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.

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.

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. 

Southeast Asian Civil Society Groups Highlight Increasing Rights Violations Online, Call for Improvements to Internet Governance Processes in the Region

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.

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. 

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  

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.

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.

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.

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.   

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.