over a labor dispute that begun with the recent burning of the workers' factory. The protest left at least eight workers injured, some seriously.

Approximately 2,000 workers from Mithona garment factory gathered on Sunday morning at the burnt factory on Ponchentong Road near the capital's airport. The group intended to temporarily block the road to draw the attention of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was scheduled to return from abroad via the airport, to their situation. The action was organized by a local wing of the Free Trade Union Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC).

6 May 2011

On May 1, 2011, some 3,000 Cambodians gathered in Phnom Penh to celebrate International Labor Day. This photo album documents their march from near Wat Phnom to the National Assembly.

21 April 2011

The Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) strongly condemns the violence used earlier today against peaceful Boeung Kak lake protesters and the arrest of 11 villagers - including young children - in front of the Phnom Penh municipal cabinet.

At around 8:30AM, about 100 villagers from the Boeung Kak lake gathered in front of the Phnom Penh municipal cabinet to attempt once again to meet authorities to discuss two issues: i) to stop the lake filling causing flooding in the area, and ii) to stop evictions until authorities enter into negotiations with the villagers and reach an agreement with the affected residents.

21 April 2011

More than 100 Boeung Kak villagers gathered at Phnom Penh municipal cabinet, demanding a resolution to their land dispute. A group of armed anti-riot police forces used violence against villagers, arresting 11 people including women and two children.

7 April 2011

Bangkok - Cambodia's draft law regulating associations and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) should be abandoned because it will undermine rather than promote civil society in the country, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Forum-Asia, Global Witness, Southeast Asia Press Alliance, Frontline Defenders, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders said today. On April 6, a total of 62 international organizations working in Cambodia called upon the country's international donors to make strong public and private statements opposing passage of a law that poses the most significant threat to the country's civil society in many years.

5 April 2011

The International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) is an international organization that provides technical assistance, research, and education to support the development of appropriate laws and regulatory systems for civil society in countries around the world. ICNL has worked on civil society law reform projects in over one hundred countries; in Asia, ICNL has worked in China, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Lao P.D.R., Mongolia and Vietnam. ICNL has worked with the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Volunteers, the Community of Democracies Working Group on Enabling and Protecting Civil Society, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the United States Agency for International Development, New Zealand AID, the Swedish International Development Agency, human rights groups, private foundations, and scores of in-country colleagues.

1 April 2011

Recognizing the importance that the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has placed on strengthening institutions of governance and implementing reforms aimed at ensuring sustainable development and long-term poverty reduction; and the commitment to strong cooperation among all ministries and agencies, development partners, the private sector, civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders embodied in key policy documents such as the "National Strategic Development Plan" and the "Rectangular Strategy"; the INGO community has been a dedicated partner in Cambodia's development efforts for decades. As the 2009 National Strategic Development Plan Update notes, "Civil society is an important partner and many NGOs, both national and international, play an active and vigilant role in social and economic development efforts as well as in promotion of democracy and human rights."

31 March 2011

Phnom Penh - The second draft of the proposed Association & NGO law (NGO Law) is not significantly different from the first draft, and remains the most serious threat to civil society in Cambodia today, according to a new briefing paper from LICADHO.

The first draft of the law, released on Dec. 15, 2010, was widely condemned by civil society and international observers as an assault on Cambodians' right to freedom of association, assembly and expression. The second draft, released by the Ministry of Interior on March 24, does nothing to assuage these fears.

Registration is still mandatory for all NGOs and Associations (Article 6). Nonregistered groups are banned from operating. Key provisions are vague and open to arbitrary interpretation. And in many circumstances, the government has carte blanche to shut organizations down without appeal (Article 18 was removed from second draft).

31 March 2011

The recently-released draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations confirms long-standing fears that the government's desire for such a law is in order to control, rather than promote and strengthen, civil society. The draft law - which falls far short of meeting international standards for laws on the nonprofit sector - constitutes the most serious threat to civil society in Cambodia in years. While this threat may appear to be most acute for human rights defenders, it has serious negative implications for community development and democratic participation on a broader scale.

Upon cursory examination, the draft law might appear to be positive in that it omits some draconian provisions which had been mooted by the government in the past. However, the law remains - in letter and in spirit - extremely pernicious to civil society.

8 March 2011

The number of women and girls in Cambodian prisons has soared 41 percent since 2007, outpacing the already extraordinary overall growth rate of 29 percent during the same period.

At the end of 2010, a total of 914 women were incarcerated in Cambodia. An average of 12 of these women was pregnant; while an average of 47 young children were living alongside their incarcerated mothers.

LICADHO and its partner NGOs are marking International Women's Day this year by drawing attention to the plight of imprisoned women and children. LICADHO and its partners will deliver food and supplies to female prisoners at 18 prisons and hold special events at Correctional Center 2 ("CC2") and Takhmao prisons. The events at CC2 and Takhmao will include traditional dancing and games, as well as guest speakers who will spread out International Women's Day impression.

2 March 2011

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, commend the Supreme Court's decision today to release Thach Saveth, who was wrongly convicted of murdering union leader Ros Sovannareth in 2004.

The Supreme Court overturned Thach Saveth's conviction and ordered him released on bail pending a reinvestigation of the case. Thach Saveth was originally convicted in February 2005 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. His conviction was then upheld by the appeal court in February 2009.

16 February 2011

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the ongoing censorship of the Internet in Cambodia, which has targeted news and opinion sites critical of the government.

"Until now, Cambodia's Internet environment had been noticeably freer than in neighboring countries," said LICADHO President Pung Chhiv Kek. "More importantly, the Internet was the only audio or visual media not fully controlled by the government. The censoring of controversial Web sites marks a significant milestone in the march toward a more oppressive media environment."

The ongoing disruption of certain Web sites began for some Internet Service Providers (ISPs) on January 19, 2011, with the blockage of the controversial Web site KI-Media (and initiall all blogs hosted by the domain Blogspot). The problem affected ISPs Ezecom, Metfone, WiCAM and possibly others.

6 February 2011

This LICADHO production offers a glimpse into community activism to resist land evictions throughout Cambodia The video was shown during the land grabbing workshop leading up to the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal in February 2011.

The Khmer language version of this video was put together after the Senegal workshop. Its content differs a little and is targeted at grassroots activists.

27 January 2011

We, the undersigned members of civil society, deeply regret the conviction on defamation charges of community representative Reach Seima and ADHOC staff member Sam Chankea, following their work to help the victims of a land-grab in Kampong Chhnang province. The verdict is a setback for freedom of expression, and represents yet another instance where the Cambodian judiciary has been misused to punish a human rights defender who dared to
publicly demand justice for victims of human rights abuses.

Sam Chankea, ADHOC's Kampong Chhnang provincial coordinator, was convicted and sentenced by the court on January 25, 2011. The court ordered him to pay a 1 million riel fine and an additional 3 million riel in compensation to the plaintiff, the K.D.C. International Company. Last week, the same provincial court also sentenced community representative Reach Seima, who was a victim of land grabbing by the same company. He was also convicted of defamation and sentenced to pay a 2 million riel of fine and an additional 8 million riel of compensation. He faces 6 months in prison if he cannot pay.

21 January 2011

On the morning of January 16, 2011, over a hundred garment workers and civil society members gathered outside Cambodia's Prey Sar prison to seek the release of their union leader, Sous Chantha. Joined by Chantha's wife and toddler, the group held a religious ceremony and proceeded to launch balloons in the air for Chantha to see from within the prison's walls.

The gathering highlighted the fact that Sous Chantha has spent nearly two months in pretrial detention on drug trafficking charges. His arrest on November 18, 2010, followed his 1,000-member union's migration to the pro-workers Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers Democratic Union (CCAWDU).

20 December 2010

Cambodia took a step backwards on freedom of expression issues in 2010, and is poised to continue the trend in 2011, according to a new report from LICADHO.

The report, "Freedom of Expression in Cambodia: The Illusion of Democracy" documents nearly 50 cases in which the government violated individuals' expressive freedoms during 2010. The incidents, taken together, illustrate a disturbing trend: Authorities are growing increasingly bold in their campaign to silence those who speak out against the political and economic elite. As a result, Cambodians are being excluded from participating in their own democracy.

20 December 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the groundless conviction of United Nations' World Food Program national staff Seng Kunnaka by the Phnom Penh court on Sunday morning, December 20, 2010.

Seng Kunnaka was arrested on Friday before noon by the Russei Keo district police. The arrest occured after Kunnaka printed and shared material found on the website ki-media, an online blog dedicated to aggregating news articles and opinions on Cambodia including material critical of its government.

15 December 2010

Venerable Loun Sovath has many hats: he is a monk, a human rights defender and a representative for the disenfranchised Chikreng community in Siem Reap province.

Sovath has acted at great risk to his personal safety, struggling to find justice for the victims of the Chi Kreng land grab.

Venerable Sovath was threatened very often, like many other human rights defenders, dispite his robes. In fact, he may face an even greater threat, given his willingness to speak out, appear in the media, and openly document abuse perpetrated by the authorities.

10 December 2010

More than 20,000 Cambodians celebrated the 62nd International Human Rights day on Dec 10th, 2010.

In 65 events across the country, civil society groups including trade unionists, students, farmers, fishermen, musicians, youths, entertainment workers, tuk tuk drivers, motorcycle drivers and NGO workers celebrated IHRD within their communities.

Throughout Cambodia, the celebrations were held under the common theme of 'We all want justice and sustainable livelihoods!' and a common symbol representing the role of human rights defenders in Cambodia, the blue Kramar.

IHRD is celebrated every year on December 10, marking the day that the UNDHR was signed in 1948. Since then, the Declaration has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect human rights.