LIBRARY

31 July 2007

During the wet season in Cambodia, many people suffer from the notorious dengue virus, a virus which is carried by mosquitoes that thrive in the waters that collect during the wet season. For many people, escaping the virus means vigilantly covering up and closing windows or doors; however for women and children living literally behind prison bars, this is very difficult to do. Thanks to an extremely generous donation from the Women's International Group (WIG), LICADHO was able to distribute blankets and mosquito nets to 664 minor prisoners, pregnant women and children living in 14 Cambodian prisons.

31 July 2007

"Before, a husband would beat his wife and children, now he just insults them..." chilling yet sobering words from a woman surveyed by LICADHO's Women's Rights Office (WRO) following the end of its pilot project in Kandal Province, which aimed to educate the community on violence against women issues.

27 July 2007

At a time when the incidence of land grabbing is becoming more frequent in Cambodia and impunity for this crime is increasing for individuals with connections, wealth and power, three villagers are suffering from the results of such an unjust system. Initially, these villagers had been victims of a land grabbing dispute, however by the time their trial was over, they had been handed a six-month suspended prison sentence, lost their farming land, and had been ordered to pay a fine of 1.5 million Riel (USD $375). These villagers have now lost the ability to provide for their families and to even pay the exorbitant fine, now that their land has been unjustly taken from them.

10 July 2007

On the morning of April 20, 2007, 13 residents from Village 6 in Sihanoukville's Mittapheap district were arrested after they tried to defend their homes against the onslaught of 150 police attempting to evict them and 105 other families. On Tuesday July 3, 2007, the 13 appeared before the Sihanoukville Municipal Court for their trial; the next day five were acquitted and nine were convicted (one in absentia).

9 July 2007

On the morning of 20 April 2007, a mixed group of some 150 Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) personnel, military police, and civilian police armed with guns, electric batons, shields and tear gas forcibly evicted the Spean Ches community, 105 families, from Village 6 in Sihanoukville's Mittapheap District.

In the course of the raid, the security forces burned down 60 houses and completely demolished the remaining houses using heavy machinery. The evicted families were not permitted to remove possessions from their homes before they were destroyed and lost-inter alia- important documents which would have been essential in defending their case before the court. In the ensuing clashes between the authorities and the villagers two police officers and one military police officer, as well as a number of villagers, were injured. Thirteen villagers were arrested and later charged with "wrongful damage to property" (Article 52 UNTAC Law1)- charges which relate to the alleged destruction of police equipment used in the raid- and "battery with injury" (Article 41 UNTAC Law).

9 July 2007

In 1980, two families settled on plots of residential and farming land in Deum Popel village, Thmo Eth Commune, Kompong Tralach district, Kompong Chhnang province. Both families have lived and farmed continuously on the plots since that time as legally required for the right to land ownership in Cambodia. The families are now facing a criminal complaint for use of violence against another party who has also claimed ownership of the same land.

The trial was originally set for Monday July 9, 2:00 PM at the Kompong Chhnang provincial court. However, due to the absence of a key local official who was to testify for the prosecution that day, the trial was postponed to July 23rd, 7:30 AM.

26 June 2007

For more than a decade Cambodia has failed to honor its obligations to prevent and punish the use of torture, and strong action is needed to tackle the widespread practice, according to LICADHO.

"Torture is committed every day in Cambodia, and most torturers are not punished in any way," LICADHO president Kek Galabru said on June 26, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. "Cambodia is blatantly violating its obligations under international and domestic laws, and it is time that the government, police and courts took real action to stop the barbaric practice of torture."

Cambodia ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in 1992 but has failed to properly implement it. Early this year, the government also signed on to an additional international human rights treaty, the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, which contains further obligations to prevent torture.

21 June 2007

Eight foreign nationals were detained by Cambodian immigration police on Tuesday, June 19th, for more than nine hours after gathering to publicly appeal for justice for Born Samnang and Sok Sam Ouen. These two men, who are currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, are widely believed to have been wrongly convicted of murdering trade union leader Chea Vichea in January 2004.

21 June 2007

In addition to prison health program, LICADHO's doctors are often called for emergencies during land evictions and to relocation sites.

19 June 2007

The assassination of trade unionist Chea Vichea and the convictions of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun represent the most glaring example of impunity and miscarriage of justice in Cambodia today. There is overwhelming evidence that the two convicted men, now serving 20-year prison terms, were deliberately targeted as scapegoats for the murder. Cambodia's justice system has not only failed them, but has actively perpetrated the injustice against them. This case highlights the grave deficiencies of Cambodia's judiciary - particularly its lack of independence and impartiality - and casts undeniable doubt upon the government's stated commitment to rule of law. The release of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun from prison is essential if the justice system is ever to have any credibility.

15 June 2007

Five residents of Phnom Penh's Dangkor district were detained on the morning of June 7, 2007 after they photographed police while facing a land eviction. The residents were taking photographs of the police while they were executing orders from a letter claimed to be issued by the National Police Chief, Hok Lundy following a complaint made by the alleged land owner Ms Tei Vavanny.

10 June 2007

All around the world one day of the year marks the celebration of the next generation - children. For many children around the world their childhood is a time of innocence and play, carefree of the world's troubles. Yet in Cambodia for many children, their childhood has been taken over by poverty and life's struggles and for the unlucky few of about 600 their childhood is spent behind bars.

To remember these children and to bring the festivities to them LICADHO celebrated 1 June, International Children's Rights Day at eight locations throughout Cambodia and in nine prisons that currently house minor prisoners, children living with their mothers in prison and pregnant women.

31 May 2007

September 2006, ten girls aged between 14 and 17 years were persuaded by a fellow villager in Kompong Cham province to travel to Phnom Penh after they were promised jobs as domestic workers. However after arriving in Phnom Penh they were promptly taken to a local market where they were openly sold for 50,000 riel each. Fortunately this "auction" was witnessed by an LICADHO staff who obtained information from one of the victims and proceeded to work with LICADHO colleagues and other NGOs to ensure that all girls were found and returned safely to their families in the provinces.

Celebrating International Children's Day this year, LICADHO is promoting the theme of "Working Together to Combat Trafficking, Exploitation and Abuse of Children". Activities have been planned which highlight and promote children's rights, in particular, trafficking, the rights of children in prison and children involved in the worst forms of child labour.

28 May 2007

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations in Cambodia, the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) express their deep concern regarding the situation of human rights in Cambodia.

Despite the recommendations made by Mr. Yash Ghai, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on human rights in Cambodia, in September 2006, before the UN Human Rights Council little progress has been made. The Cambodian government has ratified 13 human rights international instruments and the Constitution of the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia has incorporated the Universal Declaration of HR. However, Cambodians are increasingly subject to a wide range of human rights abuses - often committed by State personnel.

23 May 2007

In 2003 it was touted as a great leap forward into developing a social housing program, an alternative to the widespread forced land evictions in Cambodia. Four years later, in May 2007, men, women and children are living under tarpaulins amid the rubble of their demolished houses. This is the plight of families living at Borei Keila in the heart of Cambodia's capital.

22 May 2007

On the morning of May 21, 2007 approximately 1000 workers from the River Rich Textile Factory based in Kandal Province's Sa'ang district gathered to stage an ongoing peaceful strike and encountered more than 150 riot police ready to disperse the crowd. The workers had staged the strikes to protest the dismissal of 10 fellow workers who had planned to form a union within the factory. Those 10 workers had been dismissed in November 2006 due to their involvement in a local union and continued to be refused entry back into the factory.

At around 8:30 AM, riot police fully equipped with tear gas, guns, electric batons and shields were dispatched to the factory after its owner made a complaint against the workers for instigating a strike and not coming to work. The workers had previously staged strikes the week before with each strike garnering more numbers however there was no sign of riot police or violence.

3 May 2007

As the construction excavator made its way towards the residents of Commune 4, police brandishing riot shields and guns marched behind it in its wake. The residents stood behind their make-shift barricades of barbed wire and household materials, steadfast in the path of the massive excavator and its entourage. This was the scene at Commune 4, Mittapheap District in Sihanoukville - a municipality best-known as a beach holiday destination - early in the morning of April 20, 2007.

Some 150 military police and police officers armed with guns, electric batons and tear gas were there to conduct an eviction raid on the disputed land which is home to over 110 families. No warning or official notice of the eviction had been given and a violent confrontation between police and villagers ensued.

1 May 2007

We, the undersigned, call upon the Cambodian authorities to conduct a professional and thorough investigation into the murder of Hy Vuthy, the President of the Free Trade Union of Workers of the Kingdom of Cambodia, (FTUWKC) at the Suntex factory.

Hy Vuthy was shot dead, reportedly by two men on a motorbike, on the morning of February 24, 2007 while on the way home after finishing his night shift at the Suntex factory.

His murder comes after at least nine violent attacks on union leaders in Phnom Penh in 2006, seven of which were against FTUWKC officials at Suntex or the co-owned Bright Sky factory. No one has been brought to justice for these attacks.

Endorsed by 242 groups from Cambodian and 82 countries worldwide

25 April 2007

The Cambodian League for Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) and the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) condemn the sudden violent eviction of 117 families in Commune 4, Mittapheap District, Sihanoukville.

On the morning of April 20, 2007, some 150 military police and police officers armed with guns, electric batons and tear gas, raided the disputed land, burning down 80 houses and demolishing the remaining 26 houses. The evicted families were not permitted to remove possessions from their houses before they were destroyed.

LICADHO and ADHOC question the legality of the eviction, which was apparently based on an order by Sihanoukville Municipality despite the fact that the ownership of the land is disputed and at least some of the families have a good claim to the land under Cambodia's Land Law. In addition, the police action was based on a search warrant - but not an eviction notice - issued by the Sihanoukville Municipal Court.

12 April 2007

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 NGO members, deeply regrets the Court of Appeal's decision to uphold the Phnom Penh Municipal Courts verdict in the case of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, who were convicted of murdering Chea Vichea and sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay U$5000 each in compensation.

CHRAC considers that the verdict announced by the Appeal Court presiding judge Mr. Saly Theara this morning is very unjust and politically biased, and that the court did not use its independent power to make a fair and reasonable decision on this case.