• On the occasion of Labor Day, CCHR calls for renewed efforts to protect workers’ rights

    • Released Date: 01-May-2014
    • Publication: Press Release
    On the occasion of Labor Day, CCHR calls for renewed efforts to protect workers’ rights

    On the occasion of Labor Day, 1 May 2014, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights(“CCHR”) calls on the Royal Government of Cambodia (the “RGC”) to commit to protecting and promoting labor and workers’ rights in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”). Although human rights violations are rampant, the RGC has done little to concretely address these problems, despite its legal obligations to do so.

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  • HRW Letter to Labor Minister on Decline in Union Registration and Proposed Revision of Prakas 21 (Issued by HRW)

    • Released Date: 29-Apr-2014
    • Publication: Others
    HRW Letter to Labor Minister on Decline in Union Registration and Proposed Revision of Prakas 21 (Issued by HRW)

    I am writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch to raise our concerns regarding what appears to be a dramatic decline in the registration of unions, including in garment and footwear factories, and to urge you to immediately intervene and ensure that the responsible officials resume licensing unions.

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  • CCHR expresses concerns over Court orders issued against union leader Ath Thorn

    • Released Date: 24-Apr-2014
    • Publication: Press Release
    CCHR expresses concerns over Court orders issued against union leader Ath Thorn

    The Cambodia Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) expresses grave concerns over the severe measures taken by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday 22 April 2014 to restrict the union rights of Mr. Ath Thorn, president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Union (“CCAWDU”). Originally charged in March 2014, the Court on Tuesday ordered Mr. Ath Thorn to stay away from the SL Garment Factory in Phnom Penh and its workers, and to avoid public gatherings that could “damage the public order” or face pre-trial detention.

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  • CCHR Briefing Note – April 2014 Freedom of Association for Unions

    • Released Date: 17-Apr-2014
    • Publication: Report
    CCHR Briefing Note – April 2014 Freedom of Association for Unions

    This Briefing Note focuses on the right to freedom of association for unions in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”), through examining the current status of freedom of association in the country; considering the drafting of the Law on Trade Unions (the “Law”), which the Royal Government of Cambodia (the “RGC”) has pledged to adopt by the end of 2014; and offering concrete recommendations to the RGC on the draft Law to ensure it complies with international human rights standards and guarantees the right to freedom of association.

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  • Crackdown in Cambodia: Workers Seeking Higher Wages Meet Violent Repression (Published by Worker Rights Consortium)

    • Released Date: 24-Mar-2014
    • Publication: Report
    Crackdown in Cambodia: Workers Seeking Higher Wages Meet Violent Repression (Published by Worker Rights Consortium)

    On January 2 and 3, 2014, Cambodian security forces engaged in deadly attacks on protesting garment workers in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh. The country’s military police killed at least four people and injured at least 38 by firing assault rifles at workers who were protesting outside garment factories, demanding higher wages. (This report is available only in English version)

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  • Better Factories Cambodia Transparency Database Report (Published by ILO-BFC)

    • Released Date: 17-Mar-2014
    • Publication: Report
    Better Factories Cambodia Transparency Database Report (Published by ILO-BFC)

    With the launch of Better Factories Cambodia’s online Transparency Database, BFC returns to its earlier practice of disclosing compliance information about individual garment factories.

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  • CCHR Launches New Business and Human Rights Portal and Releases Updated Data on Garment Factories and Supply Chains in Cambodia

    • Released Date: 28-Feb-2014
    • Publication: Press Release
    CCHR Launches New Business and Human Rights Portal and Releases Updated Data on Garment Factories and Supply Chains in Cambodia

    The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) launches today – 28 February 2014 –a new Business and Human Rights Web Portal and releases updated data on garment factories and supply chains in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”). The Business and Human Rights Portal and the updated database on garment factories in Cambodia are available on CCHR’s award-winning Cambodian Human Rights Web Portal at www.sithi.org.

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  • Fact Sheet: CINTRI Rubbish Collectors’ Protest

    • Released Date: 24-Feb-2014
    • Publication: Factsheet
    Fact Sheet: CINTRI Rubbish Collectors’ Protest

    The recent rubbish collectors’ protests and subsequent negotiations with CINTRI demonstrated restraint on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia (the ‘’RGC’’), and highlighted how, with dialogue and compromise between all parties, collective strike action can be resolved peacefully in the Kingdom of Cambodia (‘’Cambodia’’).

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  • A Week that Shook Cambodia (Published by Asia Monitor Resource Centre)

    • Released Date: 22-Feb-2014
    • Publication: Report
    A Week that Shook Cambodia (Published by Asia Monitor Resource Centre)

    This report is written and published by Asia Monitor Resource Centre following a fact-finding after the general strike and violent crackdown during December 2013 and January 2014. The report found that the demand of Cambodian workers to lift the minimum wage to US$ 160 is fair and reasonable, as their real wages have been stagnant despite their tremendous contribution to Cambodia’s economic growth. The ineffective response of the Labour Advisory Committee in meeting this demand has compelled the majority of workers to strike and protest. The disproportionate use of force by the government to suppress these legitimate protests demonstrate that the government is more concerned with protecting the interests and profits of the employers of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia than protecting the workers’ rights to a decent living wage, freedom of association and other basic human rights.

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  • Fact Sheet: Fundamental Freedoms Series: Union Membership

    • Released Date: 31-Jan-2014
    • Publication: Factsheet
    Fact Sheet: Fundamental Freedoms Series: Union Membership

    Freedom of association is protected under provisions of domestic and international law. Despite this, widespread violations of freedom of association frequently occur throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia (‘’Cambodia’’), which is increasingly regarded as a dangerous country in which to be a trade unionist. In October 2013 the International Labour Organization (the ‘’ILO’’) named Cambodia as one of three country cases that were the most serious and urgent regarding freedom of association.

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  • Policy Brief: The Garment Industry in Cambodia: “Workers’ Rights are Human Rights”

    • Released Date: 19-Jan-2014
    • Publication: Report
    Policy Brief: The Garment Industry in Cambodia: “Workers’ Rights are Human Rights”

    Over the past two decades, the garment industry in Cambodia has grown exponentially and is now one of the most important industries in Cambodia, representing a large share of the country’s GDP and employing over 475,000 people. Although the early years of the industry saw substantial improvements in the respect for labor rights and working conditions in the factories, placing Cambodia as a leader in the garment manufacturing industry, these trends seem to have reversed in the past several years and the human rights situation with regards to the garment industry is showing signs of decline. This Policy Brief aims to outline the current state of human rights in relation to the garment industry in Cambodia and offers recommendations for reforms that would substantially improve the situation.

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  • CCHR Briefing Note on Excessive Use of Force against Demonstrators in 2013 in Cambodia

    • Released Date: 03-Jan-2014
    • Publication: Report
    CCHR Briefing Note on Excessive Use of Force against Demonstrators in 2013 in Cambodia

    2013 saw an upsurge in the number of demonstrations in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”), with hundreds of thousands of people taking their complaints to the public forum. From protests by garment workers and victims of forced evictions, to rallies by the political opposition, the end of the year was marked by daily news of demonstrations.

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