Tag: Business and Human Rights
Crackdown on human rights weighs on Cambodia
Against the backdrop of a month of fierce protests, the worst state violence in Cambodia for 15 years, and an escalating crackdown on protesting workers, the United Nations this week launched its second Universal Periodical Review (UPR) of the country's human rights record.
All UN members undergo the process every...
Vietnam Urged To Improve Dismal Human Rights Record
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW), on Friday urged all United Nations member-states to press Vietnam to make verifiable commitments to improve its dismal human rights record at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva last February.
The UPR is a process all UN member states undergo every...
Cambodian Journalist Who Exposed Illegal Fishing Murdered
A journalist in Cambodia was beaten to death over the weekend following a series of articles he had written exposing illegal fishing, prompting calls from a local rights group for a probe into the murder amidst a “widespread culture of impunity” in the country.
Suon Chan, a 44-year-old reporter for...
Poverty Wages Unraveling Cambodia’s Garment Industry
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2014 (IPS) - Cambodia’s garment industry is regularly plagued with strikes and protests. But when armed security forces opened fire on striking workers in the capital city of Phnom Penh on Jan. 3, killing five and injuring dozens, it suddenly became clear that this was...
Komnas HAM finds human rights violations in Freeport tunnel cave-in
The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has released its findings regarding serious human rights violations in the Freeport Big Gossan tunnel cave in that claimed the lives of 28 workers and injured 10 others.
“PT Freeport had the ability to prevent this from happening but didn’t. The lack...
Cambodian Factory Workers Begin Overtime Boycott
More than 100,000 Cambodian factory workers refused to work overtime hours on Monday as they began the first phase of a campaign demanding a higher minimum wage and the release of 21 detained workers and activists, union leaders said.
The move comes ahead of a nationwide strike planned for next...
A bittersweet success
As Cambodian government officials and top European Union diplomats kick off four days of high-level meetings in Brussels today, new EU trade statistics show that imports of Cambodian sugar – a crop linked to extensive alleged land grabbing – quadrupled between 2012 and 2013.
Cambodian exports enjoy duty-free and quota-free...
Singapore: Is the haze clearing for extra-territorial accountability?
Singapore’s Transboundary Haze and Pollution Bill that’s presently making the rounds for public consultation is one potentially game-changing initiative in the area of business and human rights in Southeast Asia. The bill contains two elements that up to now have been mere aspirations among those seeking greater accountability for...
Arson Attempt at Home of Families in Bitter Land Dispute
An attacker on Monday set fire to a building occupied by three families in Phnom Penh’s Tuol Kok district who are at the center of a long-running land dispute with a private company, according to a joint statement by five local rights groups.
The rights groups—including Adhoc, the Cambodian Center...
Cambodia: Public Letter Urging an Immediate Investigation into the Disappearance of Khem Sophath
March 23, 2014 - We, the undersigned civil society groups, express our deep concern over the disappearance of Khem Sophath, a 16-year-old boy missing since the violent crackdown by Cambodian security forces against striking garment workers on 3 January 2014 near the Canadia Industrial area on Veng Sreng road,...
