The timeline below offers a visual representation of some of the key human rights violations and restrictions which have occurred in the Kingdom of Cambodia from 2013-2023, and follows our previous timeline covering 1993-2012 which can still be accessed here. The incidents recorded on the timeline from 2013-2023 represent human rights violations by the Royal Government of Cambodia as well as third parties, cover a wide range of issues including extrajudicial killings, convictions of human rights defenders, land grabs, forced evictions, restrictions of the rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression, torture, arrests, arbitrary detention and legislative and institutional developments relevant to human rights. The information is gathered from the Khmer and English media, CCHR’s own Fundamental Freedoms Monitoring Project, and from the commentary and analysis of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working on these issues. Each entry is accompanied by a short description and provides links to media articles reporting on the event or to the work of CSOs active in the field. It should not be forgotten that the cases included in the timeline are those that have garnered the attention of the media or CSOs, and are as such particularly emblematic or high-profile. The timeline is therefore only representative of a small fraction of the actual number of human rights violations occurring in Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
A rights group, Housing Rights Task Force, has reported that Sangkat authorities at Phsar Deum Thkov district threatened a shop owner who had lent his premises to the group for communities to undergo training and education in connection with their land and housing rights. Members of the community believe the threats were an attempt to deter them.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
Sok Odom, 22, was arrested for allegedly cutting a picture of Prime Minister Hun Sen out of a CPP billboard in Tonle Basac commune in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district.
Khmer Times | VOA | Freshesh News | PPP
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Banteay Meanchey
Convictions of human rights defenders
Choa Veasna, former commune chief of CNRP, and seven others were sentenced by the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court to five years in jail for a violent incident in Poipet town three years ago. Two others charged with them were acquitted. The former commune chief and the other seven were also ordered to pay a total amount of $15,000 for the damage done to the custom office building and several cars. Veasna was charged with causing damage and incitement to commit felony.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
Ms. Chak Sopheap, Executive Director of CCHR, and Mr. Meas Kimseng, director of the STT, appeared for questioning before the investigating judge at PP Municipal Court in the case of Kem Sokha.
VOA | Fresh News | PPP | Fresh News ENG | Fresh News KH
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Phnom Penh
Torture, arrests and illegal detentions
The Appeal Court denied bail to former Cambodia National Rescue Party leader Kem Sokha for the second time, leaving him jailed on treason charges for allegedly conspiring with the US to topple the government. Bail was reportedly denied on the grounds that the case is still under investigation and he could cause trouble if released. Kem Sokha was eventually released on bail and put under house arrest in September 2018.
Fresh News | Khmer Times | VOA Hot | PPP
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training filed a lawsuit against the Cambodian Confederation of Unions (CCU)'s president Rong Chhun, accusign him of inciting workers against the NSSF, arguing that it did not do enough for workers who faced occupational risks.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
The Ministries of Interior, Information and Posts and Telecommunications released an inter-ministerial regulation (Prakas) on the “management of the dissemination of news and information through websites and social media networks”. Under the stated aim of countering and preventing “the spread of information that can cause social chaos and threaten national security”, the Prakas sets out a mass-surveillance system of all online activities, focusing on social medias. It creates an inter-ministerial surveillance task force operating without any judicial supervision, and allows legal action to be taken for online users whose activities are perceived as “incitement, breaking solidarity, discrimination and willfully creating turmoil”. It also permits the shutdown of websites and social media pages found to be disseminating “offensive contents”. Finally, it s all Internet Service Providers “install software programs and equip internet surveillance tools to easily filter and block any social media accounts or pages” deemed illegal.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
A number of staff members of organizations working on human rights and social issues were summonsed to appear in the Kem Sokha trial by the investigating judge at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court summoned. Those summonsed are: 1 Mr. Sia Phearum (former ED of HRTF) on 12/6/18 . 2 Mr. Keo Rotana (former radio host of 93.5 FM and CNRP staff radio) on 15/6/18. 3 Mr. Khoeun Virath (former CNRP PP rep) on 13/6/18. 4 Mr. Meas Kimseng (former STT staff) on 7/6/18. 5 Mr. Heng Piseth (SBN rep) on 13/6/18. 6 Mr. Kry Song (former CCHR staff) on 5/6/18. 7 Mr. Pa Nguon Teang (former CCHR staff/current CCIM ED) on 9/6/18. 8 Mrs. Chak Sopheap (current CCHR ED) on 7/6/18.
PPP | Fresh News ENG | Fresh News KH | Khmer Times | PPP
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Phnom Penh
Physical and judicial threats against journalists and or human rights defenders
Labour rights advocate and executive director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (Central) Moeun Tola was been questioned by Phnom Penh Municipal Court over embezzlement allegations relating to the funeral funds of slain political analyst Kem Ley. The judge is to decide if the matter will proceed to trial.
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Oddar Meanchey
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
Civil society organization Licadho and United Nations were prevented from investigating a land dispute involving 122 families living in the Anlong commune by officials Anlong Veng district authorities in Oddar Meanchey province, and were blocked by the authorities from meeting people and investigating the situation.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
The government has ordered all domestic and international internet traffic in the Kingdom to pass through a Data Management Centre (DMC) that has been newly created by the state-owned Telecom Cambodia, which participates to the creation of a mass-surveillance system. This negatively impacts individuals' privacy, and could be used to target perceived opponents and activists.
Fresh News | Khmer Times | PPP | Wakelet | Fresh News Asia | Reuters | SBS
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
More than 200 community members from Koh Kong Province who petitioned ministry officials the previous evening and who stayed at Samakki Raingsey pagoda overnight were blocked by about 40 police and para police when they attempted to walk the 5 km stretch back to the ministry on the next day. The protestors were violently shoved and jostled by security forces, including those carrying individuals carrying babies and children.
Wakelet | Fresh News Asia | Reuters | SBS | Fresh News | PPP
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Kampong Thom
Torture, arrests and illegal detentions
Kampong Thom provincial police detained a 50-year old primary school teacher for insulting the King in a post on Facebook. In his comment, Navy blamed the King and the Cambodian royal family for the dissolution of Cambodia National Rescue Party in 2017 as well as “loss of Khmer land”. The teacher admitted to making these comments. Cambodia's Criminal Code stipulates that the crime of insulting the King will incur one to five years imprisonment and a fine of between $500 to $2,500. At date of publication, he remained in pre-trial detention.
Fresh News | Fresh News KH | Khmer Times | PPP | Fresh News | PPP
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Phnom Penh
Convictions of human rights defenders
The Appeal Court uphheld the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s insurrection verdict, sentencing Meach Sovannara, and 10 other CNRP members to 7-20 years of imprisonment for their involvement in the protest which followed the 2013 elections . All the defendants have the rights to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Fresh News EN | Khmer Times | PPP | PPP
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Mondulkiri
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
Ten representatives of the Bunong indigenous group from five districts in Mondulkiri were questioned by the police for their attempt to seek intervention from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s cabinet over the loss of sacred land in a land dispute. The representatives were stopped at a check point en route to attempt to petition the cabinet and were held in the district police station for over an hour.
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
The Phnom Penh Post, an independent newspaper publishing articles on social issues and human rights, was sold to a Malaysian Public Relations company, Asia PR, directed by Sivakumar S Ganapathy. The company provides “covert PR” and lists among its work for governments: “Cambodia and Hun Sen’s entry to the Government seat”. The purchase raised concerns about the continuing independence of the newspaper, and rumours were spread about journalists being instructed not to criticize the government. Shortly after the sale, its editor in chief was fired after refusing to take down an article linking the new owner with the RGC. Senior staff and many journalists subsequently resigned.In early July 2018, Sivakumar S Ganapathy was replaced as chairman of the Board of Directors by Ly Tayseng (aka Ly Tay Seng ), a Cambodian lawyer who represented Sivakumar S Ganapathy during The Phnom Penh Post’s sale. He appears to have close ties to the RGC. Between 2005 and 2015, he acted as the “Legal and Political Researcher and Analyst at the General Secretariat of the Supreme National Economic Council (SNEC) under the auspices of the Prime Minister's Cabinet”, and his law firm, HBS Law, emphasizes its “cooperative relationships with government”.
Fresh News ENG | Fresh News KH | Khmer Times | PPP | VOA | RFA
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
The authorities claimed that the creation and distribution of a CNRP leaflet calling for an election boycott would violate both Article 34 of the Constitution and Article 142 of the Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly and that legal action will be taken against Sam Rainsy and towards anyone who distributes the leaflets, both in person and online.
Fresh News | PPP | Fresh News | PPP
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Preah Sihanouk
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
A former Cambodia National Rescue Party activist, Sao Osaphea, was summoned for questioning by the local commune chief for allegedly insulting the Prime Minister in a Facebook post which contained a poem making a reference to a “brutal thief with one eye”. She was asked to sign an agreement promising to stop using social media to “insult the government official” and to “stop criticizing using bad words” in the future.
ppp | PPP | Fresh News
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Phnom Penh
Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, assembly and association
Phnom Penh City Hall denied union requests to march through the city to mark International Labour Day. City officials cited traffic and public safety concerns in rejecting the unions’ plans to march from the Council for the Development of Cambodia near Wat Phnom to the National Assembly and recommended that the group hold it at the new Freedom Park instead, far from the city centre.
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Koh Kong
Land rights and forced evictions
Local authorities set an April 25 ultimatum for the Chong people to dismantle their community headquarters in the Areng Valley district as they are not officially recognized as an indigenous group. Villagers argue this is an attempt by authorities to deliberately disrupt their application to secure indigenous peoples status. Some authorities are afraid the land can’t be sold out when the people obtain the status of minority indigenous people. As a result, the application process have been repeatedly stalled. Petitions have been filed to the United Nations and embassies in Phnom Penh by the villagers.