Freedom and Human Rights

In the course of my internship with the Heinrich Böll Foundation my colleague Chey Vathana and I conducted a two-week research on a land conflict caused by a state-granted Economic Land Concession (ELC)  for the cultivation of sugarcane in three districts in Preah Vihear province.

Image credits Violations and restrictions of human rights take place every day. Pursuing human rights can be a dangerous undertaking. Human rights defenders fight with undaunted commitment for human rights. Frequently they encounter problems such as persecution and jail, or even risk paying for their commitment with their lives.

Human dignity must be restored. People need to be empowered to stand for their rights. Human rights belong to everyone. These are some of the powerful messages heard at Meta House on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day 2016.

10 May 2016 Yesterday’s detention of eight human rights workers and activists was an egregious violation of the right to freedom of expression in Cambodia, civil society groups said today. The detentions, which followed the pre-trial detention of four other rights workers and an election official last week, highlight an alarming surge in the Cambodian government’s latest campaign of intimidation against civil society.

Mr President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. I am deeply humbled at the trust placed in me by the Human Rights Council in appointing me Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia. This afternoon I have the honour to present my first report.

Cambodia and its people have been served by special procedure mandate holders since 1993. In September 2014, the Human Rights Council considered the final report of the previous Special Rapporteur, Surya P. Subedi.

Phnom Penh, 29 April, 2015The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), Youth for Peace (YFP), KDEI KARUNA (KdK), Transcultural Psychological Organization (TPO) and Asian International Justice Initiative (AIJI) call on the Cambodian TV and radio stations as well as local newspapers to increase their coverage of the on-going trials and current events at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).   

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On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh, the Heinrich Böll Foundation organised a conference with the purpose of assessing the achievements and the shortcomings in Cambodia’s transitional justice process. “Justice and Reconciliation after the Khmer Rouge Regime: What has been achieved?” took place in Meta House, Phnom Penh, on 18 February 2015, and brought together researchers, lawyers, experts from a number of different disciplines as well as Khmer Rouge victims.   

Phnom Penh, October 26, 2014Heinrich-Böll Foundation has been supporting the Cambodian Indigenous Youth Organization (CIYA) for more than 7 years now. CIYA was established by a group of Cambodian indigenous people and attempts to provide an indigenous youth group serving as a social network in Phnom Penh, as well as strengthening the capacity of these indigenous students and empowering them as the future generation of their indigenous communities. 

How does the Federal Government view the dramatically worsened human-rights situation in Cambodia, against the background of the most recent wave of arrests of land-rights and human-rights activists, along with opposition politicians, the sentencing of seven land-rights activists to a year's imprisonment for obstructing traffic and the murder of the journalist Taing Try while investigating illegal logging; and what moves will Dr Friedrich Kitschelt, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, make during his visit at the end of the month to improve the situation?

Dear Human Rights Quiz participants, thank you all for demonstrating your knowledge in our Human Rights Quiz. The winners will be contacted personally via e-mail. Here you will find the correct answers online.  

New York, 8 December 2014. The International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net) sent a letter on 5 December 2014, to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia to express serious concern over the recent detention, conviction and sentencing of seven female land rights activists who attempted to defend the human rights of families living around Boeung Kak Lake, formerly one of the largest in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia.

Image credits On the occasion of the 66th Anniversary of the International Human Rights Day a seminar on “Usage of Rights and Law” on December, 9th 2014 was organized in the name of the Senate and the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia. HeinrichBoell Foundation participated and co-sponsored the event. 

I am about to complete my 11th human rights fact‐finding mission to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the second since the National Assembly elections took place in July 2013. What I propose to outline are my initial findings and thoughts about the human rights situation in the country since my last mission. My final conclusions and recommendations will be contained in my report that I will present to the United Nations Human Rights Council in September this year.

This documentary takes a look at the recent campaign to free the 15 imprisoned Boeung Kak lake activists. The fifteen were arrested in late May 2012 during and after a peaceful protest highlighting a long-standing land dispute with Shukaku Inc. company, owned by a Cambodian ruling party senator. 

  In this interview Dr. C. Kek Pung, founder and president of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights talks about the main problems in Cambodia: land grabbing, poverty, trafficking and corruption. Even the EU has not taken any action to prevent injustices of the system and is still importing Cambodian "blood sugar".