Khmer M'chas Srok Declaration at the UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva

Human Rights Council 13th Regular Session
UPR Session – Consideration of Cambodia Report
March 17, 2010

EIP: World Association of School as an instruction of Peace
(Statement by Khmer M'Chas Srok)

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Thank you Mr. President.

I am honored for the privilege to deliver this important message on behalf of the Khmer people to the attention of the Human Rights Council. We were able to atted training through CIFEDHOP in December and please to conclude that experience with our intervention today. Then we look forward to the next step of implementation in Cambodia.

We are grateful to the UN Members for their active participation during Cambodia Review and we strongly support the UPR outcome with the 91 recommendations for Cambodia. We urge Cambodian Government to accept and adhere to all those recommendations by working in cooperation with the UN and international community.

Particularly,

1 - We demand justice for victims of genocide and crimes committed by the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). The “Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia” (ECCC) has been under constant political interference from the Cambodian government and has been restrained to prosecute only few Khmer Rouge leaders, while another group of Khmer Rouge among the current Cambodian leaders is totally free to move and continue to exert their influence on the ECCC. Justice cannot prevail when impunity and corruption are not eradicated.

We emphasize the recommendations 40, 42, 43, 44 and 45, demanding the Cambodian Government strictly abides to the international standards of justice, fairness, and due process of law, respect the independence of the ECCC by facilitating the ECCC to prosecute and try other genocide crimes perpetrators.

2 - Despite the efforts announced by the Cambodian Government, land grabbing from farmers and ethnic minorities along the East of the Mekong River is still continuing at an accelerated speed in favor of land concessions granted to foreign companies and settlement of massive and uncontrolled immigration.

We emphasize the recommendations 60, 64, 66, 67, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 and 78, demanding the Cambodian Government to protect the rights of vulnerable people, to have more equal distribution of wealth to enhance economic, social and cultural rights by urging them to regulate the immigration law and implement it without interference of any political control and enforcing to preserve the fundamental rights of the Khmer people.

3 - Despite its stated positive responses to the respect of democracy and the rule of law and its affirmation to have fully complied with the October 23, 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, the Government had actually pressured the National Assembly to lift the parliamentary immunity of opposition party members of parliament who defend the territorial integrity of Cambodia, thereby violating the right of these MPs to free speech while exercising their duties as guaranty under UDHR article 19.

We emphasize over the recommendations on the numbers 46, 48, 91 ensuring that freedom of expression complies with international standard, the respect of the human rights and the democracy by demanding to the Cambodian Government to fully respect and adhere to the October 23th 1991 Paris Peace Agreement on Cambodia to restore sovereignty, independence,peace, stability, reconstruction and economic development of Cambodia.

4- Finally we demand the full enactment of « Khmer people rights and freedom » as granted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by appealing to the Human Rights Council and donors to hold the Cambodian Government accountable for its promise and to abide by its international human rights commitments and obligations in making these human rights a human reality once and for all.

Thank you.
Khmer M'Chas Srok