AHRC-STM-323-2008
December 23, 2008
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
CAMBODIA: Denial of free speech in the Parliament must be removed
CAMBODIA: Denial of free speech in the Parliament must be removed
According to the Cambodian Constitution the country is supposed to be a liberal democracy, governed by the rule of law and respecting the international human rights norms and standards. This democracy is a parliamentary democracy with a representative parliament composed of a directly elected National Assembly and an indirectly elected Senate. It is equipped with a system of checks and balances, with separation of powers and an independent judiciary. Power is vested with the Cambodian people, who exercise it through the parliament, the government and the judiciary.
However, the institutions for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law are largely dysfunctional and are dominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party or CPP, a former communist party, which has grown in strength after a setback in the transition from communism in the early 1990s. These institutional defects and the increasing strength and dominance of the ruling party are having an impact on the ‘democratic space’ in Cambodia and the rights and freedoms of its people and their elected representatives.
In July of this year Cambodia held a parliamentary election in which the ruling CPP won an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly, 90 out of 123. Four other parties won the rest of the seats with the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) having 26, the Human Rights Party (HRP) 3, FUNCINPEC 2 and the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) 2.
The CPP has continued in office with FUNCINPEC and NRP as its allies while SRP and HRP are in the opposition. When the new parliament was sworn in last September, the CPP used its overwhelming dominance to force the adoption of the internal rules or standing orders of its predecessor, despite opposition from SRP and HRP.
According to Articles 48 and 55 of these standing orders, MPs are seated in groups, each of which are composed of at least ten members with a leader and a deputy-leader. MPs from parties with less than ten seats must join a group of their liking. An MP cannot speak in the parliament unless he or she is a member of a group, makes a request to speak through the representative of the group, and gets permission from the National Assembly’s Chairman.
The conditions laid down by these standing orders have denied MPs the right to freedom of speech in the parliament in the exercise of their mandate. They have already prevented the three MPs from the HRP from speaking in the National Assembly since they had been sworn in, when they uphold the independent stand of their party, want to be free to speak their minds without any inhibition, and refuse to join any group.
By thus denying MPs the right to free speech, these standing orders have violated one of the fundamental conditions for a parliament to be representative, which Cambodia’s National Assembly is supposed to be, and for its members to represent their electors effectively, a representation which Cambodia’s constitution has guaranteed. They have therefore violated Cambodia’s own constitution which has fully recognized this condition when MPs represent not only their constituents but also the whole nation and are free to speak their minds.
Article 77 of this constitution says: “The deputies in the National Assembly shall represent the entire Cambodian people, not only Cambodians from their constituencies. Any imperative mandate shall be null and void.”
The same standing orders have run counter to the parliamentary immunity from prosecution, arrest or detention that MPs enjoy under Article 80 of the constitution, for opinions expressed in the exercise of their mandate. The Law on the Status of Members of Parliament (2006) has affirmed as ‘absolute’ this immunity.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) holds that Articles 48 and 55 of the standing orders that deny MPs freedom of speech are unconstitutional, and urges the National Assembly of Cambodia to remove them without delay so that Members of Parliament, regardless of whether they are in the minority, are free to speak their minds without any inhibition in the exercise of their mandate as elected representatives of the Cambodian people.
However, the institutions for parliamentary democracy and the rule of law are largely dysfunctional and are dominated by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party or CPP, a former communist party, which has grown in strength after a setback in the transition from communism in the early 1990s. These institutional defects and the increasing strength and dominance of the ruling party are having an impact on the ‘democratic space’ in Cambodia and the rights and freedoms of its people and their elected representatives.
In July of this year Cambodia held a parliamentary election in which the ruling CPP won an overwhelming majority of seats in the National Assembly, 90 out of 123. Four other parties won the rest of the seats with the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) having 26, the Human Rights Party (HRP) 3, FUNCINPEC 2 and the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) 2.
The CPP has continued in office with FUNCINPEC and NRP as its allies while SRP and HRP are in the opposition. When the new parliament was sworn in last September, the CPP used its overwhelming dominance to force the adoption of the internal rules or standing orders of its predecessor, despite opposition from SRP and HRP.
According to Articles 48 and 55 of these standing orders, MPs are seated in groups, each of which are composed of at least ten members with a leader and a deputy-leader. MPs from parties with less than ten seats must join a group of their liking. An MP cannot speak in the parliament unless he or she is a member of a group, makes a request to speak through the representative of the group, and gets permission from the National Assembly’s Chairman.
The conditions laid down by these standing orders have denied MPs the right to freedom of speech in the parliament in the exercise of their mandate. They have already prevented the three MPs from the HRP from speaking in the National Assembly since they had been sworn in, when they uphold the independent stand of their party, want to be free to speak their minds without any inhibition, and refuse to join any group.
By thus denying MPs the right to free speech, these standing orders have violated one of the fundamental conditions for a parliament to be representative, which Cambodia’s National Assembly is supposed to be, and for its members to represent their electors effectively, a representation which Cambodia’s constitution has guaranteed. They have therefore violated Cambodia’s own constitution which has fully recognized this condition when MPs represent not only their constituents but also the whole nation and are free to speak their minds.
Article 77 of this constitution says: “The deputies in the National Assembly shall represent the entire Cambodian people, not only Cambodians from their constituencies. Any imperative mandate shall be null and void.”
The same standing orders have run counter to the parliamentary immunity from prosecution, arrest or detention that MPs enjoy under Article 80 of the constitution, for opinions expressed in the exercise of their mandate. The Law on the Status of Members of Parliament (2006) has affirmed as ‘absolute’ this immunity.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) holds that Articles 48 and 55 of the standing orders that deny MPs freedom of speech are unconstitutional, and urges the National Assembly of Cambodia to remove them without delay so that Members of Parliament, regardless of whether they are in the minority, are free to speak their minds without any inhibition in the exercise of their mandate as elected representatives of the Cambodian people.
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
13 comments:
Cambodia... a liberal democracy under a constitutional monarchy????
Hahahaha...
These days, Cambodia is more like a vassal to Vietnam, with a core corrupted one-party state under the CPP banner and with AH HUN SEN as the dictator.
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Foe & Woe
This is the stupidest topic du jour. Who in their right mind would want to hear anything from losers?
Foe & woe" what ever,
dont' come here and make threats.
Just read, if u don't like it, don't read the comment here. No one forced you to read these comments.
for and woe, you like cambodian government now, trying to controll people.
get ur face out of here.
Fuck you, idiot (10:32), all government on the planet controls people. If they don't want you to smoke, the raise tax on cigarette. If they don't want you to drink, they raise tax on liquor. If they don't want you to own a house, they raise tax on housing. So wake up, motherfucker!
6:05 AM,
However, Cambodia has absolutely a shitty prime minister and the CPP is the pile of shit. There's differences amongst the governments around the world in how they control the population and the level of liberties that are allowed. In the case of the CPP-majority ruled government of Cambodia, Hun Sen acts like the head of the mafia, his family and high ranking associates in the government are a bunch of mafia thugs. Seriously, Cambodia is one big mafia turf where the style of rule is gangster-style.
Even so, it's still a lot easier to satisfied one boss than 20-30 bosses.
We (Khmer) don't need to hear from any lowlife like donut maker, blueberry picker, ..., or cyclo driver.
I am the ONE who is in charge (and control) of the situation in Cambodia; thus, don't pontificate what I need or needn't to do (after all, this is my turf).
Additionally, the overseas monkeys do not deserve "Happy Holidays" greetings from me or my colleagues.
Foe & Woe
2:06 PM,
Get a life you retard. Quit pretending to be something that you're not. You ain't got no control nor are you in charge. You're just a sad little bumpkin that needs attention and has this identity complex. You are a sad sad sad little unimportant person.
2:54 Pm, take it easy on him. I heard he considered seeing Pschiatrist now.
i have a feeling that perhaps the conflicts between the two bickering parties stemmed from their differences of views in parliament debate or whatever. there leaders need to grow up and must learn to work together in harmony, instead of fighting each other nonstop like this! when you are a leader, of course, people look up to you and expect more out of you. thus, please act like one, then! i'm sure the ordinary people and citizens of cambodia are so sick and tired of their fighting each other to no avail! maybe, there ought to be a psychologist, sociologist, or psychiatrist on duty at gov't houses to sort out all their bickering differences. really, this is what cambodia need! even leaders have depression, too, you know!
No, on one on the planet has to work with cyclo drivers, donut makers, ..., or blueberry pickers.
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