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  • Human Rights in Cambodia

    Violence against human rights and other activists in Cambodia increased in the run-up to national elections in July 2013. Prime Minister Hun Sen has kept himself in office more than 27 years through force and intimidation, making him one of the world’s leaders longest in power. Violence involving state security forces occurred amidst increasing land grabs by powerful business and security interests, often through official corruption in unbridled foreign investment. Labor unrest grew as workers’ rights were suppressed. The opposition party leader remains exiled in France rather than face prison in Cambodia on politically motivated charges. Cambodian judicial officers continue to implement Hun Sen’s pronouncements by refusing to investigate additional Khmer Rouge suspects for the Khmer Rouge special tribunal.

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  • Police officers block Boeung Kak Lake residents during a protest appealing for the release of Yorm Bopha, along a street in Phnom Penh on June 17, 2013.

    © 2013 Reuters
    Cambodia: Court Upholds Unjust Verdict
    A Cambodian court’s ruling upholding the conviction of a land rights activist on trumped-up charges shows the political use of the country’s legal system to persecute critics of the government, Human Rights Watch said today.
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Cambodia

  • Cambodia: Court Upholds Unjust Verdict
    Jun 18, 2013
    A Cambodian court’s ruling upholding the conviction of a land rights activist on trumped-up charges shows the political use of the country’s legal system to persecute critics of the government, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Cambodia: Land Titling Campaign Open to Abuse
    Jun 12, 2013
    A land measuring and titling campaign launched and financed by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen lacks transparency and accountability and could leave thousands dispossessed from their land.
  • What’s ‘Development’ With Rights Abuses Along the Way?
    May 14, 2013

    A grandmother in Cambodia told me recently, “I just want you to know my story in case something happens and I am gone.” Police and government officials have threatened and harassed “Kunthea” for her protests against government agencies and appeals to the World Bank after she was forcibly evicted from her home by a private company.

  • Cambodia: Supreme Court Keeps Activist Jailed
    Mar 29, 2013
    The Cambodian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the trumped-up imprisonment of a land-rights activist should prompt Cambodia’s donors to demand her unconditional release, Human Rights Watch said today.
  • Cambodia: Ieng Sary Death Shows Khmer Rouge Court Failings
    Mar 14, 2013
    The death of Ieng Sary, on trial before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia after indictment for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, means that another senior leader of the Khmer Rouge has not been held accountable for his crimes.
  • UN Report Highlights Abuse as ‘Drug Treatment’
    Mar 3, 2013
    A United Nations report about torture and other abuses in healthcare settings points to the need for donors to withdraw funds to compulsory drug detention centers, Human Rights Watch and Harm Reduction International said today.
  • Cambodia: Government Muzzles Lawyers
    Feb 11, 2013
    The Cambodian government and bar association should drop their efforts to prohibit lawyers from giving media interviews without the permission of the national bar association.
  • Cambodia: Escalating Violence, Misuse of Courts
    Feb 1, 2013
    Cambodia’s human rights situation deteriorated in 2012 with increased violence and scripted trials against political and civil society activists, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2013.
  • Global: HRW Submission to the CEDAW Committee
    Feb 1, 2013
  • Barack Obama: Dump These 8 Unsavory Allies
    Jan 2, 2013
    If Obama wants to bolster his legacy in his second term, he can and should get tough on some of the United States' most unsavory friends and allies. Here are eight leaders to start with.
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