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The following is an unofficial translation of the Law on the Elections of the Commune Councils resulting from an amendment that came into force on 27 June 2006.

The version in Khmer of this law and its amendment should be referred to as the official text.

The first study in this series, Voice, Choice and Decision: A Study of Local Governance Processes in Cambodia (VCD1), conducted in 2011, led to useful insights into the channels through which citizens engage in commune-level decision-making. It presented the formal and informal framework for citizen voice and downward accountability at the communes/sangkat level in Cambodia. This VCD1 study was, however, limited to the domain of the commune council, and focused mainly on Commune-Sangkat Fund (CSF) decision-making. Processes of voice, choice and decision are also crucial to effective service delivery, and, more broadly, to the development of consistent and predictable local governance.

The primary purpose of this Report is to encourage the RGC to continue in its efforts to adopt freedom of information legislation and to facilitate greater access to information. The Report looks at freedom of information principles, the status of the right to freedom of information in international law, and how access to information is currently dealt with in Cambodian laws. The Report also examines the difficulties that ordinary Cambodians face on a day-to-day basis when attempting to access information. The Report uses as examples four areas that CCHR has identified as being particularly important in so far as freedom of information is concerned – corruption (Chapter Four), the media (Chapter Five), the rule of law (Chapter Six), and resources and land (Chapter Seven). It also outlines structures and mechanisms that could be put in place to facilitate greater access to information, and provides recommendations for the content of a freedom of information law.

This report focuses on the news media of Cambodia – television and radio stations, newspapers and, to a limited extent, the Internet. It will look at the media from a human rights perspective, examining the state of press freedom, access to information, attacks and threats against journalists. The report is based on documentary research, in-depth interviews and a survey of 150 Cambodian journalists. The results might hold some surprises about a media often cited as one of the most free in Southeast Asia.