Human rights
Economic, social and cultural rights
Villagers affected by dam meet with government officials
Villagers from Stung Treng whose homes stand to be flooded by the Lower Sesan II dam met with representatives of the Ministry of Mines and Energy at an NGO Forum-sponsored meeting in Phnom Penh on March 9, in hopes of establishing a dialogue towards a ...
Floating villages to be grounded
A government minister has sounded the death knell for Tonle Sap picturesque floating villages after outlining a long-term plan to rehome all those living on the lake. Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon on March 9 told Khmer Times he wants to relocate thousands of families living on ...
MoE not responsible for religious content in textbooks
The Ministry of Education has responded to criticisms on social media that new civic education textbooks have included the four great religions – Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism – by denying it is responsible for the curriculum. “The texts books are not from our departments. ...
Thailand ‘unaffected by US report’
Foreign minister Don Pramudwinai on March 5 said the US 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices will not effect Thailand even though the annual report criticised the ruling junta for curbing rights and freedoms in the Kingdom. “The report does criticise the current limited freedom of ...
Agreement to conserve Mekong River fish
Cambodia and Laos have formed a joint committee aimed at preserving and increasing the population of freshwater fish in the Mekong River. The committee was formed because of declining fish stocks in part due to illegal fishing and the construction of hydropower dams. In a ...
Law needed to regulate Thai investors’ abuses abroad: Thai, Myanmar groups
Community groups in Thailand and Myanmar have urged protection of human rights and prevention of environmental impacts – after Thai entrepreneurs were reported to have carried out abusive and environmentally damaging acts in neighbouring countries. Some 27 Thai non-government groups and the Dawei Development Association, a ...
World Bank aid for poor
The World Bank has approved provision of $20 million to help poor and vulnerable families in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh increase their income, build skills and construct small-scale community infrastructure. The bank’s board of executive directors approved the funding for the Livelihood Enhancement and Association ...
Concerns accounted for in Xayaboury hydropower development, EU told
All concerns have been taken into account in the development of the Xayaboury run-off-river hydropower plant the project developer recently relayed to European Union Ambassador to Laos, Leon Paul Faber. The ambassador, who took office in September last year, and his delegates visited the construction ...
Illegal land titles emerge as outstanding issue in Vientiane
Illegal issuance of land titles has emerged as an outstanding problem in Vientiane over the past year with the illegal titles involved in a total land area of 506,662 square metres, an official report has suggested. The finding was discovered after authorities carried out inspections ...
Abandoned veterans’ land-grab nightmare
The scheme sounded good for the 240 disabled and retired army and police veterans and their families. The government built homes for them and promised a plot nearby on which to plant crops and support themselves. But five years later they are still without their land. ...
