We, the undersigned organizations, would like to salute the courage and determination of union members from the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) and Cambodian National Confederation (CNC) who took part in a peaceful rally in front of the National Assembly on the morning of July 25, 2010, despite initial restrictions by Phnom Penh authorities. Between 3,500 and 4,500 union members gathered to demand a minimum wage increase that would meet minimum standards of living. We also welcome the late change of mind by the Phnom Penh police this morning to tolerate this peaceful assembly of workers.
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Cambodia’s prison population is in the midst of an unprecedented population boom. Just six years ago, the 18 prisons monitored by LICADHO were at roughly 100% of their collective capacity1. Since then, the population has exploded, growing at an average rate of 14% per year. Prison capacity has also increased, but not nearly enough to keep pace with growth.

The General Department of Prisons (GDP) reported in March 2010 that the entire prison system held 13,325 inmates - 167% of the system’s 8,000-inmate capacity. The 18 prisons LICADHO monitors, meanwhile, were filled to 175% of capacity as of June 2010. As of December 2009, one third of all Cambodian prisoners - over 4,000 - were in pretrial status.

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* Supreme Court Trial Upholds Defamation Verdict Against Opposition MP Mu Sochua * Donors Pledge $1.1 Billion in Aid at 2010 Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum * Government Appoints National Anti-Corruption Council * UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Makes Third Visit to Cambodia
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On June 15th, 2010, 350 community representatives from 24 provinces and municipalities - including ethnic minority communities - gathered near Wat Botum pagoda to rally for land rights.

Most of the representatives were engaged in land disputes with companies who had received economic land concessions from the government. Some face eviction, while others are being prevented from entering waters where they normally make their living as fishermen. The rally aimed to draw attention to their plight, and to gather petitions to be delivered to Prime Minister Hun Sen. The representatives gathered three boxes full of petitions.

About 80 of the representatives from Memot Disrict, Kampong Cham, initially gathered in front of Wat Botum on June 14. They were dispersed by about 20 police and authorities and forced to leave Wat Botum. LICADHO and other NGOs provided food, accommodation, and mediated with authorities on their behalf. The authorities ordered them to return home.
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In June 2010, LICADHO helped organized two events to promote the rights of children in Cambodia. International Children's Day was celebrated on June 1st, with the slogan "Community Without Trafficking." The World Day Against Child Labour occurred on June 12th under the theme "I protect the children, do you?"

The two events are celebrated every year to highlight children's rights and promote prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The aim is also to draw public attention and increase awareness of children's rights violations.
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June 12, 2010 - “When I was putting the soil into the mixing machine, the soil was stuck, so I tried to push it in, suddenly the machine caught my arm inside. After the incident, I returned to hometown to live with my single father and three younger brothers. I need to look after all of them because my father is mentally weak. I am so hopeless and my dreams are also destroyed, as I am disabled and uneducated. I don’t know what I can do besides tending cows every day. I left school when I was in grade 1 before I went to work in the brick factory.”

A 16-year-old boy who lost his left arm while he was working in a brick factory.

LICADHO and World Vision Cambodia will mark World Day Against Child Labour on June 12, 2010, by organizing a street march and local concert in Sangke District, Battambang. The event aims to sensitize the public on the issues of child labour, particularly on child labour in brick factories. The event will take place between 3 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
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In June 2009, LICADHO together with Horizons commenced a national survey of women living with their children in Cambodian prisons. The purpose of the survey was to identify the key problems faced by women and children during their incarceration, particularly in relation to food, clothing, health and hygiene; the extent to which services provided through the Adopt-A-Prison Project has helped to address these problems; and assess the need for educational and recreational programs for children living in prison.

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* Public Screening of "Who Killed Chea Vichea?" Documentary Banned * China Pledges Military Aid to Cambodia * Amnesty International Releases 2010 Human Rights Report * LICADHO Staff Member Arrested for Disinformation
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June 1, 2010 - To mark International Children’s Day this year, LICADHO is promoting the theme of “A community without child trafficking” in Kien Svay district, Kandal province, to promote children’s rights as well as raise awareness of child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. The program will run from 7.30 am until 11am and will provide children with an opportunity to participate in singing, games, quizzes and awards. Secondary school students, community workers, local and vulnerable children, and the general public are encouraged to attend. Guests at the event include the Kien Svay district deputy-governor, Korky commune chief and LICADHO’s President, Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek.
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Sometimes the most effective defense of human rights begins with the simplest of questions. "Why can't I be here?" "What law did I break?" And sometimes, just: "Why?"

The latter was a question that the Venerable Luon Sovath began asking early in life. The 32-year-old grew up in Cambodia's Siem Reap province and came of age in the midst of Cambodia's vicious civil war. He witnessed horrific violence as the Khmer Rouge attempted to regain control of the country. Growing up, there was rarely a clear answer to the question "why?" The violence was usually senseless; the injustice seemed systematic.

So at age 15, Sovath took a different path: He became a monk. His choice allowed him to escape harm during Cambodia's decades-long war, and instilled the virtues of karma, reflection, and justice. Today, he is a human rights defender working amongst the villagers who are victims of land-grabbing dedicating his free time to producing videos documenting the human rights abuses he witnesses. This is his story.
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* US Suspends Delivery of Military Trucks to Cambodia * Jailed Journalist Receives Royal Pardon
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The use of military police by government-affiliated companies and individuals to forcibly evict villagers featured prominently in land grabbing cases in first quarter of 2010, leaving over 2,500 families at risk of losing their homes or livelihood.

LICADHO received 23 complaints of land grabbing between January and March 2010, ten of which involved the violent eviction of individuals following the grant of economic land concessions by government ministers to relatives or elites, and their affiliated companies.

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On 26 March 2010, more than 600 villagers gathered on National Road 4, blocking the road for almost two hours, and demanded the release of their two representatives, Khem Vuth and You Tho, who had been arrested two days earlier. This led to heavy traffic congestion and prompted the deputy provincial governor, court officials and provincial police commissioner to talk with villagers. After lengthy negotiations, the villagers agreed to move and discuss the matter at the provincial court. On 29 March 2010 Mr. You and Mr. Vuthy were released on bail and placed under surveillance.
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* Report on Rape in Cambodia * Anti-Corruption Law Adopted * Royal Government of Cambodia Accepts Recommendation from UN Human Rights Council * Land Grabbing Protest Forces Release of Arrested Community Representatives
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March 25, 2010 - We, the undersigned civil society organizations, condemn the Kompong Speu Provincial Court’s decision yesterday to arrest and detain two community representatives involved in the ongoing Omlaing Commune land dispute. The bogus charges against the two community representatives constitute yet another instance of Cambodia’s rich and powerful using the judicial system as a tool of enrichment and weapon of intimidation. We also condemn the response of mixed police forces to the villagers who came to the provincial court to show their support.

Omlaing Commune Council member You Thou and community leader Khem Vuthy were arrested on charges that they incited villagers to burn two temporary shelters used by construction workers belonging to Ly Yong Phat’s Phnom Penh Sugar Company. The two representatives also stand accused of colluding to set the structures on fire.
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March 11, 2010 - Although the Coalition of Cambodian Civil Society Organizations (hereafter “the Coalition”),comprised of more than 200 local NGOs and Associations, only received a copy of the current Draft of the Anti-Corruption Law “hereafter “the Draft” at the last minute, the Coalition have made a concerted effort to provide several key comments on the Draft in its previous joint statement issued on March 09, 2010 on the eve of the National Assembly Session convened to debate the Law.

The joint and several efforts of the Coalition are aimed at ensuring that the proposed law is good and that it is able to adequately serve Cambodian society and the people well into the new decade through various radio talk shows, press conferences, and the submission of a letter attached to our previous joint statement, requested that the parliamentary debate and adoption of the draft law be deferred until a later date to allow for more time and scope for public input into the discussion now before the National Assembly.
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Over 500 inmates with pending appeals are detained in Cambodia’s provinces, some of them hundreds of kilometers away from the nation’s only appeals court in Phnom Penh. Due to Cambodia’s near total lack of a long-distance inmate transportation network, these inmates are at grave risk of being denied one of the most basic elements of a fair trial: The right to have a conviction and sentence properly reviewed by a higher tribunal.
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March 5, 2010 - We the named organisations, express our deepest concern at the prevention by Dangkar district police of a demonstration by villagers against the alleged seizure of their farmland, the arrest and reported blackmail of villagers who attempted to take part in the demonstration and the deletion of photographs taken by human rights monitors from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Organisation (ADHOC) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO).

The attempted demonstration in question was set against the all too familiar backdrop of a land dispute. On 1 March 2010, villagers from Proka Village in Dangkor District who are involved in a land dispute with In Samon, the deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Interior, attempted to hold a demonstration outside the home of Prime Minister Hun Sen in Takhmao.
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LICADHO Activity Report 2009 covers LICADHO's project activities for the period 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009. The activity report includes a summary of high profile cases and key human rights issues for the period, activity details of LICADHO’s two program offices, LICADHO human resources information, statistics, photos, case studies, and a list of all LICADHO and joint publications produced and distributed during the reporting period.
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* Human Rights Defenders Acquitted of Disinformation * Cambodian Government Formalizes Private Sector Patronage System of Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF)
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Since December 24, 2009, LICADHO has been assisting a group of 24 Khmer Krom people after they were deported from Thailand as illegal immigrants. The Khmer Krom are an indigenous ethnic minority living mostly in southern Vietnam and Cambodia in the Mekong Delta area.

The group, which includes seven women and nine children, travelled to Thailand from Vietnam in 2008 in order to seek asylum after they were threatened with imprisonment if they did not stop protesting the confiscation of their land by the government of Vietnam. The farmland in question is located in Svay Torng and Tin Bieng district, Maot Chhrouk Province. The group claim that the Vietnamese authorities deleted their names from a residential list, confiscated their farmland and issued arrest warrants.
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In a touching act of compassion, ten musicians from Switzerland performed in prisons across Cambodia in January, providing a rare diversion and cause for joy among the prisoners. From January 17-30, 2010, the musicians went on a whirlwind tour, performing in 11 prisons throughout the country. The musicians are part of the organization Repris de Justesse which aims to bring music to prisons all over the world. Most of the musicians whom have other jobs and play locally in bars and clubs in Switzerland, paid for their own travel, food, and accommodations.

The objective of the tour was to provide some joy to prisoners who normally have little cause for celebration, and perhaps to alleviate some of the stress and depression that typically accompany prolonged confinement.

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* Human Rights Watch Releases Report on Mistreatment in Cambodian Drug Detention Centers * Opposition Leader Convicted of Racial Incitement * UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Visits Cambodia

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Acid attacks have become an increasingly common form of violence in Cambodia in recent years. This particularly vicious method of attack is generally directed against women, often by their own husbands, or the wives of their lovers, with the most common motive being jealousy or revenge for perceived infidelities. There are, however, countless other motives for such attacks, with male and female perpetrators and victims. The attacks are almost always premeditated, as the perpetrators must take the time to acquire caustic acids. Unfortunately, these chemicals are typically inexpensive and readily available on the open market. Acid is very popular weapon given that it almost invisible to the police and the public.
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January 27, 2010 - The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) calls for an immediate end to the illegal land-clearing and military violence against families in Preah Sihanouk's Prey Nob district. The disputed land is claimed by Chinese-owned Yi Chea Company, a resort company which has enlisted the help of the Cambodian military's Brigade 31 to forcibly clear the land.

The dispute began in early 2009, when Yi Chea Company started clearing a 3,300-hectare land concession within Ream National Park given by the government. But the concession overlapped with the land of 116 families from Ream and Thma Thom villages.
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The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights ("LICADHO"), has long sought to assist trafficked Cambodian fishermen. The following is a composite story that illustrates some of the hardship and terror that many of those trafficked victims face every day. While the names of certain people and locations have been changed, all of the incidents reflected here did occur, and most of them could be considered typical.
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December 10, 2009, marked the 61st anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. For the fifth year in a row, various NGOs and members of civil society throughout Cambodia celebrated December 10 - International Human Rights Day - by participating in activities and events in 71 separate locations across the country. This year, LICADHO used International Human Rights Day as a platform to focus on incarcerated human rights defenders in Cambodia's prisons. Eighty members of LICADHO staff visited prisoners in Phnom Penh, CC1, CC2, Kampot, Kompong Cham, Kompong Chhnang, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap, Takeo, and Kompong Thom provinces.
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December 9, 2009 - More than 10,000 Cambodians from communities around the country, including trade unionists,students, farmers, fishermen, musicians, youths, tuk tuk drivers, motorcycle drivers and NGO workers, will celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD) in their communities this year.

These celebrations are tied together with the common theme “We All Need Freedom of Expression and Justice!” and a common symbol - the blue Kramar to represent the important role of human rights defenders in Cambodia.

The community initiatives will mark the achievements made in human rights in Cambodia, but also focus on critical issues still facing the country’s citizens - including exploitation of land and natural resources; restrictions to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly; and violations of labor rights.
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The Prey Veng provincial court has found Neak Loeung Secondary School teacher Chin Rithy guilty of defaming the school's principal following a land dispute. The November 11, 2009, decision imposed a fine of 5 million riels (USD$1250) and ordered Chin Rithy to pay 5 million riel in compensation to the principal, Youen Sovuthy.

The defamation charge stemmed from a complaint filed by Chin Rithy to the Provincial Education Department on April 30, 2009, accusing Yoeun Sovuthy of selling school land to fellow teacher Pang Samet. Chin Rithy is director of the Prey Veng Cambodian Independent Teachers Association (CITA), a group which also disputed the land sale.

The 3-hour trial was held on November 5, 2009, and was attended by 15 CITA members, including CITA president, Rong Chhun, and other NGOs supporting Chin Rithy.

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December 2, 2009 - The first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Cambodia was conducted by the UN Human Rights Council in its Working Group session held on Tuesday 1 December 2009 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The UPR is a new mechanism that allows a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN member States once every four years. During the 3-hour proceedings of yesterday, the Cambodian delegation led by Mr. Ith Rady, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Justice together with Ambassador Sun Suon of the Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the UN in Geneva, presented the achievements and developments with regard to the human rights situation in the country, extensively focusing on its poverty reduction strategies and plans in particular. The Cambodian delegation, however, attempted much to emphasise ‘its own historical and socioeconomic context’ as a least developed country in a post-conflict setting, rather than recognising the reality of its human rights challenges in a frank and substantive manner.
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On October 27, 2009, the Siem Reap provincial court convicted Chan Norn and Chang Savoeun of assault and robbery, sentencing the two men to one year imprisonment each and ordering each to pay compensation of 3,000,000 riel (USD$750) to complainants Chey Sovann and Em Sothea. The complaint had stemmed from a long-standing land dispute which turned ugly on March 22, 2009, when police opened fire on a group of protesting villagers, resulting in four villagers being shot. The court acquitted seven other villagers who were facing the same charges.

The trial of the nine villagers, which had been held a week earlier on October 20, 2009, was heavily guarded. Initially 20 military police had been guarding the court; however, after over 120 villagers and supporters came to observe the trial, reinforcements were called in. Shortly after the hearing began at 8am, approximately 150 military police armed with guns, shields and electric batons arrived and surrounded the court compound, ensuring that none of the supporters were able to enter the court and observe the hearing. As the supporters waited outside the court, compound police harassed several villagers, accusing them of forming a demonstration to disturb the hearing and continually demanded that they leave.


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I write regarding Cambodia Daily article on the violent standoff over an economic land concession in Kompong Thom province (K. Thom Villagers Torch Vehicles, Vent Rage Over Land Dispute, Wednesday November 18, 2009). Although LICADHO condemns any use of violence in defending legal rights to land, this incident does raise two critical questions regarding the government’s conduct.
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On October 9, 2009, homes belonging to over 100 families from Bos village in Oddar Meanchey's Konkriel commune, were burned and bulldozed down by a contingent of approximately 150 police, military police, and hired demolition workers. The forced eviction was part of a long standing land dispute between the evicted residents and the Angkor Sugar Company. The Company is owned by Ly Yong Phat, a member of the ruling Cambodian People's Party and a State Senator who claims ownership over the disputed land.

Forestry Administration officials and RCAF troops from Battalion 42 set up roadblocks at the entrances to the village barring human rights workers and the media from entering the village to observe the eviction.

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November 16, 2009 - We, the undersigned members of Cambodian civil society, condemn the lifting of parliamentary immunity from Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) President Sam Rainsy by the National Assembly on November 16, 2009. The Assembly's action is yet another blow to Cambodia's faltering democracy, and continues the government's disturbing trend of using the courts to intimidate and weaken political opponents.

Rainsy is the third SRP member to be stripped of parliamentary immunity - the second time this year only - in the past five months. Fellow SRP Parliamentarians Mu Sochua and Ho Vann were stripped of their immunity by the National Assembly on June 22, 2009. The latter was acquitted by the Phnom Penh court on September 22, 2009; yet, the National Assembly has failed to restore his parliamentary immunity back.
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We write regarding the Daily's recent stories regarding the rape of a 19-year-old Kompong Cham woman by two police officers in Phnom Penh.

It now appears that the two officers involved will not be prosecuted ("Police Chief Says No Need to Prosecute Officers," Nov. 5, 2009). According to Phnom Penh Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth, no rape was committed because the victim "is not a virgin," and because she allegedly accepted $250 in "compensation" from the perpetrators.

The latest development in the case is troubling, but hardly surprising. It also highlights three of the biggest obstacles to the prosecution of sex offenders in Cambodia.

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On September 30, 2009, more than 30 villagers fought with military police outside Takeo Provincial Court in an attempt to prevent authorities from detaining a community representative from being arrested on groundless disinformation charges.

After several hours of questioning by Takeo Provincial Court Director and Investigating Judge Tith Sothy, Sib Sen and Ny San were charged with disinformation and wrongful damage of property, which stemmed from a 2008 incident where they had removed a fence built by the mosque leaders to cover village land after declaring that it belonged to the community. No reasons were given by court which subsequently released Sib Sen on bail but arrested and detained Ny San.
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On September 30, 2009, more than 30 villagers fought with military police outside Takeo Provincial Court in an attempt to prevent authorities from detaining a community representative from being arrested on groundless disinformation charges. After several hours of questioning by Takeo Provincial Court Director and Investigating Judge Tith Sothy, Sib Sen and Ny San were charged with disinformation and wrongful damage of property, which stemmed from a 2008 incident where they had removed a fence built by the mosque leaders to cover village land after declaring that it belonged to the community. No reasons were given by court which subsequently released Sib Sen on bail but arrested and detained Ny San.
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On August 27, 2009, the Phnom Penh municipal court sentenced Toch Ly, a village chief from Kompong Chhnang, to 16 months imprisonment after she was found guilty of forging thumbprints in an ongoing land dispute. She was also ordered to pay a fine of 1 million riel (USD$250) and compensation of 5 million riel (USD$1250) to the private company KDC International. Toch Ly was accused of forging a thumbprinted document in which 77 families denied that they sold their land to KDC International. The company is owned by Chea Kheng, the wife of Suy Sem, the Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy. Despite testimony from community members supporting the authenticity of the document, the court ruled that some of thumbprints did not belong to the people named on the document, but were instead made by their relatives.
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This speech was delivered by LICADHO President Chhiv Kek Pung on September 10, 2009, during the US Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on Cambodia.

I wish to express my gratitude to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for assisting the Cambodian delegation to participate in this important and timely hearing. Cambodia is currently facing a crisis in human rights, which constitutes a backward slide in the country’s democratization and efforts to promote good governance. The international community, including the United States, made a significant contribution to bringing peace and the concept of democracy to Cambodia in the early 1990s. Sadly, the hard-won steps which have been made toward pluralistic democracy, and towards economic and social development, are now in danger.

Today I would like to focus on some of the most pressing threats to human rights: specifically, violations of land rights; restrictions on freedom of expression; and Cambodia’s fundamentally dysfunctional justice system.
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In the past 5 years LICADHO has documented cases of land grabbing that have affected more than a quarter of a million Cambodians. The rampant land grabbing has seriously undermined the development of Cambodia, depriving entire communities of their livelihoods and dignity. This video was shown on September 10, 2009, during the US Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Hearing on Cambodia.
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