LIBRARY

22 May 2014

The trial of 23 workers and human rights activists continues today at the Phnom Penh Court. The trial has now reached its fifth day and proceedings are scheduled to start at 8am.

21 May 2014

The trial of 23 workers and human rights activists continues today at the Phnom Penh Court. The trial has now reached its fourth day and proceedings are scheduled to start at 8am.

19 May 2014

Tomorrow morning, the trial of 23 workers and human rights activists will resume at the Phnom Penh Court. The trial has now reached its third day and proceedings are scheduled to start at 8am.

6 May 2014

The trial of 25 workers and human rights activists resumes today. The first day of the hearings on April 25 came to an abrupt end mid-afternoon when prison guards interrupted proceedings to transport those who had not been released on bail back to CC1 prison. The hearings are scheduled to resume at 8am.

1 May 2014

Today's planned union gatherings in Phnom Penh to mark International Workers’ Day look set to face severe restrictions by authorities. LICADHO will be livestreaming developments as they happen.

24 April 2014

On 25 April 2014, the trials of the 23 men arrested during the government’s suppression of labor strikes in early January will take place at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. The hearing of two further individuals, who were arrested during violent clashes between garment workers and armed forces on 12 November 2013 will also take place at the Municipal Court.

LICADHO will be livestreaming events as they happen from inside and outside the court.

8 March 2014

Today, March 8, 2014, factory workers, unions, and other members of civil society are planning to gather at the Freedom Park for a public forum on minimum wage and Women's Right. Follow our livestream as events unfold.

9 February 2014

LICADHO has compiled a timeline summarizing the series of event leading to and following the January 2-3-4, 2014, lethal clampdown on labour and political demonstrations in Cambodia's capital.

28 January 2014

Today, the United Nations will conduct a Universal Periodical Review (UPR) of Cambodia to look into some of the key human rights issues affecting the country, from systematic attacks against human rights defenders to labour trafficking and obstacles against basic freedoms such as right to assembly and expression. LICADHO, by itself and with partners, has contributed to this process by submitting a number of documents.

8 December 2013

As thousands of people gather across Cambodia to celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD), LICADHO will also be celebrating with prisoners in 18 prisons across Cambodia.

LICADHO will organize basic food package distribution to more than 13,000 prisoners in 18 Cambodian prisons,1 including nutrient drinks and snacks. LICADHO will provide a more comprehensive care package to four prisoners that LICADHO considers human rights defenders. LICADHO will also organize entertainment for prisoners, such as traditional dancing and music.

27 November 2013

As the international community celebrates the 16 Days of Activism to End Gender Violence from November 25 to December 10th, we, the undersigned civil society groups, call on the government to end violence against women perpetrated by its agents.

15 October 2013

In Cambodia today there are many young children living in prison with their mothers 1 yet there is little understanding amongst authorities and society at large of the short and long term impact of prison life on children. In this, Cambodia is not alone – to date there are only a few studies of the effects on children who spend their early years behind bars.

Prisoners are among the most marginalized groups in any society, and Cambodia is no different. They are cut off from society, both physically and emotionally. This is especially devastating for children who are not prisoners but are too often treated as such. The reality of Cambodian prisons is harsh for anyone, but for a child it can be devastating.

4 September 2013

Today marks one year of detention since the arrest of Boeung Kak activist and prisoner of conscience Yorm Bopha. This video tells her story, from her strong stance in support of detained community members to her arrest and groundless conviction.

25 June 2013

Cambodian Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) and Cambodian League for the Promotion & Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) welcome the conviction of former Bavet governor Chhouk Bandith for shooting three garment workers last year, but condemn the light sentence – one-and-a-half years in prison – for actions that amounted an attempted triple-homicide.

The sentence is little more than a slap on the wrist, and is emblematic of Cambodia’s pervasive culture of impunity for the well-connected elite.

22 May 2013

This year's Mothers Day coincided with the 250th day of imprisonment Yorm Bopha, a key Boeung Kak lake representative. The video highlight some of her activism and call for her release.

20 May 2013

We write to you to demand justice for Cambodian garment workers Ms. Bun Chenda, Ms. Keo Nea and Ms. Nuth Sakhorn.

On 20 February 2012, an unidentified male approached a group of around 6,000 workers in Manhattan Special Economic Zone (MSEZ). They were protesting the poverty wages and exploitation that epitomize the Cambodian garment industry. That man shot three young women aged 18 to 23 for requesting a pay increase of 50 cents per day. During the shooting the police did not assist the victims. It was fellow workers who aided them onto motorbikes to be taken to the hospital. Police officers aided the shooter’s escape by running alongside him to a neighbouring factory.

We watched as one of those young women, Ms. Bun Chenda, 21, struggled for her life at Calmette Hospital whilst money was thrown at her to buy her silence.

Signed by 43 NGOs from around the world.

8 May 2013

On the morning of May 8, 2013, Boeung Kak community activists gathered in front of the South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh to call for the release of Boeung Kak activist Yorm Bopha, declared Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty International earlier this year. The action was in solidarity with a similar gathering in front of the Cambodian Embassy in Seoul, where South Korean activists were joined by a visiting Boeung Kak community member. The simultaneous gatherings in the two countries each culminated in the supporters submitting letters calling for the release of Yorm Bopha to Embassy officials.

23 April 2013

There has been some recent confusion surrounding the criminal case against Boeung Kak community activist Yorm Bopha. The muddling of the facts causing this confusion has been no accident – it reflects an intentional campaign by the authorities, complete with plausible allegations of payments to counter-protestors and even a disturbing weighing-in by the Prime Minister himself. In reality the facts underlying Bopha’s unwarranted conviction are simple, and reveal beyond any doubt that the authorities have targeted her to create fear and self-censorship among the remaining active members of the beleaguered Boeung Kak community.

7 March 2013

The number of women and girls in Cambodian prisons continues to soar at an alarm-ing rate.

By mid-December 2012 there were 1,270 female inmates in the Cambodian prison system, an increase of 39% since December 2010. Women and girls represent 8% of prisoners in Cambodia but their incarceration rate has been growing four times faster than the male prison population.

26 February 2013

Today is Yorm Bopha’s 176th day in Correctional Center 2, a prison on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Bopha is a human rights defender from the Boeung Kak community who played an active role in the movement calling for the release of the Boeung Kak 13, a group of women who were imprisoned in May 2012 for defending their land rights. The 13 were released on June 27, but Bopha was arrested on Sept. 4, 2012, and accused of beating of a man in Boeung Kak. Though she maintains her innocence, Bopha was convicted on Dec. 26, 2012, and sentenced to three years in prison.

Since Bopha’s arrest, Boeung Kak residents and other supporters have staged approximately a dozen major protests calling for her release. This photo album documents some of these events.