Reason for the lawsuit against the government at the ICC - អង្គហេតុ​ក្នុង​បទ​ចោទ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​នៅ​តុលាការ​ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ​អន្តរជាតិ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tdZ6rnScrw

ប្រជាពលរដ្ឋ​និង​កង​កម្លាំង​ប្រដាប់​អាវុធ​ប៉ះ​ទង្គិច​គ្នា ក្នុង​ពេល​សមត្ថកិច្ច​ចុះ​អនុវត្ត​សាលដីកា ទាក់​ទិន​នឹង​ជម្លោះ​ដី​មួយ​កន្លែង​នៅ​ស្រុក​ឧត្តុង្គ ខេត្ត​កំពង់ស្ពឺ កាល​ពី​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​៩ ខែ​មិថុនា ឆ្នាំ​២០១១។ (RFA/Uon Chhin)

2012-08-23
Radio Free Asia

ស្ថាប័ន​យុត្តិធម៌​អន្តរជាតិ​ដែល​ទទួល​ពាក្យ​បណ្ដឹង​របស់​ពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​នោះ គឺ​ជា​ស្ថាប័ន​ផុស​ចេញ​ពី​ឆន្ទៈ​ប្រទេស ១២០ បាន​ព្រម​សម្រេច​ចិត្ត​រួម​គ្នា​បង្កើត​ច្បាប់​អន្តរជាតិ​មួយ នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​១៧ កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ​១៩៩៨ នៅ​ក្រុង​រ៉ូម ប្រទេស​អ៊ីតាលី ហៅ​ថា ច្បាប់​ក្រុង​រ៉ូម ឬ​អង់គ្លេស​ហៅថា the Rome Statute។

តាម​ច្បាប់​អន្តរជាតិ​នេះ តុលាការ​ព្រហ្មទណ្ឌ​អន្តរជាតិ​ផុស​ចេញ​ជា​រូបរាង​នៅ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១ កក្កដា ឆ្នាំ​២០០២ ដោយ​មាន​ប្រទេស​ចំនួន ៦០ រួម​ទាំង​កម្ពុជា​ផង ចុះ​ហត្ថលេខា​ផ្ដល់​សច្ចាប័ន។

សូម​ស្ដាប់​សេចក្ដី​រាយការណ៍​របស់​លោក ហាស់ សាន អំពី​ធាតុ​សំអាង​មួយ​ចំនួន​ដែល​អង្គការ​ចលនា​អំណាច​ពលរដ្ឋ​ខ្មែរ​យោង​សម្រាប់​ដាក់​ពាក្យ​ប្ដឹង​រាជ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល នៅ​ក្រុង​ឡាអេ កាល​ពី​ខែ​មិថុនា កន្លង​ទៅ​នេះ៖

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Study Finds Persistent Concerns in Judiciary

In February, government spokesman Phay Siphan told VOA that Phnom Penh acknowledged the judiciary was inadequate, but said improvements take time.

Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh Tuesday, 19 April 2011

“I cannot accept this report, and I’ve asked [Mang Monika] to re-correct the mistakes.”

High levels of pre-trial detention and little legal representation for suspects remain chief concerns in the judiciary, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights said Tuesday.

Mang Monika, who led a monitoring project for the organization between July and December last year, told VOA Khmer that police continue misconduct, “including threats and the use of violence or torture, continued to affect a small number of trials.”

“Judges continue to use mobile phones in court,” she added.

Mang Monika will present the findings of the project to the Appeals Court in a meeting Wednesday.

Is the Trial of "Duch" a Catalyst for Change in Cambodia's Courts?

June 2010
By Kheang Un and Judy Legerwood
East-West Center (EWC)

At his trial under an international hybrid tribunal, the notorious member of the Khmer Rouge regime Kaing Guek Eav, known as "Duch," admitted to being responsible for the deaths of more than 12'000 people between 1975 and 1979. This admission and expected conviction (the only real question left is the level of punishment) signify a symbolic victory for the Cambodian people. It is important for Cambodia's healing that the people know their history and believe that there can be justice. The coverage of Duch's trail and associated community outreach have engaged the public in the process and have increased education about the country's recent past.

Click here to download the article (PDF)

Defamation case against Cambodian opposition politician sparks UN concern

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay

Source: UN News Centre

13 July 2010 – United Nations human rights chief Navi Pillay has voiced serious concern about the defamation proceedings against an opposition politician in Cambodia, saying they highlight an “alarming” erosion of fundamental freedoms in the South-East Asian nation.

Mu Sochua – who is a serving member of the Cambodian Parliament, a former women’s affairs minister and a prominent women’s rights defender – was convicted last August for defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen when she announced in April that she would sue him for derogatory comments he made about her.

The Prime Minister’s comments included a reference to the unbuttoning of Mu Sochua’s blouse and another reference of a sexual nature that led her to bring a defamation case against him.

Her case against the Prime Minister was dismissed, her parliamentary immunity lifted and she was then found guilty of defamation. Her conviction was upheld by the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court, despite the fact that no evidence proving either damage to reputation or malicious intent was presented during the case.

The court imposed a fine on Mu Sochua and awarded damages to the Prime Minister. She has until 16 July to pay the fine, which she has refused to do.

“We believe this highly politicized case appears to show an alarming erosion of both freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary in Cambodia,” Rupert Colville of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) told reporters in Geneva.

“Mu Sochua now stood on the verge of imprisonment for merely exercising her legal right to express her view that she was defamed and her intention to seek a legal remedy,” he noted.

“The criminal justice system was the bedrock of human rights protection. However, in this case it had become a blunt instrument to silence freedom of expression.”

OHCHR believes the use of offensive language towards women in the Prime Minister’s statement deserved a response from the courts, Mr. Colville added.

Senior US diplomat to arrive for two days of talks

Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

“I will not ask for intervention from them. But if I am imprisoned, I hope that they will go to meet me in prison” - Mu Sochua

A SENIOR US diplomat is set to arrive in Cambodia this week for talks with government and opposition officials and civil society groups, and to preside over the return of Khmer artefacts from the US, officials from both countries said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said William Burns, the US Undersecretary for Political Affairs, was to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday for bilateral talks. The following day, Burns was to attend a ceremony at the National Museum for the handover of an unspecified number of Angkorian statues, Koy Kuong said.

US embassy spokesman John Johnson confirmed that Burns would be in the country on Thursday and Friday.

“During his visit he will meet with members of the Royal Government, representatives from civil society organisations and with members of several opposition parties,” Johnson said. He added that more details would be forthcoming.

Members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party said they plan to meet with Burns on Thursday to discuss human rights, land disputes and judicial reform.

“We will ask the US, which is a development partner, to help reinforce respect for human rights in Cambodia and help reform the judiciary,” said SRP spokesman Yim Sovann.

SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua, who is in the middle of a legal battle with Prime Minister Hun Sen, said she planned to attend the meeting if she was not behind bars. She added, though, that she would not bring up her own case.

“I will not ask for intervention from them. But if I am imprisoned, I hope that they will go to meet me in prison,” she said.

In August 2009, Mu Sochua was convicted of defaming Hun Sen and ordered to pay a fine and compensation totalling 16.5 million riels (around US$3,928).

After the Appeal Court and Supreme Court dismissed her appeals against the ruling, she was given until July 3 to pay the fine and until last Saturday to pay the compensation. She has declined to pay both.

Tith Sothea, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said the government was not fazed about the SRP’s talks with Burns, and that Mu Sochua’s case had been tried “according to procedure”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEBASTIAN STRANGIO

Mr. Hun Xen, Surya Subedi will never beat the Yuons when it comes to colonizing Cambodia!

Cambodian PM deplores UN official's "disrespect"

PHNOM PENH June 21 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called a United Nations rights official disrespectful on Monday and said in future they would meet just once a year rather than three times.

Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia, criticised the country's judiciary last week for its lack of independence and regretted being unable to meet Hun Sen during a 10-day visit as the prime minister had been unwell.

Talking to hundreds of disabled former soldiers in Phnom Penh, the outspoken prime minister said Subedi had shown disrespect by saying he was "disappointed" about his illness.

"Every time he's come here, I've met him," Hun Sen said. "From now on, I'll see him just once a year."

"I hope he will hear this: I'm ill, I don't need to report to you," Hun Sen added, accusing Subedi of wanting to "colonise" his country.

The prime minister is prone to outbursts, especially at diplomats or international organisations expressing views at odds with his own.

Recently, he expressed irritation at the World Bank and others for saying the economy contracted in 2009 -- the Finance Ministry says it grew 0.1 percent -- and for giving lower growth forecasts for this year than the government.

He pulled the plugs on a World Bank land registry project last September after the multilateral body and other aid donors asked the government to stop evictions.

At a news conference on June 17, Subedi had said he was troubled by such land disputes and the apparent inability of the poor to get a fair hearing in court.

Also, in a reference to the government's tough stand on dissent, he expressed concern about what he called a narrowing of the political space for debate.

Hun Sen also criticised Cambodian rights groups on Monday, calling them "shadowy organisations" for organising a march of about 200 people to his house on June 15 to petition him to solve land disputes.

Police halted the march. No one was hurt.

(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Editing by Alan Raybould)

New UN rapporteur concerned about land rights in Cambodia

Surya Subedi (Photo: Reuters)

June 29, 2009
ABC Radio Australia

The new UN special envoy for human rights to Cambodia says a corrupt judiciary, forced evictions and land grabs are the country's most pressing issues.

Nepali-born Surya Prasad Subedi is Professor of International Law at Leeds University. Professor Subedi has just spent ten days in Cambodia.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speakers: Surya Prasad Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

SUBEDI: The impression I have formed after meeting so many people both within the government and outside of the government, NGO people, people who have been evicted from the land, other pressure groups, I have met a broad section of the population and have come to the conclusion there are serious human rights issues here that have to be tackled and I will doing my best to help the government to tackle those problems.

LAM: Yours is a delicate job of course. You are the UN representative of UN Secretary-General, and at the same time you must work with the Cambodian Government, which in the past, hasn't taken criticism to well. Do you think that might pose a huge challenge to you?

SUBEDI: Indeed, I am aware on the rather unpleasant relationship between the government of Cambodia and my predecessor - that is always the risk for any special rapporteur, because your mission, your mandate is to promote human rights and be critical where there are shortcomings and failures. If people are willing to accept the shortcomings and engage in a constructive dialogue, then we can be effective. But I met the prime minister and a number of other senior ministers and I was pleased that they have acknowledged that there are shortcomings and they would like to engage in a constructive dialogue with me. I have noticed that there was a change in approach, a change in tone at least, during my first visit to Cambodia.

My meeting with the prime minister this time was a cordial one. It lasted for nearly two hours and I was able to raise a number of issues with him, especially relating to the rights of people evicted from land and their settlement problems and other issues relating to corruption and the independence of the judiciary, clearer separation of power between the three main branches of the government - mainly the legislative, judiciary and the executive. And he was listening to me attentively, and that gave me certain indication that perhaps they are willing to listen to me and work with me, but it remains to be seen how they will react when I go into the details.

LAM: The question of forced eviction and land grabs in Cambodia, for instance. Many of these developers have links to people in high office. Do you think that might pose a huge insurmountable challenge to getting some kind of justice for these people who were forcibly removed from the land?

SUBEDI: There are very many difficulties that lie ahead, but again my approach would be to give them concerted set of recommendations. If you were to do the following things, perhaps the situation would be better. For instance, those forcibly evicted from the land don't have a great deal of confidence in the judiciary. So if the judiciary were to strengthen, independence of the judiciary was enhanced, corruption was controlled, then people would go to court, and to get their legal remedies. For instance, those who have possession rights over the land, but not a proper title, they can go and prove their case before a court of law. That should be the way in a democracy, so that these are the areas that we can planning to pay particular attention during my work.

LAM: Well, you have just finished a ten-day tour of Cambodia. When do you intend to return to the country?

SUBEDI: Hopefully in the second half of November, and at that time I will have a special focus on certain areas, but have land rights and the resettlement issues would be on the top of my list and then make a series of recommendations to the government and to the United Nations.

LAM: What to your mind is the most pressing human rights issue in Cambodia today?

SUBEDI: The most pressing right is the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of speech. These are the two overall key issues, but within that you have the third one will be people evicted from their land and the resettlement. I have identified already these three areas as the private areas of my work.