Cambodian Center for Human Rights
Joint Media Release by the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and
the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Phnom Penh, 22 April 2009
For Immediate Release
Joint submission for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cambodia’s Human Rights record - Freedom of expression and assembly seriously undermined
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) and Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are pleased to announce that a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - coordinated by the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) and assisted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) - has made a joint submission on freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, for inclusion in its summary of stakeholder information for the purposes of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cambodia’s Human Rights record.
The submission shows that the last four years have seen freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia seriously undermined, with opinion restricted, parliamentarians silenced, the media controlled, access to information blocked, and assembly and public demonstration prevented. The Royal Government of Cambodia has breached its international and constitutional human rights obligations, and has relied on national legislation which itself breaches these obligations.
In order to improve this situation, the coalition of NGOs urges the Government to properly respect freedom of expression and assembly and to implement a series of recommendations, including:
The full submission is available at www.cchrcambodia.org.
The submission shows that the last four years have seen freedom of expression and assembly in Cambodia seriously undermined, with opinion restricted, parliamentarians silenced, the media controlled, access to information blocked, and assembly and public demonstration prevented. The Royal Government of Cambodia has breached its international and constitutional human rights obligations, and has relied on national legislation which itself breaches these obligations.
In order to improve this situation, the coalition of NGOs urges the Government to properly respect freedom of expression and assembly and to implement a series of recommendations, including:
- i. Ratify the First Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to enable Cambodians to submit complaints to the Human Rights Committee relating to violations of their freedom to expression and assembly, and other human rights.
- ii. Invite the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression to visit and assess the situation in Cambodia, and to make recommendations.
- iii. Work with other ASEAN member states to create an ASEAN Human Rights body in 2009.
- iv. Establish an independent National Human Rights Commission in 2009, in keeping with the Paris Principles.
- v. Publicly endorse the Johannesburg Principles and work with NGOs to formulate a freedom of expression and assembly strategy as part of a wider human rights action plan.
- vi. Decriminalize disinformation and defamation in the course of reforming the criminal law.
- vii. Invite experts including the international NGO Article 19 and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to assess and recommend amendments to the 1995 Press Law and 1991 Law on Demonstrations. Implement these newly amended laws.
The full submission is available at www.cchrcambodia.org.
5 comments:
One should clearly knows that Cambodia is a country being ruled and oppressed by a the dictator. A dictator is not a LEADER. A Leader will lead the nation as though a parent lead his/her children. A Leader will show sympathy, mercy, compassion, and kindness while a dictator like Hun Sen will show only arrogance, cockiness, revenge, oppression, cruelty, self-importance, greed, ignorance.
This is the new khmers they barely survive, they just want to live from day to day. No one wanted to fight for what they beliefs any more. Khmer had suffered too much since the fall of Ankgor after the 13th century. IF you don't beleive me you can do a poll. Most of them want nothing else but the food to fill the stomach until the next day, and most of them depend fate or wait for the savoir would fall from the sky to save them. These are khmer Buddhist not the khmer Phrumahn or Mahayan Buddhist. During pol pot were khmer Thmil
( khmer that had no belief in religion) and most them were rised from peasants. When will real khmer wake up? When will real khmer be an independent? Not like the old khmer with phrumahn and Mahayan Buddhist, they protected their Counry, cities, and created prosperity for their people. Their leaders and kings were khmer blood because when khmer hurt they also hurt, and they will die for khmer and protect khmer from enimies. What about Khmer today?
Khmer now even the Kings are slaves. The country is being robbed by yuon. The Ex-king is a chinese slave, the leaders are yuon slave, and the king is gay. It is very disfunctional country.
We khmers need good foods to survive. Not a rotten foods from yuon that make us sick, weak, and drowsy, or make us go to sleep and some of them never wake up. We,khmer need good foods from the honest people, the foods that are sustanable to us so we can wake up one day and see the sun light again one day. Peace to all khmers!
For 30 years under the oppression of a savage dictator, a lot of Khmer people do not have even enough food to fill their hungry stomachs. How much longer will they have enough food to eat while the uneducated dictator and all his families and cronoies have more than plenty?
8:32
How about you show some respect for your king? because of people like you, cocksuckers in thailand have no respect for our people. because of people like you, cocksuckers in vietnam undermine our race. why? because we can't even respect our own people. we can't even respect our own king. how do you expect outsiders to respect us?
YOU need to wake up one day and see the sun light. you live in a dark hole of hatred. grow the fuck up and see the light. and while you are at it, learn a little respect. he is still your king.
Hi my beloved fellows,
As long as we (you and me)still believe that Khmer will be better one day, then it will. Let's say when, how and where to start? Remember Maha Gandhi said "worship without sacrifice is a sin" So, ask ourselves "are we sacrificing and giving something up for our nation yet?"
If you love our nation, please keep this in mind " the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow".
Love Khmer
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