2013-05-02 -
The Boeung Kak community and the undersigned civil society groups call for the inclusion of all remaining families into the 12.44ha concession area by the former lake. A new plan unveiled today by the community shows in detail how this could be achieved in a just and equitable fashion....
2013-05-01 -
May 1, 2013‐ On this International Labor Day, we, the undersigned civil society groups call upon all international garment brands sourcing from Cambodia to publicly denounce two recent baseless judicial decisions related to the garment sector. The first is the recent imprisonment of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun. The two men were scapegoated and wrongly convicted in the 2004 murder of labor leader Chea Vichea. The second is the government’s failure to appropriately prosecute Chhouk Bandith, a well- connected former town governor who shot and severely injured three female garment factory workers.
2013-04-12 -
CCHR, CLEC and the NGO Forum on Cambodia release a Mini-Report following the Roundtable
Discussion on “Investment Projects and Land Concessions” held on 29 March 2013, during which the new General Manager of Koh Kong Sugar Industry Co Ltd announced the return of disputed land....
Discussion on “Investment Projects and Land Concessions” held on 29 March 2013, during which the new General Manager of Koh Kong Sugar Industry Co Ltd announced the return of disputed land....
2013-03-27 -
March 27, 2013 - LICADHO, Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT), Equitable Cambodia (EC), and Community Legal Education Centre (CLEC) express their deep disappointment at the Supreme Court’s failure to release Boeung Kak land rights activist Yorm Bopha on bail....
2013-03-14 -
Phnom Penh (March 14, 2013) – We, the undersigned civil society groups, welcome the Court of Appeal’s long-overdue decision today to release independent radio station owner Mam Sonando and his two co-appellants, Touch Ream and Kan Sovann, but caution that a long road remains to rehabilitate Cambodia’s democracy ahead of National Assembly elections in July....
2013-01-18 -
We, the undersigned members of civil society, international
labor support organizations and trade unions express our extreme discontent
that Kingsland factory owners have failed to attend conciliation regarding
outstanding payments of almost US$200,000 owed to Kingsland employees.
...
2012-12-27 -
We, the undersigned organizations, condemn in the strongest terms the unexpected decision by Appeals Court Judges Chhoun Sunleng, Seng Sivutha and Khoun Leang Meng to uphold the Phnom Penh court’s grossly unfair verdict against Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun. The two were arrested by Ministry of Interior police officers in the hearing room and sent back to jail earlier this morning....
2012-12-10 -
Phnom Penh, December 8, 2012- Nearly 62,000 Cambodians will
gather on Dec. 8, 9 & 10 to mark International Human Rights Day (IHRD) –
including hundreds who will convene another day in front of the National
Assembly in Phnom Penh to present petitions to the country’s lawmakers....
2012-11-15 -
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, strongly urge the Cambodian authorities to immediately end the ongoing intimidation, threats and harassment of organizers, venue owners and participants involved in civil society events in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh ahead of the 21st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the 7th East Asia Summit. We strongly urge the Cambodian authorities to respect the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly in accordance with their constitutional and international obligations, in particularly in view of rising concern that it will heighten its crackdown on these fundamental freedoms ahead of the two summits....
2012-10-11 -
The 31 participants of this workshop drawn from
Asian National Human Rights Institutions from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia,
Timor Leste, Myanmar and South Korea and supportive civil society
organisations, met in Phnom Penh between the 9th and 11th October 2012, to review national and regional progress
with putting into effect the Bali Declaration on Human Rights and Agribusiness,
convened by the Indonesian Human Rights Commission Komnas HAM, with the support
of Forest Peoples Programme and SawitWatch, and hosted by the Community Legal
Education Centre. ...
2012-10-01 -
"This is a significant blow to freedom of speech
in Cambodia," said Mr. Yeng Virak, Executive Director of Community Legal
Education Center (CLEC). “That’s not only because this verdict silences Mam
Sonando – and potentially impact on his radio station – but because it also has
a chilling effect on others." ...
2012-09-06 -
Phnom Penh (September
6, 2012) –
In the past
three days, the
Phnom Penh Municipal
Court has ordered the
unjustified pre-trial detention
of two female
land rights advocates
in unrelated cases. These two incidents are the latest in
a long string of incidents in which the courts have been wielded as a weapon to
silence victimized communities.
2012-08-15 -
Phnom Penh (August 15, 2012) – We, the undersigned civil society groups, deeply regret the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s decision to pursue politically-motivated charges against outspoken human rights worker Chan Soveth for legitimate actions related to his work.
...
2012-07-31 -
Southeast Asian Civil Society Groups Highlight Increasing Rights Violations Online, Call for Improvements to Internet Governance Processes in the Region
We, the undersigned civil society delegates from Southeast Asia who attended and participated in the 2012 Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) on 18-20 July 2012 in Tokyo, Japan, make this statement upon the conclusion of the meeting to highlight the concerns that we raised throughout the forum....
2012-07-16 -
Phnom
Penh (July 16, 2012) – The undersigned organizations are deeply disturbed
by independent radio station director
Mam Sonando’s arrest on Sunday, July 15, 2012, and call for his immediate
release. Mr. Sonando, who holds both Cambodian and French citizenship, is the
owner of Beehive Radio, which is among the few independent radio stations in
Cambodia. Sonando is also the founder and president of the Democrat
Association.
2012-06-27 -
Phnom Penh, June 27, 2012 - We, the above organizations, welcome the release today of the 13 jailed Boeung Kak (BK) representatives but strongly condemn police violence against BK residents trying to reach the appeal court and regret that the convictions against the 13 were upheld despite the government’s failure, again, to present any evidence of the alleged crimes. ...
2012-03-15 -
Civil Society Urges Authorities to Arrest the Shooter Behind Last Month's Tragedy in Svay Rieng's Manhattan Special Economic Zone "Every Khmer citizen shall be equal before the Law" – Cambodia's Constution, Article 31
...
2012-01-03 -
The destruction of these homes marks yet another sad turn for a development that was once promoted as a model alternative to the eviction and off-‐site relocation of the Phnom Penh’s urban poor....
2011-08-30 -
We, representatives of the undersigned members of civil
society and private sector groups, support national development that is
equitable, inclusive, and sustainable. We believe national development should
contribute not only to the growth of commerce and industry but also to the
welfare of the wider population. Civil society actors, both local and foreign,
play a vital role in this development through monitoring, community development,
poverty alleviation, humanitarianism, research, and advocacy. In promoting equitable
development and good governance, we also have a right and a responsibility to speak
out when development projects have harmful effects.
2011-08-18 -
CCHR, CLEC and LICADHO condemn today’s mass detention of
peaceful activists in Phnom Penh, in which police detained over 100 villagers
for distributing environmental fliers.
2011-05-08 -
ADHOC, CLEC and LICADHO strongly condemn the government’s brutal dispersal of union garment workers in Phnom Penh on Sunday morning during an ongoing strike over a labor dispute that begun with the recent burning of the workers’ factory. The protest left at least eight workers injured, some seriously.
...
2011-03-15 -
The Government of Cambodia proposes to enact a new Trade
Union law, the first in the country’s history. In principle this is a very
positive development. However, the most recent draft of the proposed
legislation raises serious concerns about the content of the legislation as it
affects the rights, responsibilities and protection of the Trade Union movement
and its members in Cambodia.
2013-05-18 -
On Monday February 20, 2012, an unidentified male shot three female factory workers while a protest was taking place in front of the Kaoway factory in the Manhatten Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) of Bavet District, Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia. The main purchaser from the Kaoway factory was, and still is, Puma SE, the German based athletic shoe company. The unidentified male was later recognized to be the Bavet town governor, Chhouk Bandith. Even after admitting to the authorities that he was the shooter, Chhouk Bandith’s arrest was first delayed, and then the Court of First Instance promptly dropped the charges....
2013-05-16 -
Only hours after international brands signed onto the Bangladesh Building and Fire Safety Agreement, a building collapse at Asics supplier, Wing Star Shoes Co. Ltd has claimed the lives of at least 3 Cambodian garment workers, injured at least 10 and left many more unaccounted for....
2013-05-02 -
The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) would like to express its extreme dissatisfaction with the current result of garment industry wage negotiations. Further, CLEC commends the draft law put forward by Opposition lawmaker, Mr. Son Chhay which proposes a monthly minimum wage of US$150 for Cambodian garment workers. We support and commend the draft as a prominent step towards the institution of a living wage in Cambodia. Further, in light of the upcoming election we encourage trade confederations to help their members to familiarize themselves with the proposed legislation and the benefits it would provide them.
...2013-04-26 -
The
Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) shares our deepest sorrows and sadness
with the factory workers and factory workers' families for their loss and
suffering experienced in this tragic time. We condemn the utter disregard taken
towards the health and safety of the factory workers in the factories housed in
the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, a suburb of the Bangladesh
capital of Dhaka.
2013-02-27 -
The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) would like to express its concern for the health and well-being of workers at Kingsland Garment Cambodia Ltd. Yesterday, workers issued a letter to Walmart and H&M representatives informing that they will commence a hunger strike on Thursday, 28 February, 2013.
...
...
2013-02-07 -
The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) toughly condemns the violent crackdown on the peaceful strike at E-Garment factory on Wednesday 6 February, 2013. At 10am, striking workers at the factory located in Kandal Province were attacked by 30 military police officers. Seven of the women workers were injured. One woman who is 5 months pregnant had to be taken to hospital for treatment....
2013-01-30 -
The Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) and the Workers Information Center (WIC) are appalled at the response from international retail giants, Walmart and H&M, who refuse to accept any responsibility for the almost US$200,000 in lost wages and indemnity owed to former employees Kingsland Garment (Cambodia) Ltd....
2013-01-19 -
On January 18, international human rights and labor groups
released at statement expressing support and seeking redress for some 200
garment workers locked in a dispute with Kingsland Garment Cambodia Ltd., a
supplier of the global clothing brands Walmart and H&M. The workers are
owed approximately $200,000 in wages and indemnity by Kingsland, a Hong
Kong-based company.
...
...
2012-12-11 -
According to reports of a meeting between officials from
Thailand and Cambodia the Thai Ministry of Labor confirmed preparations were
underway to urgently deport 165,000 Cambodian migrant workers who have not
completed the National Verification Process prior to December 14, 2012....
2012-11-22 -
Last week on 15 November, 2012, the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) monitored yet another incident of mass fainting in the Cambodian garment industry. Over two days more than 140 Cambodian garment workers fainted in factories located in Phnom Penh’s, Vattanac Industrial Park II. Among the factories implicated were Moha Garments Co. Ltd, Dongdu Textile (Cambodia) Co. Ltd, Papillion Textile (Cambodia) Co. Ltd and Newpex Co. Ltd....
2012-10-17 -
CLEC Condolence to the King Father Norodom Sihanouk....
2012-09-06 -
As a victim of labor trafficking, Sokleang is not in a proper mental state. She was a normal girl before working as a maid in Malaysia in 2005. Sokleang was 15 years old when she was recruited for domestic work. ...
2012-08-30 -
ILO – Better Factories Cambodia to keep
brands accountable for poverty wages
2012-07-04 -
In Cambodia today, hundreds of thousands of people are being alienated from their homes, farmlands, forests and fisheries as the country’s ruling elites and foreign investors plunder the country for private profit in the name of ‘development’. In rural areas, more than 2 million hectares – 12 percent of Cambodia’s total landmass – has been granted to private companies as concessions for the development of agro-industrial plantations....
2012-05-08 -
Those workers unlawfully removed by Phatthana staff report they were persuaded by fraudulent phone calls from Phatthana office staff, required to pay fees of up to and exceeding 6,000 baht, and consequently smuggled into Thailand illegally without documentation of any kind...
2012-04-13 -
Earlier this month, in a factory in Thailand that processes shrimp for a major supplier to Walmart there was a revolt.2,000 guest workers from Cambodia and Myanmar angrily protested the seizure of their passports by factory owners in Thailand. Police were called. Shots were fired.
...
2012-01-25 -
CLEC staff yesterday monitored the incidents of fainting at the King First Industrial Co. Ltd factory after yet another spate of mass fainting in Cambodian garment workers. ...
2011-09-09 -
CCHR, LICADHO and CLEC condemn efforts on the part of Kampong Thom province and Sandan district officials to impose conditions on human rights activities above and beyond that provided for in law. Such conditions have no basis in law and any attempts to impose such conditions are in flagrant disregard of the human rights of the people of Kampong Thom province as well as others who travel to that province to participate in activities in the promotion and protection of human rights....
2011-05-01 -
Currently, the gap between the minimum wage and Asia Floor Wage is almost 1:2, in the best case scenario – showing that the minimum wage is far from a minimum living wage.
...
2006-07-18 -
The Victims: Group 78 Community Members
- Nearly 150 families living on a plot of land known as “Group 78” near the Bassac River in Phnom Penh are facing an eviction deadline of Friday, July 21.
- This community has lived in Group 78 since the early 1980s. Since then, they have cultivated the land, built structures on the land, and used the land as collateral for loans.
- The families have good documents demonstrating their firm right to possess and occupy the land. In the early 1990s, commune and local authorities issued some families receipts recognizing their occupation of the land.
- If evicted, these families will be removed to barren fields more than 20 kilometers from the city center, with no basic sanitation services, no sources of food or potable water, and no access to schools, hospitals or jobs.