Definitions and methodology

Definitions: While some categories of media violations are self-explanatory, CCHR provides a definition of the following categories:

• Attack: violence was used against a media worker in retaliation of their journalistic work, while they were researching, intending to publish or publishing a story, or after the publication of a story;

• Harassment: a journalist was insulted, excessively monitored, threatened, intimidated or generally prevented from undertaking their journalistic work;

• Confiscation: a journalist’s material and/or private property was confiscated to prevent their journalistic work;

• Threat of criminal procedure: a journalist was threatened with criminal charges in the course of them researching or intending to publish a story, or in respect of the content of a story already published.

• Arrest: a journalist was arrested in the course of them researching or intending to publish a story, or in respect of the content of a story already published;

• Detention: a journalist was detained in the course of them researching or intending to publish a story, or in respect of the content of a story already published;

• Forced signature of agreement: a journalist was forced or pressured to sign a document in which they agree to stop their reporting activities with respect to a specific story;

• Charge: a journalist was charged in the course of them researching or intending to publish a story, or in respect of the content of a story already published;

• Conviction: a journalist was convicted in respect of the content of a story already published.

Methodology: Data presented in this portal was taken from CCHR’s report “The State of Freedom of Expression, Press Freedom and Access to Information in Cambodia”, in the section pertaining to press freedom. The information contained in this report was compiled using data systematically recorded from several sources. To report on the current situation regarding the rights to freedom of expression, press freedom, and access to information, desk research was conducted to present the international and domestic legal framework pertaining to these rights. A desk review in the form of legal analyses of the Sub-Decree on the Establishment of a National Gateway (“NIG Sub-Decree”) and of the draft Law on Access to Information (“draft Law on A2I”) was also carried out to assess their compliance with international human rights standards.

The data used in the report was gathered through daily media monitoring and through the collection of incident reports by CCHR’s Fundamental Freedoms and Monitoring Project (“FFMP”). This data was complemented with additional data recorded by the ARC and FoEX projects whenever needed. The report also includes case studies on key violations of freedom of expression, press freedom, and access to information, for which information was gathered from available internet sources.