The government’s anti-drug crusade since 2017 has resulted in “serious and systematic” human rights violations against drug users rather than achieving its goal of reducing drug use in the country, rights watchdog Amnesty International said in a new report.
The Health Ministry on Monday warned citizens to follow hygienic practices and avoid restaurants that fail to take precautions against the spread of Covid-19 as Cambodia nears a month without identifying a single new coronavirus infection.
More than 200 indigenous people in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima district protested on Tuesday for access to farmland inside a wildlife sanctuary, which the Environment Ministry banned them from last month, citing conservation laws.
New, higher fines for traffic violations and stricter enforcement by authorities will place undue strain on motorists who are already losing income due to the pandemic-related economic downturn, civil society members and other observers said this week.
About 800 samples were tested for Covid-19 in Cambodia last week — less than half of the number tested the week before — while Health Ministry and WHO representatives on Monday said that the country remains at risk for outbreaks and needs to adjust to a “new normal.”
Ten petitioners who called on the government this week to provide debt relief and protective health supplies to poor citizens were detained and questioned in Phnom Penh and Kampong Speu province, and then released after agreeing not to petition the state again.
Health authorities and experts on Monday warned citizens to remain vigilant and keep up precautions against Covid-19, despite no new cases being reported in the country for 15 consecutive days and only three patients remaining in quarantine.
Forestry watchdogs say they have seen increased logging activity in the Prey Lang sanctuary, especially after independent forest patrollers were stopped by authorities from entering, but officials have defended their ban on unregistered forest patrols.
Relations between Cambodian Muslims and others have normalized after souring last month following a spate of Covid-19 infections linked to a religious gathering in Malaysia, a Muslim community leader said on Tuesday.
After more than a week of no new Covid-19 cases reported in the country, the World Health Organization’s representative said the Health Ministry had been advised to increase testing and contact tracing while Cambodia was still in an early stage of the global pandemic.
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