Cambodia: Open Letter to Prime Minister Mr. Hun Sen: Concern over the end of year crackdown against human rights defenders

OPEN LETTER - THE OBSERVATORY

CAMBODIA: OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER MR. HUN SEN

            Geneva-Paris, January 8, 2013

Re: Concern over the end of year crackdown against human rights defenders

Your Excellency,

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), expresses its deep concern about court decisions in late December 2012 that led to the wrongful sentencing of two prominent land and housing rights defenders and continued pattern of impunity in the high-profile murder of a trade union leader. The Observatory fears that such decisions were adopted during that time of year to avoid scrutiny by the international community and the media.

On December 26 and 27, 2012, Phnom Penh’s Municipal Court sentenced Ms. Tim Sakmony and Ms. Yorm Bopha, two prominent land and housing rights defenders, to prison terms. Ms. Sakmony was found guilty of “making a false declaration” - a charge totally unsupported by the facts of her case - and received a suspended six-months sentence for time already served. Ms. Bopha was sentenced to three years in prison for “intentional violence”, on the basis of questionable allegations, and despite the fact that no credible evidence was presented at her trial. After the verdict, Ms. Bopha was returned to Prey Sar Prison's Correctional Center 2 to serve her sentence.

The Observatory recalls that Ms. Yorm Bopha and Ms. Tim Sakmony were detained since September 4 and 5, respectively. Ms. Yorm Bopha, a pivotal figure in the protests against forced evictions in the Boeung Kak area of Phnom Penh, was detained for allegedly assaulting a person suspected of theft. Ms. Tim Sakmony, a leader in protests against forced evictions from the Borei Keila area of the capital, was arrested after the owner of land developer Phanimex lodged a complaint alleging that she had made a “false declaration” in a suit accusing Phanimex of inadequate compensation for persons evicted from land the company is developing.

In a separate case, on December 27, 2012, the Court of Appeals upheld the original sentence of 20 years in prison for Messrs. Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, who were convicted for the high-profile killing of trade union leader Chea Vichea in 2004. It is widely acknowledged that their original convictions were based on coerced confessions and plagued by political interference, intimidation of witnesses, and other violations of international standards, which led to the decision by the Supreme Court to release both men from prison in December 2008. The Supreme Court also ordered a new trial by the Court of Appeals.

The Court of Appeals finally retried the pair on November 7, 2012, in a swift hearing that was marred with irregularities and offered absolutely no new evidence of the defendants' guilt. Despite overwhelming evidence of the innocence of the two men, the Court announced that they were guilty on December 27. The two were immediately arrested and sent to serve the remainder of their sentences at Prey Sar Prison’s Correctional Center 1 in Phnom Penh. The Observatory fears that this parody of justice merely aims at protecting the real perpetrators of the murder of Mr. Chea Vichea.

The Observatory is deeply concerned about these new examples of political pressure being used to influence Cambodian's courts. Likewise, Mr. Mam Sonando, Director and owner of the independent FM station 105 (Beehive Radio) and President of the non-governmental organisation Democrats' Association, remains detained after the Court of Appeal in Phnom Penh refused to release him on bail pending his appeal. An outspoken critic of the Government's human rights record, including serious and systematic violations of land and housing rights, Mr. Sonando was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10 million riels on October 1, 2012.

Accordingly, the Observatory calls upon the Cambodian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ms. Yorm Bopha and Messrs. Born Samnang, Sok Sam Oeun and Mam Sonando, and to put an end to the judicial harassment against them.

The authorities should also put an end to the judicial harassment of Mr. Chan Soveth, Senior Investigator and Deputy Head of the Monitoring Section for the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) - who was first summoned by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in August 2012 to answer questions in relation to his human rights work. The hearing was delayed, and on December 24, 2012, Mr. Chan Soveth appeared before Phnom Penh Municipal Court's Investigating Judge. He was not charged, but the case remains pending.

The past year saw an increase in arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, judicial harassment of defenders, and even the killing of key activists with impunity, as recently recalled in a report published on December 10, 2012 by the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO). The Observatory thus reiterates its call to the Cambodian authorities to put an end to any act of harassment against human rights defenders in Cambodia, in compliance with the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights treaties ratified by Cambodia.

We express our sincere hope that you will take these considerations and requests into account.

Yours sincerely,

Souhayr Belhassen FIDH President

Gerald Staberock OMCT Secretary General

Thailand: PAD asks Govt not to accept ICJ ruling

• Published: 8/01/2013 at 02:23 PM
• Online news: 

The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has formally submitted a seven-point proposal for the government not to accept the International Court of Justice's(ICJ) pending ruling over the Thai-Cambodian border dispute.

The proposal was submitted by Panthep Puapongpan, a PAD core member, to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
In the first point of the proposal, the PAD asked the government to officially declare that the ICJ does not have the jurisdiction to interpret the 1962 judgement, which awarded ownership of the Preah Vihear temple to Cambodia but left the 4.6 sq km area surrounding it in dispute.
The ICJ has scheduled for both countries to present an oral statement from April 15 to 19. The ruling is expected to be made in October.

The other points in the proposal are as follows:

- Following the declaration, Thailand would subsequently not be duty-bound to comply with the ICJ's injunction.  It would not have to withdraw troops or police from the disputed area, but push a Cambodian community out of the Thai soil.

- Thailand should then develop relationship particularly with countries which are members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to make sure that its territorial sovereignty would not be be infringed on.

- The Thai government must reiterate that other UN members cannot interfere in Thailand's internal affairs, citing  provisions in the UN Charter.

- Thailand must not return to be a member of Unesco's World Heritage Convention.

- The government should stop the Foreign Ministry's plan to hire academics with a budget of 7.1 million baht to campaign on state media for the Thai people to accept the ICJ's ruling, even if it could mean a loss of territory to Cambodia.

- The government should take action to expedite the release of Veera Somkwamkid and Ratree Pipattanapaiboon, members of the Thai Patriots Network, who have been imprisoned in Cambodia for alleged spying and border encroachment.

Mr Panthep said the PAD would consider taking action, which might be a mass rally, if the government did not respond to the proposal.

UNITED KINGDOM: University applications down

Guardian06 January 2013 Issue No:253

 

 The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) has expressed concern about the potential impact of tuition fees, after figures showed a drop of more than 6% in student applications with less than a month to go before the deadline for 2013 applications, writes Peter Walker for the Guardian.

Data from UCAS showed there were 265,784 university applications by UK-based candidates up to 17 December, 6.3% down on the parallel period in the admissions cycle the year before. While this is less than the 8.4% year-on-year fall seen in earlier UCAS figures, the looming January deadline makes it ever more likely that the total 2013 applicant figure will see a second sizeable fall following the introduction of annual fees of up to £9,000 (US$14,600).

A breakdown of the UCAS figures to mid-December shows a 6.5% fall for applicants in England and 11.7% for those in Wales, with smaller drops of 3.9% and 0.5% for Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.

Full report on the Guardian site

UNITED STATES: Ratings at a price for smaller universities

The New York Times06 January 2013 Issue No:253

 

For a certain kind of European, Asian or Latin American institution, the release of the world university rankings each autumn is an exercise in humiliation. Though often long established, and with good local reputations, these schools lack the endowments, research facilities and sheer size needed to compete with US and British powerhouses like Harvard, MIT, Cambridge and Stanford, writes DD Guttenplan for The New York Times.

So when Quacquarelli Symonds, the London-based company behind the QS World University Rankings, announced “a new initiative that gives universities the opportunity to highlight their strength” by paying a fee for the chance to be rated on a scale of one to five stars, the business case was obvious. But so, say critics, was the potential for conflicts of interest. The fees had already been announced in 2010, but the initiative was not introduced fully until this year.

Ben Sowter, head of the QS Intelligence Unit, which oversees both the ratings and the rankings, said there was no favouritism in QS’s system. “Just because accreditation agencies charge the universities, that doesn’t mean they are biased,” he said.

Full report on The New York Times site
 

GLOBAL: A focus on skills increasingly links higher education with employment

Yojana Sharma06 January 2013 Issue No:253

 

The attention of education policy-makers and the international education community is moving away from raising literacy levels and increasing access to secondary and higher education, towards skills required by the workforce to promote economic growth.

This became increasingly evident during the past year in the richest countries. Recognition of the issue is also growing in emerging economies and middle-income countries, and is likely to be a major debate in developing nations as discussion on what should succeed the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) takes centre stage in the next two years.

Higher education experts say that universities are coming under increasing pressure to ensure that their graduates are ‘employable’, although preparation for ‘employability’ is still only rarely incorporated in university courses, and the skills that could make a difference in finding employment and ways to deliver those skills are still not evident.

“There is growing awareness of the need to link education to employment,” said Nicholas Burnett, managing director of the Results for Development Institute in Washington, DC, and a former assistant director general for education at UNESCO where he was head of the Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report.

“The global recession or slowdown is provoking a reaction that there may be a problem on the supply side – that you’ve got all this unemployment because people don’t have the right skills,” said Burnett.

Deborah Roseveare, head of the Skills Beyond Schools Division of the OECD’s Education Directorate in Paris, said there was a shift towards looking at skills and their effective utilisation.

In richer countries, demographics change as more workers retire, and economic restructuring as workers become displaced by technology and globalisation, mean that “it is difficult to get back to [the stage] where the skillset can be used”, said Roseveare.

“Moving forward, we are working with individual countries on how they can improve skills,” she told University World News, “it is not just about a better match of skills and jobs but what kind of economic environment is needed to achieve a more high-skilled equilibrium.”

Major reports

A raft of major reports from international and regional organisations published in the second half of 2012 have referred to the skills agenda, with November’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report from UNESCO focused on youth and skills, and the World Bank’s just-published World Development Report 2013 focused on jobs.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released its report Improving Transitions from School to University to Workplace in November. And in the Arab World a large number of reports on education and unemployment followed the Arab Spring of 2011.

Jouko Sarvi, ADB’s education practice leader, said at the ADB report’s launch: “In addition to improving quality of higher education, an increase in attention is needed to improve relevance of higher education.”

“Higher education systems and institutions are under pressure to reform to provide adequate skills and knowledge for the evolving labour markets. This is increasingly important in countries which are moving towards middle-income country status and aspiring to become knowledge economies, increasing the demand for higher skills.”

Gerard Postiglione, a professor of education at Hong Kong University and a contributor to the ADB report, notes that higher education expanded rapidly in Asia; and when this happens misalignment with workplace needs grows. “The consequence of poor alignment is rising unemployment,” he told University World News.

Supply-side focus

But Postiglione also suggests there may be too much focus in Asia and internationally on the supply-side problem, or students and graduates. And there is no one-size-fits-all solution to aligning it with demand. “Each country has to look at each part of the labour market that is taking off,” he said.

Few of the experts in the many reports released recently are suggesting a reduction in the number of graduates being produced.

Instead, higher education must diversify, according to Postiglione, to provide the right mix of more vocational skills that serve the labour market, and higher-end research and science graduates that can fuel innovation for economic growth.

Consulting firm McKinsey & Company dissects the reasons behind what it calls the “twin crises of a shortage of jobs and a shortage of skills” in its report, Education to Employment: Designing a system that works, released late last year.

The McKinsey report suggests companies should become more involved in devising university courses to make graduates more employable.

But it also suggests that the shortage of employment opportunities is compounded by a lack of workplace training in the nine countries studied in the McKinsey report, including India, Turkey and Brazil.

The OECD also talks about teaching transferable skills and says education is “more effective” if learning and the world of working are “better integrated”.

Examples of such integration are still few and far between. When asked what “skills” they are looking for, companies tend to point to more generic, soft skills, such as communication and teamwork.

“The question is how do we know if society and its workforce as a whole have the level or mix of soft skills to function properly?” said Postiglione.

Developing countries

Major global initiatives to increase education participation in developing countries, such as the MDGs and EFA, have also seen a shift in thinking.

“In the past the focus was still on enrolment; now it is more on skills in both secondary and higher education,” said Burnett. The future agenda of the MDGs and EFA, post-2015, “will surely have things to do with economic growth and employment”.

UNESCO’s release in May of the UN system task team report on Education and Skills for Inclusive and Sustainable Development beyond 2015 notes that, “the most recent developments in the knowledge society and the subsequent changes in the world of work at the global level are raising skill/qualifications requirements for job entry and subsequently demand for a more knowledgeable and skilled workforce”.

This suggests a continued need for higher-qualified workers in developing countries.

But “in the past the focus was on delivering education; now it is on learning outcomes", according to Andreas Schleicher, advisor on education to the OECD secretary general, pointing out that now “accumulating knowledge matters a lot less”.

Much of that knowledge, Schleicher noted in a speech at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), in Doha, Qatar in early November, can be googled.

But “without the right skills, people languish on the margins of society, technological progress doesn’t translate into economic growth, and countries can’t compete in today’s economies”, said Schleicher.

More education is not enough

However, at a time when university enrolments have been rising around the world, Schleicher also noted that “more education doesn’t automatically translate into better skills and better lives”.

OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría pointed out that in Egypt last year 1.5 million young people were unemployed, at the same time as 600,000 vacancies couldn’t be filled.

And the McKinsey report found that 53% of Indian employers were unable to fill entry-level vacancies mainly because new graduates lacked the right skills.

The European Commission in Brussels noted that while the European Union youth unemployment rate is close to 23%, some two million job vacancies cannot be filled.

“Europe needs a radical rethink on how education and training systems can deliver the skills needed by the labour market,” according to the Commission in its Rethinking Education strategy in November, intended “to encourage member states to take immediate action to ensure that young people develop the skills and competences needed by the labour market”.

“To unlock the full potential of education as a driver for growth and jobs, member states must pursue reforms to boost both the performance and efficiency of their education systems,” according to the European Commission.

But while the problem has been widely identified in all of these reports, concrete solutions are harder to come by. “As difficult as it is to figure out what skills matter, it is harder to figure out what this means for the design of education systems,” Schleicher admitted at WISE.

“We need to understand those skills that actually make a difference. We need to deliver those skills in much more effective and equitable ways,” said Schleicher.

But with a constantly shifting work environment, the skills that can “make a difference” are hard to pin down. “Perhaps the most important skill in the 21st century is to be adaptable,” suggested Postiglione.

CHINA: New academic misconduct laws may not be adequate to curb cheating

Yojana Sharma12 August 2012 Issue No:234

 

New laws to clamp down on academic cheating at China’s universities could come into effect later this year as the rampant problems of plagiarism, falsification, lying about credentials and research papers and other misconduct continue unabated in higher education.

But some experts say the measure will not be adequate to curb cheating, and others dismissed the release in March of the regulations for public consultation as a government ploy to placate a restive public that something is being done about misconduct. The consultation ends on 16 August.

Under the draft regulation to “effectively prevent and curb academic misconduct” in higher education, students and doctoral candidates will be disqualified if they are found to have committed plagiarism or fraud.

Degrees that have already been awarded will be revoked if misconduct is found to have occurred, and transgressors could face a ban on obtaining other degrees for three years.

The Ministry of Education released the draft law after China’s universities failed to crack down on plagiarism, despite being deemed responsible by the ministry for investigating and dealing with cheating.

The government is also concerned that the proliferation of cases is affecting the global reputation of China’s universities and research.

Shortly before the draft was released Yan Xijun, a deputy of the National People’s Congress, was quoted in official media as saying that “academic misconduct seriously impacts on the social credibility of scientific research and provides a hotbed for corruption.

“Academic cheating has widened from academic papers to the high-tech fields, which not only involves young students but also senior experts,” said Yan.

Problem of compliance

Yan said: “Although lots of measures have been carried out to enhance academic ethics, it is still [too] weak to curb academic dishonesty. Laws and regulations are needed to standardise academic fraud and a public supervision system is needed as well as an investigation department.”

However, Cao Xinglong, an assistant associate professor in the school of law at City College of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, said: “These so-called new laws are really not new. Similar laws have appeared in many regulations of the [Education] Ministry, but the ministry had little intention of carrying them out.”

Rather than issuing new laws, the government needed to ensure compliance, Cao told University World News. Instead, academia largely polices itself and the law plays little or no role.

Even top universities have been reluctant to act, although plagiarism and falsified data are clearly a problem, according to professors who have spoken out in recent years.

Punishments set out

The latest draft regulations set out punishments to be meted out, but do not define what constitutes plagiarism or fraud. For example, the State Council (roughly equivalent to cabinet) or provincial academic degree committees can revoke universities’ rights to grant degrees if multiple academic fraud cases are found.

Supervising professors of students who commit fraud can be suspended or removed from their posts.

The new regulations said institutions must “supervise original experiment data” and set up an independent investigation body to identify fraudulent activity, although not all powers will be in the university’s hands. “The legitimate rights of those suspected of academic wrongdoing should be protected,” according to the draft.

Xiong Bingqi, a professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, was quoted in Chinese media as saying administrative punishment was not enough to root out rampant plagiarism and other misconduct. “To standardise academic norms is more important,” Xiong said.

New areas of fraud emerging

For example, there are areas that can be hard to pin down. Last month an international journal, Experimental Parasitology, retracted an article by He Guangzhi of Guiyang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The alarm was raised only because the email addresses provided for supposed peer reviewers appeared to be false.

The publisher, Elsevier, said in a retraction notice that it had launched a “full investigation” of the author and his published and ‘in review’ papers. “From this the extent of the fraud was determined.”

Moreover, more instances are coming to light where researchers or doctoral students in China have simply ‘lifted’ laboratory findings and published them as their own, before those who actually did the work could do so, according to other retraction notices issued this year by international journals.

Other high-profile cases have been revealed by Fang Shimin, an outspoken campaigner against academic misconduct, who highlights cases on the micro-blogging site Sina Weibo under his pseudonym Fang Zhouzi.

Fang has noted that a minuscule number of cases of academic corruption result in any kind of punishment, and most of these involve students rather than academics.

High-profile dismissals

In one highly publicised case, Xiamen University dismissed Fu Jin, a professor in its medical college who claimed to have a pharmacology degree from Columbia University but was found to have forged the qualification.

In another recent case Jun Lu, an assistant professor at Beijing University of Chemical Technology, was fired after he attempted to pass off as his own several articles in top English-language journals as well as postdoctoral experience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology by an academic of the same name now at Yale University, the Shanghai Daily and the Beijing Times reported at the end of July.

But such sackings are unusual. And the two cases were revealed by Fang through his dogged investigations, rather than through university or ministry investigations.

The timing of the new regulations may be significant. Cao said that with a politically charged atmosphere in the country at present, “common people in China realise that academic misconduct is a part of the corruption of political activities – many academics are politically appointed”.

He added that the timing of the regulations was an attempt by the ministry to show that academic misconduct was a problem for universities to tackle rather than to do with government inaction or ‘government delinquency’.

Government-led anti-corruption campaigns are common at times of public dissatisfaction against the authorities, often as a way of appeasing the public and assuring them that problems are being dealt with, China experts said.

China: Regulation on academic fraud hopes to reduce plagiarism

Yojana Sharma06 January 2013 Issue No:253

 

new Ministry of Education regulation to punish academic fraud came into effect on 1 January, to clamp down on plagiarism and fabricating research data, as well as buying, selling or organising trade in academic degree theses, including all forms of ‘ghostwriting’ or buying of materials produced by essay mills.

According to the regulation, institutions can withhold graduate, postgraduate or doctoral degrees if plagiarism or fraud is committed in the writing of dissertations.

Degrees already awarded can be revoked and the students in question will be banned from applying for further degrees within three years, according to the official China Daily newspaper.

In addition the students, tutors and other college officials involved can be suspended, removed from their post or expelled from the university as punishment.

An earlier draft of the regulation, published when it was put out for consultation last July, also stipulated that institutions with “too many” fraud cases may have their licence to grant degrees revoked by the authorities.

The regulation, seen as part of a broader campaign to stamp out academic misconduct, which is harming the country’s reputation internationally, is being described in state-run media as the “first of its kind” in the country.

It comes after universities have failed to crack down on plagiarism in recent years. This is despite previous strongly worded Education Ministry circulars, sent to universities in 2009 and 2010, making them responsible for detecting and investigating academic fraud. Yet little action was taken by universities.

Nonetheless, the number of institutions introducing computer software to detect academic fraud has increased, with China’s state radio reporting last June that some 60 institutions had such plagiarism detection software, and another 550 institutions were using an academic research database developed by China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database, which would allow them to compare essays with published research.

But according to reports on the microblogging site Sina Weibo, ghostwriting services are already advertising special rates to produce dissertations that can “beat the software”.

Almost a dozen known essay mills, such as Hanlin Centre and Wenbo Research, continue to openly advertise ghostwriting services in China, and some offer “zero plagiarism” services.

Some experts say it will take a long time to crack down on plagiarism because the reasons for it are complex and rooted in a system that provides monetary reward to academics for publishing papers, and that protects higher level academics from being ousted from their posts.

Academics need to be trained in ethics and how to properly cite other people’s work, according to experts.

Zhao Guanyin, a professor at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, told official China radio recently that the issue needed to be tackled in its entirety.

“The regulation makers need to think about all the reasons leading to academic fraud,” Zhao said. “Another thing is how to implement the regulations effectively. Without such implementation they would be useless."

Top 10 Law Firms in the Kingdom of Cambodia

Chambers and Partners - Home

1 Bun & Associates

THE FIRM Sources single out this firm as a market leader, highlighting its increasing appeal to foreign clients. The team's key areas of expertise include banking, foreign investments, real estate and commercial litigation. In the past year, it advised Minebea on business establishment and foreign investment regulations. Other key clients include CIMB Bank, HwangDBS Commercial Bank and Ajinomoto.

Sources say: "We found their service comprehensive and responsive, which enabled us to meet our deadlines. The team was very professional and dedicated."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Youdy Bun is "dynamic, committed and has an international outlook." He recently advised a major local company on the acquisition of a USD60 million brewery plant. His impressive client roster also includes several foreign banks operating in Cambodia. Antoine Fontaine is a popular choice among international firms, and is most noted for his work with French clients.

2 DFDL

THE FIRM DFDL's depth of resources and strong Indochina presence make the firm a popular choice for complex, cross-border deals in the region. With tax advisers on the team, it is able to provide clients with all-round advice that encompasses both legal and tax aspects. The firm is particularly well known for project finance deals. It was instructed by Export-Import Bank of China in a USD300 million hydropower project to be developed in Pursat province in Cambodia. Real estate is another area of strength; the team recently advised the Royal Group of Companies on the acquisition of Hotel Cambodiana.

Sources say: "Their cross-country presence works tremendously in their favour." "They are fantastic in Cambodia and have great regional expertise too."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Martin Desautels is well regarded for investment funds and project finance matters. He proves particularly popular with foreign banks. Commentators report: "He has been in the region for a long time and has  very deep knowledge and experience of the sectors and ministries here. He's also incredibly client-focused and ensures that we get the service we want from DFDL."

3 Sciaroni and Associates

THE FIRM This firm has a long and distinguished track record in advising foreign clients on their inbound investments. Commentators single out the team's strong relationship with the government as one of its greatest strengths. It is particularly active in the areas of property development, agriculture, telecoms and mining.
Sources say: "A top-tier, well-established firm."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Bretton Sciaroni is an adviser to the Cambodian authorities and is the first port of call for clients with government-related issues. Matthew Rendall is best known for his substantial expertise in property matters. Sources commend him for being "a solid practitioner who can pinpoint potential problems before they arise." 

4 BNG Legal 

THE FIRM Clients turn to BNG Legal for its robust foreign investments and company formation practices. Recent highlights for the firm include advising BHP Billiton on compliance with local regulations in areas such as taxation, insurance and labour. The team is also active in the IP arena, handling portfolio maintenance, licensing, anti-counterfeiting and enforcement matters. Its client base also includes Air France, Swift Resources and Leopard Capital.
Sources say: "They are quick to respond and are patient in sitting down with us and discussing the issues in detail."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Naryth Hem is a seasoned practitioner who advises both local and foreign clients on their business operations in Cambodia. One client notes: "He is adept at advising on reaching an agreement between foreign and local investors." Liam Garvey is another leading figure in the team. He is particularly highly regarded for his experience in commercial matters.

5 Bou Nou Ouk & Partners

THE FIRM Ban Nou Ouk & Partners is widely known for its solid litigation practice, particularly in regard to criminal law. It also offers a full range of services in the banking, finance, labour, taxation and real estate areas. The firm is also well versed in advising foreign investors, and has a strong Malaysian and Chinese client base in the garment and manufacturing sectors.
Sources say: "They have strong corporate and litigious practices, and are leaders for criminal matters."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Interviewees highlight Ry Ouk's overseas training as a key draw for international clients. They also single out his negotiating skills: "He's a very forthright negotiator who is not afraid to take a stand and defend it."

6 HBS LAW

THE FIRM This firm stands out for its extensive capability in litigious matters, including IP and criminal cases. Its commercial practice is another core strength. It also advises on banking, telecoms, property and infrastructure matters. The firm attracts both local and foreign clients, with the latter coming from China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.
Sources say: "HBS has a very strong contentious practice."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Clients take great comfort in the high level of commitment they get from managing director Ly Tayseng. He advises foreign investors on company formation issues, and also handles dispute resolution, including international commercial arbitration.

7 Sok & Heng

THE FIRM Sok & Heng was founded in March 2010 and has already secured a prominent position in the market. Sources underline the full-service firm's strength in advising international clients. Its recent highlights include advising WING Cambodia on various matters, including revising mobile network operator agreements and general corporate governance. The group also acted for Malaysian-listed company Golden Land in the acquisition of approximately 30,000 hectares of concession land.

Sources say: “The firm is professional, thorough and extremely knowledgeable in Cambodian law.”

KEY INDIVIDUALS Heng Chhay advises clients on corporate and commercial work, and is particularly highly regarded for property matters. Clients report: “Working with someone like Chhay is a breath of fresh air because he's truly informed about the laws and the frequent changes that occur within the legal system.” Khavan Sok is praised as "a shrewd negotiator and talented problem solver – he is able to articulate the laws in an easily comprehensible manner."

8 Sok Siphana & Associates 

THE FIRM This boutique excels in advising on international trade and corporate law. It is sought out by multinational firms for its expertise in the real estate, agriculture and tourism industries. It recently advised the Leopard Cambodia Fund on its investments in local projects. The team also acted on a joint venture between a Thai holding company and a Cambodian firm for the trading and manufacturing of agricultural chemical products.

Sources say: "The firm has extensive knowledge of the Cambodian market and is well versed in the local laws and regulations."

KEY INDIVIDUALS Seasoned practitioner Siphana Sok is lauded for his expertise in commercial matters. "He's among the top Cambodian lawyers, someone whom I respect enormously," a peer affirms. Sok's wealth of experience includes holding top posts in Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce, the International Trade Centre and a joint agency of the WTO and UNCTAD.

News on Draft Law, January 4, 2013

During the meeting of council of ministers today, the Royal Government of Cambodia has adopted the draft law on amended article 9 and 10 of the Common Status of Civil Servants, Draft Royal Degree on Academic Statues, and Draft Sub degree on Code Ethics of midwife. 

ក្នុង​កិច្ច​ប្រជុំ​គណៈ​រដ្ឋមន្ត្រី នៅ​ព្រឹកមិញ រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ក៏​បាន​អនុម័ត​លើ​សេចក្តី​ព្រាង​ច្បាប់ ស្តី​ពី វិសោធនកម្ម​មាត្រា​៩ និង​មាត្រា​១០ នៃ​ច្បាប់​ស្តី​ពី​សហ​លក្ខន្តិកៈ​មន្ត្រី​រាជការ​ស៊ីវិល នៃ​ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រ​កម្ពុជា សេចក្តី​ព្រាង​ព្រះ​រាជក្រឹត្យ ស្តី​ពី ការ​ផ្តល់​ឋានៈ​សាស្ត្រាចារ្យ​ សេចក្តី​ព្រាង​អនុក្រឹត្យ ស្តី​ពី​ក្រម​សីលធម៌​ឆ្មប។

 

Cambodia: Tourist arrivals top estimates

Last Updated on 01 January 2013

By Rann Reuy

 

The number of tourists to arrive in Cambodia in 2012 was at least 200,000 higher than expectations, possibly reaching 3.5 million, officials said yesterday.

Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, told the Post yesterday that  in the first 11 months of 2012, Cambodia received 3.2 million tourists, and that he assumed for the whole of December, Cambodia would receive an additional 300,000 tourists. He said the number of international tourists arriving in Cambodia reached nearly 2.8 million in 2011, so 2012 saw an increase of more than 20 per cent.
He pointed out that there are some key factors leading to the increases in tourist arrivals, such as political stability and security, as well as being  the host country of ASEAN summits and other related meetings.

He said other reasons included Cambodia establishing new tourism products such as developments in the coastal areas and inland, under the “Green and Clean” slogan. He added that Cambodian services had also improved.

The numbers would be sure to increase even more with direct flights between Cambodia and Indonesia and the long-awaited ACMECS’ single visa implementation for Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam.

“In 2012, if there are not obstacles, and if we solve some problems, we can achieve higher numbers,” he said, adding: “If we push it fast, the increase is faster than what we receive now.”

Sinan Thourn, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association, said he agreed that tourist arrivals increased in 2012. But he said at the same time some hurdles prevented a greater increase.
He said direct flights from Japan or India should be launched to push the increase in tourism, while direct flights from China are still limited.

“If Cambodia [launches more] direct flights with India, China and Japan, then we believe numbers will increase more,” he said. He added that “tourists in Asia Pacific are crucial for Cambodia because it is a huge market”.

Ang Kim Eang, president of the Cambodia Association of Travel Agents, said along with growth, there were some guests extending their stay in Cambodia as a result of the development of tourism products.
 

Vietnam: the end is nigh

By Roger Mitton

 
 US President Barack Obama (L) toasts with Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen at an East Asia Summit dinner last week. Photograph: Reuters

Well, well, the big visit of United States President Barack Obama to Phnom Penh for the East Asia Summit is over and “No Drama Obama” lived up to his moniker.

Indeed, the whole shebang will be remembered not for his presence, but for the way Cambodia’s chairmanship caused yet another squabble among ASEAN members.

As at the July ministerial meeting, last week’s war of words was about failing to reach a consensus about whether they had reached a consensus about handling the South China Sea sovereignty disputes.

Yeah, really. Go figure.

In reality, the most important aspect of the summit was related to what Obama had said earlier in Yangon.

Lauding Myanmar’s reforms, he signalled to other recalcitrant regimes that America’s hand would be extended to them if they would also mend their ways.

“I want to send a message across Asia,” said Obama. “We don’t need to be defined by the prisons of the past, we need to look forward to the future.”

Echoing her boss, National Security Council adviser Samantha Power said: “The president is sending a signal to other countries where reform either is not happening or repression is happening.”

She added: “If you take these reform steps, we will meet you action for action.”

In a nutshell then, Obama visited Myanmar because Washington was gratified by its reforms and rewarded it accordingly.

Restrictions on its imports into the US were removed and a $170 million scheme was initiated to boost good governance and capacity building.

The flip side of the message was that he would avoid visiting other places that were perceived as not reforming, like Cambodia and Vietnam.

Oh, but you will say he visited Cambodia.

Yes, but as the New York Times noted: “Obama made clear he came only because Cambodia happened to be the site for a summit meeting of Asian leaders.”

If the EAS has been held elsewhere, he would have given Phnom Penh a wide berth because of the government’s shoddy human rights record.

Obliged to spend a day here, he shunned Cambodian leaders as much as possible and spent his sole encounter with Hun Sen chastising the Prime Minister over the repression of oppositionists and civil society advocates.

Afterwards, Obama refused to make a joint statement with Hun Sen, as is customary with leaders who host him.

That poke in the eye, however, was nothing compared to the way he stiffed Vietnam. He simply refused to go there. And rightly so.

When it comes to detaining dissidents, suppressing minority and religious rights and crushing free speech and multiparty democracy, Vietnam makes Myanmar look like a paradise.

Last month, two musicians joined scores of other detainees when they got 10-year jail terms for writing songs that criticised Hanoi’s lack of social justice and human rights.

Said Amnesty International’s Rupert Abbott: “These men are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression through their songs and non-violent activities.”

In truth, the Vietnam Communist Party’s days are numbered, not due to American pressure, but because of domestic fury over the government’s economic incompetence.

Earlier this year, an internal revolt tried to oust Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, but fearing the party itself might split, the instigators lost heart and Dung survived.

The reprieve was short-lived and he was again assailed last month and forced to apologise for his shabby performance.

Then, in Hanoi’s National Assembly 10 days ago, representative Duong Trung Quoc rose and demanded Dung resign.

Not only was Quoc not reprimanded, but the state-controlled media reported what he’d said and the assembly later passed a resolution mandating a vote of confidence in Dung’s government.

It clearly signals the beginning of the end for Dung and almost certainly for the party’s dictatorial monopoly of the political arena.

And not before time. For the people of Vietnam understood Obama’s message, even if the cavemen in power did not.