Supporters of Mam Sonando confront police outside Phnom Penh's municipal court. The independent broadcaster was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Cambodia, Mam Sonando, Southeast Asia, freedom of expression, human rights | in photos Can Surya Subedi do his job and still maintain a relationship with an increasingly sensitive government?A United Nations rights envoy says Cambodia must accelerate the pace of its democracy reforms, but it’s unclear how much sway he holds with a government that has become increasingly resistant to international criticism.
Surya Subedi, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, says he has seen encouraging developments in the south-east Asian nation. But there remain worrying trends.
Subedi faces a difficult balancing act when it comes to fulfilling his mission in Cambodia: being a vocal critic could risk alienating a government with which he must ultimately work, while underplaying key concerns could render him ineffective.
"He has all the room in the world," says one observer. "But if his objective is not to offend Mr. Hun Sen and the Cambodian government, then he has no room at all."
Cambodia, Hun Sen, Surya Subedi, development, free speech, human rights | in features 
In Cambodia, the burgeoning maid industry is struggling to keep up with demand in MalaysiaThe wound over Lay Limheang’s left ear has healed into a coarse, bulbous lump. It’s the scars you can’t see that still trouble her.
There have never been many options for women like her in this small village in central Cambodia: make your living in the fields, or head to town and get a job at the factory.
Limheang chose the latter.
But she found she could barely make ends meet working for $80 a month, so in 2009, she quit her job and moved to Phnom Penh to train as a live-in housemaid.
By September, she was starting a new life in Kuala Lumpur. She had spent months learning how to cook and clean. But within weeks, battered, penniless and holding no passport, she was praying for escape.
Asia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, domestic workers, human rights, maids | in features 
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