“Red Wedding,” a documentary that explores forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge, has won an award from the International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam.
Thai authorities say they plan to kick out illegal workers in the near future, this include some 160,000 Cambodians.
Those two names have been carefully guarded by the court, despite a widespread leak of prosecution documents to journalists and court monitors over the past few years.
The Cambodian Defenders Project is in the midst of drafting a campaign finance law that would standardize political spending for elections in the future.
Chan Soveth, who is an investigator for the rights group Adhoc, was questioned and released by the court on Monday.
Migrant workers earn around $200 a month in Thailand, working long hours in poor conditions on construction projects, farms, fishing boats and other enterprises.
Those sites, mostly security centers and execution sites, include five in Pursat province, four in Takeo, three in Battambang and one each in Kampong Thom and Kampong Cham.
The declaration was passed at an Asean summit in Phnom Penh in November, despite objections by rights advocates.
Rights advocates worry about vague language in the declaration that could shield autocratic regimes from abiding by international human rights norms.
The National Assembly approved a $3 billion budget earlier this month, with spending raises in health, education and social issues.
Mam Sonando is currently serving a 20-year sentence handed down from a lower court, after his arrest in July on charges he helped foment a secessionist plot in Kratie province.
Three women who were injured in a shooting at a garment worker strike earlier this year say they have not received justice from the court and are demanding action.
The lawmakers say the proposed budget, of about $3.2 billion, can be decreased, especially the foreign debt that Cambodia continues to accrue.
In a statement last week, the US State Department said it was “deeply concerned” that the declaration “could weaken and erode universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Rights and advocacy groups say the problem is one of laws and the will to solve them, not of vested parties.
In a brief meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen last week, US President Barack Obama focused on concerns over Cambodia’s sliding rights record and decreased freedoms.
Head of the Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association said the slur should not go unpunished, calling the insult “cruel.”
Security was tight, and traffic throughout the capital was blocked off, as leaders from around the world met in summits, sideline meetings and other venues, hosted by Cambodia.
Government spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia has a clear stance the diplomatic maturity to handle meetings next week.
Corruption remains a major impediment to Cambodia’s development, but the systemic practices associated with it can be curbed if the government takes serious action.
ព័ត៌មានផ្សេងទៀត
