Civil society
Civil society coalitions and cooperation
Human Rights Day protest stays peaceful
Close to 2,000 people, including monks, NGO workers and citizens, marched peacefully to the Ministry of Justice on 10 December morning, defying City Hall’s ban on the Human Rights Day protest. Demonstrators from 16 different provinces marched from three separate locations – the Senate, Chenla Cinema and ...
Human Rights Day marches gathering steam despite gov't obstacles
Authorities in Siem Reap on 9 December blocked a march celebrating International Human Rights Day (IHRD), as officials in Phnom Penh reiterated their threat to shut down a planned mass rally in the capital on 10 December. As IHRD, officially on 10 December, approaches, associated demonstrations across ...
People’s forum to meet this month
Strengthening links between government and people, the Myanmar People’s Forum will meet at Yangon’s International Business Centre from 15-16 December, executive director U Kyaw Lin Oo has announced. The forum brings together MPs, representatives of government and local civil society to get people’s voices heard. Keep reading ...
Civil society organisations to hold rally on 10 December
Civil society groups, unions, monks and activists are planning a thousands-strong march in Phnom Penh to deliver petitions to the National Assembly and Ministry of Justice to mark International Human Rights Day on 10 December. Keep reading ...
Cambodian CSO coalition letter ready for climate talks
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has produced a document laying out in detail the projected dire effects of climate change on Cambodia, in the hopes it will help their voice be heard among the 25,000 delegates attending the upcoming Paris Climate Talks in ...
ASEAN integration concerns aired at grassroots event
Hundreds gathered on 16 November in Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park for the fifth Cambodian Grassroots People’s Assembly, where they called for issues ranging from deforestation to democracy to be addressed ahead of ASEAN integration. About 700 people from the Cambodian Cross Sector Network, a group made up ...
Mekong locals seek a voice on Don Sahong
More than 6,400 residents of Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia have signed and thumb-printed a statement on the Don Sahong Dam project, airing concerns ranging from the river’s diminishing fish stocks to the lack of transparency of the Mekong River Commission. The statement, presented last week at ...
Cambodia uses terror as pretext: report
Cambodia has been named among states accused of using counter-terrorism measures to clamp down on human rights and civil society in a report released this week by the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism. Speaking in New York on 26 October, the British ...
Police block marchers on World Habitat Day
More than 1,000 demonstrators from about 50 communities across the country gathered Monday to mark U.N. World Habitat Day and protest against widespread land and housing evictions, but found their march blocked by municipal authorities, who claimed the protesters posed a risk to security. Beginning the ...
Coal plant proposed for pristine Thai coast sparks outcry
Plans to build an 800-megawatt coal power plant near some of Thailand’s most popular beaches have sparked protests and a hunger strike by activists who say officials aren’t considering its impact on the pristine environment that makes the area an international tourist destination. More than 100 members ...