(Credit: Phnom Penh Post, screenshot)

Cambodia’s Phnom Penh Post published an article calling for the country to create “an independent self-regulation mechanism and a journalists’ code of ethics.”

The article was by UNESCO representative Anna Lemaistre and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia deputy representative James Heenan.

The Phnom Penh Post article noted that a 2010 UNESCO-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights conference on journalism ethics led to the “fledgling organisation” Cambodian Journalist Council for ethics.  The council wants to create a media regulation system and publish “recommendations and alerts” about ethical violations.

Problems in Cambodia’s media inculde bias, anonymous sources, sensationalism and graphic images, according to the Phnom Penh Post’s report.

Other issues include “low salaries, lack of access to information, lack of formal training, and limited protection from legal and physical harassment.”