Some 160 Cambodian journalists have adopted a common code of conduct to help journalists to better perform their journalistic job, an organizer of the forum said Tuesday.
Pa Nguon Teang, director of the Cambodian Center for Independence Media, the center which organized the event, said he hoped after this code of ethics is widely circulated, Cambodian journalists will better perform their duties.
The code of ethics covers a wide range of areas such as the search for and report on true
information, responsible press, independence of the press, sources, individuality, and how to
report on women, children and disabled people.
The forum was sponsored by the European Union and the Office of the United Nations for Human Rights in Cambodia.
Before adopting the common code of ethics, Pa Nguon Teang noted that some Cambodian journalists have never been trained and nor are full aware of their journalistic code of conducts.
He then insisted that by having a code of ethics and journalists practicing their rule and
discipline will in return get trust from the public.
According to the Club of Cambodian Journalists, one of the biggest journalists associations in Cambodia, some Cambodian reporters, mostly working in provinces, are facing lawsuits for their parts of not performing their code of ethics with some involved in libel, distortion, or blackmail.
It has recorded nine cases of lawsuits against journalists since early this year.