Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission
Unlike many other countries, Cambodia is bound to international human rights obligations, including one towards its citizens who wish to participate in the promotion of human rights. Thus, under the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 that ended the conflict in that country, “Cambodia undertakes”, among other things, “to support the right of all (its) citizens to undertake activities that would promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
Since the conclusion of those agreements many such citizens have formed various NGOs with the purpose of doing precisely that work. Nowadays, there are several thousand NGOs that have registered but only a fraction of them are actually operational.
In reality, the Cambodian government has not honoured this particular international obligation as the registration of NGOs is a lengthy and complicated business, and requires the approval of officials at many levels of administration from the commune, district and provincial levels to many units higher up in the Ministry of Interior.
As to human rights defenders themselves, who are invariably affiliated to such NGOs, they not only have little support and protection from the government but also have at times received threats and intimidation from its agents. More often than not these agents have restricted their activities. The general attitude of the government is simply not particularly favourable to their work when NGOs and human rights defenders are invariably critical of the human rights situation in the country, an assessment which the government does not like at all.
Human rights defenders and their NGOs working closely with the grassroots people, have come to know the real situation and have been able to make interventions to help victims of human rights abuses. They have also been able to bring their cases to the attention of the relevant public authorities. It has now become a routine in the country that whenever people have some troubles related to human rights violations, the first thing they do is to call for help from the NGOs and inform sympathetic media so that they can highlight their cases. NGOs and human rights defenders have become part of the country’s social landscape.
For their respective part, the government has set up its own human rights committee, and the National Assembly (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House) have likewise their respective human rights committees. Alleged victims of human rights violations have resort to these public institutions, invariably with the help from human rights defenders. But the effectiveness of these committees is debatable when, at times, they are not so keen to receive complaints from victims and fail to keep them informed of the progress of their investigations.
Recently, the government has shown more hostility to NGOs and human rights defenders. When reconfirmed in office after the July 2008 elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen prioritised the law on NGOs as one of the first three laws his government set out to enact, the other laws being the penal code and anti-corruption law. On both pieces of legislation the government has made frequent promises to enact. The reason behind the enactment of the NGO law was said to prevent the funding of NGOs by terrorist organisations. In September, 2008 Hun Sen asserted: “We have a concern that sometimes under so and so NGO, financial assistance has been provided for terrorist activities, take for instance the Al Um Quran under which Ham Bali hid himself in Cambodia.” But what has been forgotten was that the anti-Terrorism Law of 2007 (Chapter 11 on funding and aid for terrorism) has already adequately addressed this issue.
In March 2009, in response to a critical assessment of the human rights situation in Cambodia by the US State Department, Hun Sen accused NGOs of giving “misleading information” to the report and lashed out at them saying that, “human rights NGOs are working only for salaries; if they didn’t criticize the government, they would be out of work; they would also have to close their doors if there were no assistance from abroad.” He further asserted that in order to get money, “they have therefore to endeavour to fabricate stories to prove that the government has a poor human rights record.” The US and its various foundations are a major source of funding for Cambodian NGOs.
This year the NGO bashing has reached the mass media sympathizing with the government when TV channels have aired comedies to paint bad pictures, not only of donors but also the NGOs themselves. Representatives of donors were shown as being more concerned with womanizing than with evaluating the work of NGOs while NGOs were shown as being busy producing reports critical of the government to submit to their donors. Recently, the government’s hostility has gone as far seeing local and international NGOs and even international agencies, when critical of the human rights situation in Cambodia, as working for the opposition.
Human rights defenders have therefore not been secure in their work. In 2008, ADHOC, a leading human rights NGO reported 63 cases of threats of various forms, including arrests, against hundreds of defenders. These defenders comprised in majority, community representatives advocating the protection of their lands, human rights activists and trade unionists.
According to ADHOC, such threats were “an unprecedented phenomenon” and they had happened in almost every province and municipality. ADHOC asserted that public authorities took no action against the perpetrators and the judiciary seems to have connived with these threats. It said that, “In particular, threats against human rights defenders on the part of some judges and prosecutors became close to (being) systematic, and the Supreme Council of Magistracy (in charge of nominating and disciplining judges and prosecutors) and the Ministry of Justice failed to take disciplinary measures against judges and prosecutors committing such abuses.”
Very recently, apparently under pressure from powerful persons interested in the exploitation of the resources that are supposed to belong to the indigenous people in the area, according to the country’s land law, a judge recommended to ADHOC to remove from a member of its staff from Rattanakiri province. Pen Bonnar, is a human rights defender well known for his defence of the rights of the indigenous people against the encroachment of their local land and forests by the rich and powerful. That judge intimated that if Pen Bonnar was no longer under his jurisdiction he was not have to conduct the investigation into the charges of defamation, disinformation and incitement against him. ADHOC obliged and assigned Pen Bonnar to work in Phnom Penh.
By making obstacles to the work of human rights defenders and their respective NGOs, the Cambodian government has not only defied its own undertaking under the Paris Peace Agreements but also the country’s Constitution. Article 31 of this Constitution says, inter alia, that “The Kingdom of Cambodia shall recognize and respect human rights as stipulated in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the covenants and conventions related to human rights, women’s and children’s rights.” The same Constitution, under its Article 35, guarantees its citizens’ “the right to participate actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation.”
The government’s NGO bashing and obstructions have affected the citizens’ constitutional right “to establish associations” (Art. 42). It has also violated their right mentioned above to participate in the political, economic, social and cultural rights of the country.
By working against NGOs and human rights defenders, the Cambodian government has also violated the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which the UN General Assembly adopted with its Resolution 53/144 dated 9 December 1998. This Declaration should have been more widely known and complied with, especially among government officials dealing with human rights defenders, as the field Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Phnom Penh widely disseminated it in the local language (Khmer) since 2006.
The work and activities of NGOs and human rights defenders is in conformity with this Declaration to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, the Cambodian government should do its part and fulfil more of its responsibilities. In particular, it should provide protection to all human rights defenders as stipulated under Art 12 (2) of the Declaration:
"2. The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.”
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly urges the Cambodian government to honour all its international human rights obligations, and in particular, to support the right of all its citizens, human rights defenders and NGOs to undertake activities that promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia. The government and its agents must provide adequate protection to all human rights defenders.
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.
Since the conclusion of those agreements many such citizens have formed various NGOs with the purpose of doing precisely that work. Nowadays, there are several thousand NGOs that have registered but only a fraction of them are actually operational.
In reality, the Cambodian government has not honoured this particular international obligation as the registration of NGOs is a lengthy and complicated business, and requires the approval of officials at many levels of administration from the commune, district and provincial levels to many units higher up in the Ministry of Interior.
As to human rights defenders themselves, who are invariably affiliated to such NGOs, they not only have little support and protection from the government but also have at times received threats and intimidation from its agents. More often than not these agents have restricted their activities. The general attitude of the government is simply not particularly favourable to their work when NGOs and human rights defenders are invariably critical of the human rights situation in the country, an assessment which the government does not like at all.
Human rights defenders and their NGOs working closely with the grassroots people, have come to know the real situation and have been able to make interventions to help victims of human rights abuses. They have also been able to bring their cases to the attention of the relevant public authorities. It has now become a routine in the country that whenever people have some troubles related to human rights violations, the first thing they do is to call for help from the NGOs and inform sympathetic media so that they can highlight their cases. NGOs and human rights defenders have become part of the country’s social landscape.
For their respective part, the government has set up its own human rights committee, and the National Assembly (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House) have likewise their respective human rights committees. Alleged victims of human rights violations have resort to these public institutions, invariably with the help from human rights defenders. But the effectiveness of these committees is debatable when, at times, they are not so keen to receive complaints from victims and fail to keep them informed of the progress of their investigations.
Recently, the government has shown more hostility to NGOs and human rights defenders. When reconfirmed in office after the July 2008 elections, Prime Minister Hun Sen prioritised the law on NGOs as one of the first three laws his government set out to enact, the other laws being the penal code and anti-corruption law. On both pieces of legislation the government has made frequent promises to enact. The reason behind the enactment of the NGO law was said to prevent the funding of NGOs by terrorist organisations. In September, 2008 Hun Sen asserted: “We have a concern that sometimes under so and so NGO, financial assistance has been provided for terrorist activities, take for instance the Al Um Quran under which Ham Bali hid himself in Cambodia.” But what has been forgotten was that the anti-Terrorism Law of 2007 (Chapter 11 on funding and aid for terrorism) has already adequately addressed this issue.
In March 2009, in response to a critical assessment of the human rights situation in Cambodia by the US State Department, Hun Sen accused NGOs of giving “misleading information” to the report and lashed out at them saying that, “human rights NGOs are working only for salaries; if they didn’t criticize the government, they would be out of work; they would also have to close their doors if there were no assistance from abroad.” He further asserted that in order to get money, “they have therefore to endeavour to fabricate stories to prove that the government has a poor human rights record.” The US and its various foundations are a major source of funding for Cambodian NGOs.
This year the NGO bashing has reached the mass media sympathizing with the government when TV channels have aired comedies to paint bad pictures, not only of donors but also the NGOs themselves. Representatives of donors were shown as being more concerned with womanizing than with evaluating the work of NGOs while NGOs were shown as being busy producing reports critical of the government to submit to their donors. Recently, the government’s hostility has gone as far seeing local and international NGOs and even international agencies, when critical of the human rights situation in Cambodia, as working for the opposition.
Human rights defenders have therefore not been secure in their work. In 2008, ADHOC, a leading human rights NGO reported 63 cases of threats of various forms, including arrests, against hundreds of defenders. These defenders comprised in majority, community representatives advocating the protection of their lands, human rights activists and trade unionists.
According to ADHOC, such threats were “an unprecedented phenomenon” and they had happened in almost every province and municipality. ADHOC asserted that public authorities took no action against the perpetrators and the judiciary seems to have connived with these threats. It said that, “In particular, threats against human rights defenders on the part of some judges and prosecutors became close to (being) systematic, and the Supreme Council of Magistracy (in charge of nominating and disciplining judges and prosecutors) and the Ministry of Justice failed to take disciplinary measures against judges and prosecutors committing such abuses.”
Very recently, apparently under pressure from powerful persons interested in the exploitation of the resources that are supposed to belong to the indigenous people in the area, according to the country’s land law, a judge recommended to ADHOC to remove from a member of its staff from Rattanakiri province. Pen Bonnar, is a human rights defender well known for his defence of the rights of the indigenous people against the encroachment of their local land and forests by the rich and powerful. That judge intimated that if Pen Bonnar was no longer under his jurisdiction he was not have to conduct the investigation into the charges of defamation, disinformation and incitement against him. ADHOC obliged and assigned Pen Bonnar to work in Phnom Penh.
By making obstacles to the work of human rights defenders and their respective NGOs, the Cambodian government has not only defied its own undertaking under the Paris Peace Agreements but also the country’s Constitution. Article 31 of this Constitution says, inter alia, that “The Kingdom of Cambodia shall recognize and respect human rights as stipulated in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human rights, the covenants and conventions related to human rights, women’s and children’s rights.” The same Constitution, under its Article 35, guarantees its citizens’ “the right to participate actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation.”
The government’s NGO bashing and obstructions have affected the citizens’ constitutional right “to establish associations” (Art. 42). It has also violated their right mentioned above to participate in the political, economic, social and cultural rights of the country.
By working against NGOs and human rights defenders, the Cambodian government has also violated the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which the UN General Assembly adopted with its Resolution 53/144 dated 9 December 1998. This Declaration should have been more widely known and complied with, especially among government officials dealing with human rights defenders, as the field Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Phnom Penh widely disseminated it in the local language (Khmer) since 2006.
The work and activities of NGOs and human rights defenders is in conformity with this Declaration to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. However, the Cambodian government should do its part and fulfil more of its responsibilities. In particular, it should provide protection to all human rights defenders as stipulated under Art 12 (2) of the Declaration:
"2. The State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.”
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) strongly urges the Cambodian government to honour all its international human rights obligations, and in particular, to support the right of all its citizens, human rights defenders and NGOs to undertake activities that promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia. The government and its agents must provide adequate protection to all human rights defenders.
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.
8 comments:
Human Right and freedom of speeches are the central parts of the country development. without human right and freedom of speeches, the country will be closed off from outside world as a backward of human specy. Cambodian of all sectors should have learnt these expirences already through these last 30 years of internal wars and invasion by neighbouring country.
1-After 17 April 1975, Cambodian human right has been completely destroyed by their monsters leaders. Each citizen life was worthed less than a chicken or a handfull of rice. People can be killed only for having eat one mouthfull of rice or one bamboo shoot. Some timetime, they can only be killed only for smilling to the khmer rouge. One boy has been killed for only having written down a song tittle " Father saw is with me".
After 1979, the vietnamese soldier has also killed Cambodian by just accusing them as Pol pot.
From 1979-1991, Cambodian under CPP has controled Cambodian very tigh. They can kill anyone for only saying that that person has connection with rebellion. The country was so poor and everyone scare to develop their lives. After 1993, UN has help Cambodian for new election and has advocated Cambodian government to free human right and freedom of speeches, then we can see Cambodian lives have started to develop with new cars, new motorbite, Mobile phone and new modern living is being restored. But this human right and freedom is always struggled by Hun sen and his clan. Hum Sen wants to control everything and everyone under his feet so that he can control them one by one.
My God, this kind of leader is no longer exist in other country.
We should keep him under our feet. So that he cannot harbors anymore terrorist like him.
Areak Prey
Human right organisations around the world must look at the black dog Siem army too those dogs killed too many Khmer poeple.
From Thana:
Dear, all local and oversea Cambodians,
As we are all Cambodians, pls do not waste our time anymore to criticise each other and fight only with our own people perself.
As Cambodians, we all must be proud and optimistic due to the fact that Camboida is one of the wonderful nation in the world in terms of culture, tradition, honest, patience, hard work, bravery, ....etc.
Therefore, if you agreed with me, pls let me say that from now on, we should put our interests in front firs and clearly classify them into priorities as best idea/suggestion/recommondation options for taking considerations as referent inputs in the agenda of current and future policy spaces:
1- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should unite as one voice to fight against foreign encrouchment/agression/interests;
2- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should stop criticise individual person, we should not name and colour each other;
3- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should express opinions in a manner of morality, respect to the press code. And judgement/assessment shoud be besed on data collection, survey, research, proof......etc.
Of course, even some circumstances, prerogative way of thinking may be used. However, sometime I would suggest that it should not be used and based too much on what we think perself rather than what we present as a majority/common think or perecption;
From Thana: Continue…………
4- As Khmer/Cambodians, we should only publish or disseminate information that would deem to be not useful and valuable to the interests of public, local, oversea patriots, and foreingers. Information provided should not be a such of felse or exxagerated information that would lead to conflict of interests between supporters and oppositors. Aand especially; as the result, it also misleads to the public and perceptions of foreigners because such wrong news may turn out into foreiners's wrong judgements, then lead to exsposure of bad images about Cambodia (we made and created ourself). Consequency, we lose opportunities, chances, interests, and ......etc., and then foreign countries may look down us and take opportunities/chances from our weekness; and
5- As Khmer/Cambodians, we must commit ourself and ready to devote our resouces (capital, finance, material, intellecual/brain, encouragement, motivation....etc)., and sacrify of our lifes to our nation and people. Frankly speaking, I am very impressive as I seen some of friends have done very good comments and suggestion about how to improve domecracy, defend the country's interests, deal with poverty alliviation such as ideas of transfering money back home to help families, relatives or country, express opinions to defend our nation from foreign aggression, and advise the government,......etc. However, I am very sad, while I see only small number of people always have negative and black or dark views about Cambodia that those will never be helpful to our country and people at all.By the way, since I rarely seen, may I suggest and encourage all of u to provide or share your encoutered experience about how to improve economy, trade, negotiation skills, social issues....etc, in which those ideas,sugguestions/recommondations/inputs would help Cambodia alot in general.
In conlusion, as we are now living in this modernized society, hi-technololy, free and fair trade/competition,nondiscrimination,....etc., we should stop expessing unimportant, felse, exxagerated and useless news/information that would mislead and then indirect or direct impacts to people and society, in particularly; our current chilrend or next young generation or even our Cambodian people as a whole. Incorrect news/information leads to big misleadings or misunderstandings. Therefore, negative impacts will be as follows:
- Conflict of interests;
- Creating gap, diversion, then it becomes difficulty/burdensome to break difference;
- Less chance to achieve common interest/goal/vision, then hard to get win-win solution; and
- Increase expusure of bad images about our country, then our people and country is in the position of losing, not foreign countries.
From Thana
Sorry, due to the technical problem and time constraint, u may see one of my previous posting is missing some words. However, the above text is came with an edition.
Democratic Kampuchea Pol Pot Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:
Tortures
Executions
Massacres
Atrocities
Crimes Against Humanity
Starvations
Overwork to Death
Slavery
Rapes
Human Abuses
Assault and Battery
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed:
Assassinations
Assassinated Journalists
Assassinated Political Opponents
Assassinated Leader of the Free Trade Union
Attempted Assassinations on Chea Vichea and Sam Rainsy
Attempted Murders on Chea Vichea and Sam Rainsy
Executed members of FUNCINPEC Party
Murders members and activists of Sam Rainsy Party
Killings
Extrajudicial Execution
Grenade Attack
Terrorism
Drive by Shooting
Tortures
Intimidations
Death Threats
Threatening
Human Abductions
Human Rights Abuses
Human Trafficking
Drugs Trafficking
Under Age Child Sex
Corruptions
Bribery
Illegal Mass Evictions
Illegal Land Grabbing
Illegal Firearms
Illegal Logging
Illegal Deforestation
Illegally use of remote detonation on Sokha Helicopter, while Hok Lundy and others military official on board.
Illegally Sold State Properties
Illegally Remove Parliamentary Immunity of Parliament Members
Plunder National Resources
Acid Attacks
Turn Cambodia into a Lawless Country
Oppression
Injustice
Steal Votes
Bring Foreigners from Veitnam to vote in Cambodia for Cambodian People's Party.
Abuse the Court as a tools for CPP to send political opponents and journalists to jail.
Abuse of Power
Abuse the Laws
Abuse the National Election Committee
Abuse the National Assembly
Violate the Laws
Violate the Constitution
Violate the Paris Accords
Impunity
Under the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime, no criminals that has been committed crimes against journalists, political opponents, leader of the Free Trade Union, innocent men, women and children have ever been brought to justice.
UNDER AGE CHILD SEX
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed under age child sex.
Svay Sitha is a senior government official from Cambodian People's Party.
Svay Sitha had a sexual relationship with Tat Marina, she was only 16 years old.
Source: Human Rights Watch
ACID ATTACK ON TAT MARINA
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed acid attack.
"On December 5, 1999, Tat Marina, age 16, was severely disfigured in an acid attack in Phnom Penh. The attack was allegedly committed by Khun Sophal, the wife of a senior government official, Svay Sitha, because she was angry her husband had a sexual relationship with Tat Marina. Neither Khun Sophal nor those suspected of being her accomplices in the attack were brought to justice. Intense media publicity compelled the Phnom Penh Municipal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Khun Sophal for attempted murder, but the police claimed that they could not locate her, although journalists reported that she was living at home as usual."
Source: Human Rights Watch
TORTURE AND MURDER ON PRAK SITHA WHILE IN CUSTODY BY MISNISTRY OF INTERIOR OFFICIAL
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed torture and murder.
"On the night of January 16, 2003, a street youth named Prak Sitha was beaten to death at the Ministry of Interior (MOI) headquarters after he was arrested and detained by off-duty MOI officers on suspicion of theft. His body - bearing numerous injuries to the head, torso, arms, and legs - was dumped at a Phnom Penh pagoda the following morning by ministry officers, in violation of police regulations regarding deaths in custody. No criminal charges were filed in connection with this death. In December 2004, the case was cited by the UN secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia - who stated that Prak Sitha died at the ministry "following beatings by a known police officer" - as an example of a "consistent and continuing pattern of impunity" in Cambodia."
Source: Human Rights Watch
PUT SAMPHORS WAS SHOT DEAD BY MEAN SOKCHEA, A RCAF MAJOR WORKING IN BRIGADE 70.
Hun Sen's personal Bodyguards Unit (Brigade 70) is a terrorist organization.
Hing Bunheang is a March 30, 1997 Grenade Attack suspect identified by the FBI.
Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen Khmer Rouge Regime had committed murder, again.
"On September 4, 2008, Mean Sokchea, a RCAF major working in Brigade 70, shot dead 21-year-old waitress Put Samphors at a restaurant in Kandal province. Mean Sokchea, in a drunken stupor, fired his gun and apparently mistakenly hit Put Samphors in the stomach. She was taken to a hospital but later died of her wounds. Mean Sokchea was detained by the police overnight but was then released, allegedly after intervention by Hing Bun Heang. Put Samphor's family received US$2,700 from Mean Sokchea, and the police told them that their daughter was shot while authorities were chasing robbers."
Source: Human Rights Watch
Where was the Human Right? Where were the UN and US? Where was the World compassion? Where was God? Where were you when we need you during the KR regime? I was there and watched the innocent Cambodian dying. I had only the questions without answers. How come the UN, US just show after the Vietnamese invaded and liberated the Cambodians from the bloody hand of Khmer Rouge?? Until now I still can not get the right answers!!!
i think cambodia can do this, but first stop the on-going she said, he said or them against us mentality, etc... this is where people get confused and mixed up about rights from wrongs! think about, really! there are other ways people can get cambodia to cooperate, it's called mutual respect. after all, this is cambodia, not some kind of a monster unruly people often painted cambodia to be, ok! wake up, people! you don't always get what you want all of the time, if cambodia can be patient, so can you! get with the program, ok! think about it!
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