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TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNS PROPOSED RESTRICTIONS ON CIVIL SOCIETY IN CAMBODIA
Transparency International strongly condemns a proposed law in Cambodia that has been criticised by domestic and international civil society organisations because it could greatly restrict the voice of the people. The Cambodian government is trying to quickly pass the Law on Association and Non-Governmental Organisations (LANGO) without properly consulting the public. Criticism is based on leaked drafts of the law as the government tried to keep the law’s contents secret until it was sent to the National Assembly. The proposed law is pernicious. It could be used to effectively stop the ability of NGOs to freely criticize government policies or public officials. It creates mandatory registration requirements for NGOs and gives the government the ability to disallow registration based on unclear criteria. The law also requires informal and grassroots organisations to register as NGOs or associations if they want to conduct activities, a real burden for them.
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CCHR welcomes the acquittal of a land activist in Koh Kong Province
CCHR welcomes the acquittal of Ms. Phav Nhieng, a community representative of the Preaek Chik village, Chi Kha Kraom commune, Srae Ambel district, Koh Kong province, involved in a heated land conflict with the Heng Huy Agriculture Group Co Ltd. Ms. Phav Nhieng was accused of poisoning and killing two cows belonging to the group, and charged with intentionally causing damage under article 410 of Cambodian Criminal Code.
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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014
Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy with an elected parliamentary form of government. In the most recent national elections held July 2013, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) won a majority of the 123 National Assembly seats. International and local nongovernmental organization (NGO) observers assessed the election process suffered numerous flaws, including problems with the voter registry, unequal access to the media, and the issuance of an unusually large number of temporary official identification cards to voters. Authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. The three leading human rights problems were the arbitrary suspension of the right to assemble in the capital, a politicized and ineffective judiciary, and constraints on freedom of press. Other human rights problems included continued prisoner abuse, pervasive corruption, ineffective governmental human rights bodies, and trafficking in persons. The government prosecuted some officials who committed abuses, but impunity for corruption and most abuses persisted. Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:Share
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States: Ensure Participation and Protection for Activists in Business and Human Rights Treaty Discussions
Geneva) - A forthcoming UN process to develop binding norms in the field of business and human rights should provide protection and space to contribute for human rights activists, a broad coalition of civil society groups say in a major new report. The report, submitted to the first session of the ‘Intergovernmental Working Group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights’, makes concrete recommendations to the Chair of the Working Group and States to put human rights defenders at the centre of the process of elaboration, and the substantive content, of a treaty on business and human rights.
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CCHR condemns the conviction of Ly Sreakheng, Mak Seavhoung and Ly Seavminh to suspended 6 months in prison
Yesterday, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of First Instance found Ly Sreakheng, Mak Seavhuong and their daughter Ly Seavminh guilty of using violence against a possessor in good faith of immovable property under Article 253 of the 2001 Land Law, and sentenced them to suspended 6 months in prison while acquitting Ly Bunheang. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) condemns the convictions as grounded on insufficient evidence.
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Cambodia: Government is intimidating civil society
With regard to the draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO), Mr. Uwe Kekeritz, Member of the German Parliament and Spokesperson for Development Cooperation expressed his concerns as follows: The draft LANGO presented by the government fails to meet the minimum international human rights standards. According to the content of the draft, the government aims to silence local and international civil society organizations that have been actively supporting Cambodian people in their struggle against land grabbing and human rights violations.
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Mother Nature’s activists arrested in Phnom Penh while attempting to protest against sand dredging activities in Koh Kong
Today at about 9am, Sorn Chandara, Dim Kundy and Chek Netra, three environmental activists of the network Mother Nature, were arrested while attempting to hold a peaceful demonstration in front of the National Assembly in Phnom Penh. Dit Sothy, a staff member of the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) who was monitoring the situation, was also put under arrest. Between twenty and twenty-five people were expected to attend, but the police intervened before demonstrators could gather, so impeding the demonstration.
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On Stony Ground: A Look into Social Land Concessions
June 24, 2015 - State-involved land conflicts have been one of the largest causes of human rights abuses in Cambodia for over a decade. Many of these abuses arose from disputes involving Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) and other land concessions awarded to private companies. On the eve of this great Cambodian land giveaway, in March 2003, the Cambodian government unveiled a potentially progressive land policy with the aim of transferring land to landless and poor Cambodians – Social Land Concessions (SLCs).
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On Stony Ground: A Look into Social Land Concessions
June 24, 2015 - In March 2003, the Cambodian government unveiled a potentially progressive policy with the aim of transferring land to landless and poor Cambodians – Social Land Concessions (SLCs). However, some of the first SLCs were implemented with a total disregard for the legal framework and failed miserably. LICADHO recently investigated the Land Allocation for Social and Economic Development (LASED) project which was meant to prove that SLCs could contribute to reducing rural poverty by transferring land to landless Cambodians for residential and farming purposes.
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Open Letter to Samdech Aka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
We, Women’s Groups from 6 Civil Society Organizations, working to promote gender equality in Cambodia, on behalf citizens and Cambodian women, would like to extend our appreciation to the Royal Government for the efforts to overcome all challenges to promote roles and the status of women in all sectors in Cambodia, especially through the introduction of a number of policies on gender mainstreaming including the Rectangular Strategy of the Royal Government, in which Angle No. 4 of the Rectangle 4 is on gender equality and the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals, which determine the number of women in leadership positions. In addition, Neary Ratanak 4, National Strategic Development Plan(2014-2018) and the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women (2014-2018) also highlight the importance of women in society.
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CCHR LANGO 5 the Draft Analysis
On 5 June 2015, the Council of Ministers discussed and adopted the fifth draft of the Law on Association and Non-Governmental Organizations (“LANGO”). The fifth draft has not been publicly circulated and was leaked to civil society organizations (“CSOs”) after the adoption of the text.
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