Thousands in Capital March for Rights

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 December 2009

Some 5,000 human rights activists and supporters marched through Phnom Penh on Wednesday, as Cambodia marked International Human Rights Day.

The group marched from Wat Phnom in the north of the city, to the central Wat Botum Vadei. City and police officials allowed the march, the largest such gathering since national political campaigning in July 2008. No incidents were reported.

“We still have concerns about serious rights violence related to the slow pace of judiciary reform and continued impunity,” Thun Saray, president of the rights group Adhoc, told the marchers.

Land grabs, forced evictions and threats to human rights advocates and government critics remained problems, he said, while freedom of expression was under threat.

Human trafficking remains a concern, he said, as well as the theft of ethnic minority land in Ratanakkiri province by “powerful men conspiring with companies.”

The march came the same week that 1,700 families were evicted from land in Kampong Thom province, in a three-year land dispute with a Vietnamese rubber plantation. Seven people were jailed after villagers torched three bulldozers and a company generator in protest of an eviction order.

Rights advocates also pointed to recent attacks on the opposition and other government critics, citing criminal cases and the suspension of parliamentary immunity for three Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, including the opposition leader himself.

Of concern, too, was the sentencing of Hang Chakra, an opposition newspaper editor, to a year in jail after he published articles alleging corruption in the powerful Council of Ministers.

“You can be sure that you are not alone here today,” the European Commission Charge d’Affaire, Rafael Dochao Moreno, told participants Thursday. “You have all Europeans with you.”

The EU has 20 human rights projects in Cambodia, he said, but added, “We are not here to solve your problems. We are here to facilitate dialogues between the government and civil society.”

The EU announced Wednesday a donation of $1.3 million for human rights projects in Cambodia.

UNPO Speaks About Indigenous Issues at the European Parliament

Friday, 20 November 2009
UNPO

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) was invited to speak at a Hearing on Cambodia facilitated by Human Rights Without Frontiers at the European Parliament on 17 November 2009.

The Hearing was chaired by Niccolò Rinaldi (Vice President of ALDE group) and moderated by Edward McMillan-Scott (VP European Parliament) alongside Willy Fautre (Director of Human Rights Without Frontiers). The panels were composed of representatives from the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (Ms Maggie Murphy, Program Coordinator), Cambodian Government (H.E. Ambassador Mr. Rudi Veestraeten), the United Nations (Prof. Surya P. Subedi, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia), the European Commission (Mr. Seamus Gillespie, Head of Unit), the Center for Development Research and Cooperation (Dr. Prof. Tazeen Murshid), Amnesty International (Susi Dennison, Executive Director), International Trade Union Confederation (June Sorensen), The Cambodian Association for Human Rights (Mr. Thun Saray, President and former political prisoner) and Human Rights Watch (Brad Adams, Asia Director).

Forced evictions, labor rights, judiciary issues, the role of the EU in Cambodia, as well as political and institutional factors impacting on human rights in Cambodia were among the list of issues discussed during the hearing. Panelists shared valuable information on several topics to describe the current status of human rights in Cambodia.

Susi Dennison, Executive Officer of Amnesty International explained how the ongoing violence against women subsequently leading to forced evictions can be traced back to their lack of civil and political rights.

On the other hand, Mr Thun Saray, former political prisoner and President of the Cambodian Association for Human Rights raised deep concerns about the failure of Cambodia’s justice system to provide a political environment that would safeguard fundamental human rights of both Cambodians and its defenders in the country.

The international community is aware of Cambodia’s ratification of 7 out of 8 labour rights laws. However, June Sorensen of the International Trade Union Confederation stressed that the majority of Cambodia’s workforce remains completely unaware of labour rights making it difficult for trade unions to operate in Cambodia.

Mr. Seamus Gillespie, Head of Unit of the European Commission recognized that Cambodia has entered the process of recovery. However whilst the country has achieved some level of stability, as the elections in 2008 showcased, international standards on electoral processes have not been followed. Furthermore, not all violations against human rights in Cambodia are accurately reported especially those committed during the dictatorship. Mr Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, stressed this issue saying that crimes committed in the past should not be forgotten by simply concentrating on the recent ones.

Maggie Murphy, Program Coordinator of UNPO, spoke on four major issues of great concern to the Khmer Kampuchea-Krom and the Montagnards: land rights claims and subsequent forced relocation, religious persecution, violence and torture and forced repatriation.

Ms Murphy reiterated that these issues should be primarily addressed by acknowledging the indigenous status of both the Khmer Kampuchea Krom people and the Montagnards. The unfortunate fact is that Cambodia can sign and ratify all international declarations and agreements pertaining to indigenous peoples but unless the people of Khmer Krom and the Montagnards are acknowledged as such, every declaration is meaningless. Thus, the first step in effecting significant changes to the lives of the marginalized peoples of Khmer Krom and Montagnards is to give them the status of indigenous peoples and then ensure that constant international pressure is applied to Cambodian authorities to ensure that they abide by these international agreements.

UNPO suggests a more active role for EU in Cambodia

There are significant political and institutional factors that impede the forceful repatriation of Khmer and Montagnard refugees from Cambodia to Vietnam. UNPO hopes that the EU will put pressure on Cambodia to sign and ratify the ILO Convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, with the aim of respecting the traditions of indigenous peoples in relation to the use of their ancestral lands.

Lack of Political Will

In contrast to the presentations by the majority of panelists, the Ambassador of Cambodia strongly affirmed that the concept of “freedom of expression in Cambodia is very strange” and further elaborated that “freedom of expression is in place”. He contended that this is especially true in the areas of civil and political rights. However, whilst sufficient mechanisms are in place to adequately guarantee the rights of minorities and indigenous groups, the implementation has been severely lacking. Issues addressed in the hearing can only be tackled if the Cambodian government demonstrates a strong sense of political will to ensure that the human rights of the aforementioned groups are safeguarded.

Ms Murphy concluded by explaining that many similar recommendations were made by states and NGOs as Vietnam recently underwent examination under the UPR process. On 24 September the review ended with Vietnam rejecting 45 of the Human Rights Council’s recommendations, which demonstrated a lack of commitment to securing fundamental human rights. UNPO hopes that Cambodia will be more receptive to the UPR process, and that they will facilitate it, rather than obstruct it through rejections and rebuttals. Political will is fundamental to guaranteeing the improvement of the human rights situation in Cambodia.

Rights Key in US, Cambodian Relations: Officials

US Congressmen Jim Moran (Left, D-Va) and James P. McGovern (Right, D-MA) during the TLHRC hearing

By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Washington
14 September 2009

Two leading US lawmakers say as the United States moves towards improving relations with Cambodia, the administration must be firm on human rights issues and urge Cambodia’s government to improve its records. The congressmen want to send the message to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who plans to meet with Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong later this month.

Speaking after a hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission Thursday in Washington, Jim Moran, a Democrat from Virginia, who initiated the hearing, told VOA Khmer that if Clinton meets with Cambodian Hor Namhong, she must be firm on one important issue.

“Human rights,” he said. “If we are going to provide assistance, if we are going to raise the status of Prime Minister Hun Sen as one of the world’s leaders, then he needs to clean up the mess of his own country in terms of the judicial system.”

The tentative meeting is a result of the current administration’s desire to intensively engage in Southeast Asia, according to Scot Marciel, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and Pacific Affairs and US Ambassador to Asean.

“We are still working on when and where exactly, but certainly we want to keep that dialogue going,” he said.

Moran said he initiated the hearing because the United States has a responsibility towards the Cambodian people.

“If we don’t do anything and allow the opposition party to be repressed, if we allow the media to be silenced, if we allow the Cambodian people to lose their homes and be put out in the fields without any belongings, then we are complacent,” he said. “We bear responsibility if we allow that to happen and don’t speak up.”

James McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is the co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

“My message is to stress that the United States wants a good relationship with Cambodia,” he said. “We want a strong alliance with Cambodia, but human rights is an important issue, and there are some serious concerns about the human rights situation in Cambodia. And we will urge the Cambodian government to try to address them.”

Cambodia has proven dangerous for critics of powerful officials. Last year a journalist and his son were gunned down in broad daylight after he published an article critical of a high-ranking Cambodian police official.

To ensure that the witnesses will be safe upon returning to Cambodia, Frank Wolf, the Republican co-chair of the Human Rights Commission, said he would write a letter to the US Embassy in Cambodia asking officials to keep a watchful eye on the returning witnesses.

Moran praised Cambodia’s past achievements in moving towards a democratic society. However, he said it was unfortunate Cambodia has moved backwards in human rights over the last few years.

“The relationship [between the US and Cambodia] is not going to warm up until [Hun Sen] cleans this up, because as far as Congress is concerned, this is unacceptable,” Moran said. “Cambodia has made tremendous progress, but now it’s going back. It’s moving towards Burma instead of towards Indonesia. That’s unacceptable.”

A day before the hearing, the Cambodian Embassy in Washington released a statement outlining the government’s accomplishments in the areas of human rights and freedom of speech since 1993.

Relations between the United States and Cambodia have thawed during the last few years. In June, the US removed Cambodia from a trade blacklist allowing US loans to companies doing business in Cambodia.

CCHR Welcomes The Newly Appointed UN Special Rapporteur And Implores The Government To Engage And Comply

Cambodian Center for Human Rights

PRESS RELEASE
Phnom Penh, June 16, 2009

THE CAMBODIAN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WELCOMES THE NEWLY APPOINTED UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR AND IMPLORES THE GOVERNMENT TO ENGAGE AND COMPLY

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) would like to extend warmest welcomes to Mr. Surya Subedi, the newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia, upon his arrival in the Kingdom. Furthermore we would like to take this opportunity to call on the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia to engage with the new Special Rapporteur in a spirit of co-operation and respect for the human rights of the people of Cambodia.

Mr. Subedi’s predecessor, Professor Yash Ghai, recently resigned from the position citing the frequent and numerous personal attacks he was subjected to by the Government as well as the attitude of disdain with which his recommendations were generally met. During his three years as Special Rapporteur, Professor Ghai endured repeated condemnation and public humiliation from government officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen. In his 2008 written statement to the 9th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Professor Ghai recounted how the prime minister referred to him as a deranged person and an animal. Furthermore, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith made racial attacks on Professor Ghai, who is Kenyan, calling Kenyans savages. The contempt with which Professor Ghai was treated during his three years of service to Cambodia is an embarrassment to the country, an insult to the position and the man and an affront to human rights. It is imperative that the Government abandon this approach and adopts a new strategy involving fruitful dialogue with Mr. Surya and the expeditious implementation of his recommendations.

Equally importantly, the CCHR implores Mr. Surya Subedi to be frank and forthcoming in his critique of the human rights situation in Cambodia. The Special Rapporteur is uniquely positioned to provide unbiased and thorough criticism on human rights issues in Cambodia and to make meaningful recommendations. It is the role of the Special Rapporteur to address the serious human rights concerns of the country and an overly-diplomatic approach is not appropriate for this task. Thus, a reversion to soft diplomacy out of deference to the government would be detrimental to progress in the area of human rights.

The CCHR is hopeful that the appointment of Mr. Subedi will mark the beginning of a new epoch of respect for human rights in Cambodia in which the Special Rapporteur can make candid observations and recommendations on the human rights situation in Cambodia which the Government will genuinely seek to implement.

For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ou Virak, President, CCHR
Tel: +855 12 404051
Email: ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org

I am an optimistic person: Surya P. Subedi, the appointed UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia

Wednesday 22nd Apr 2009
eKantipur.com (Nepal)

Surya P. Subedi has just been appointed the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia by the Human Rights Council, a tough job by any standard. The UN and the Cambodian government have had thorny relationship on the issue of human rights. Although the mandate remains the same, the Special Representative position was changed to that of the Special Rapporteur, following the resignation of Yash Ghai last year. Ghai suffered personal attacks and even a visa ban at the hands of the Cambodian government. Subedi is a Professor of International Law at University of Leeds and a practicing Barrister in England. He was appointed an honorary OBE in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth for his services to international law and Britain-Nepal relations. Surya Subedi spoke to John Narayan Parajuli about his new role and lessons Nepal can draw from Cambodia.

Q: Why were you appointed the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Cambodia?

Subedi: I believe it was because of my standing as a truly independent, impartial, and objective academic; my expertise in international law in general and international human rights law in particular; and my familiarity with legal, political and human rights issues in Asia in general and Cambodia in particular.

I worked as a General Editor of an annual pan Asian publication -- the Asian Yearbook of International Law -- for six years. It enabled me to interact with academics and other intellectuals from many Asian countries, including Cambodia. Perhaps being a Nepali citizen helped. Nepal has no axe to grind against any nation. We Nepali people are generally liked in international circles for our friendly nature and hard working and sincere character. I believe a well-qualified, hard-working and sincere Nepali is well placed to serve in any high international positions.

Q: The UN and the Cambodian government have been at loggerheads over the issue of human rights for quite some time and that makes your job very challenging, doesn't it?

Subedi: Yes, it does make my role challenging. But again the very position of a UN Special Rapporteur is a challenging one -- to perform a difficult and at the same time a noble task. I regard this as a huge privilege and a great opportunity to make my contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights. Promoting human rights and speaking for the oppressed, marginalised and disadvantaged people is always a challenge. I am committed to human rights and the rule of law nationally and internationally and I would do whatever it takes to promote and protect the rights of Cambodian people. That is my main objective. But my approach would be a constructive one -- designed to achieve results rather than unnecessarily antagonizing people.

Q: Your predecessor Yash Ghai resigned in frustration. There is a growing concern among civil society leaders in Cambodia that you might receive the same kind of hostile treatment from the government just like your predecessors.

Subedi: Let us wait and see how the people and the government of Cambodia will deal with me when I begin my task. I am by nature an optimistic person. I was encouraged by the tone and content of the speech delivered by the Cambodian ambassador to the UN after the decision by the UN Human Rights Council to appoint me to this position. His approach was a constructive one and he said his government would co-operate with me. I hope the government authorities realize that the progress, prosperity and peace in Cambodia lies in greater respect for human rights and the dignity of each and every Cambodian citizen.

Q: Does your understanding of conflict in Nepal add value to your work in Cambodia, and vice versa?

Subedi: Yes I believe that my study and analysis of the situation in Nepal for a long time as an independent and objective person will help me to understand and appreciate better the situation in Cambodia and the plight of the people there. I have been writing quite frequently and for a long time in both the Nepali and international media on the constitutional, legal and political situation in Nepal and have advanced my own views on how to make the constitutional, legal and political system in Nepal a fair, inclusive and equitable one for all. Likewise, I hope the experience that I will gain from my work in Cambodia will enable me to make a contribution to improve the human rights situation in Nepal, and to encourage political leaders to embrace democracy and democratic culture both in their words and deeds. I have said elsewhere that democracy has come to the people and the country of Nepal but not to the political leaders.

I do not think Nepalese leaders have been able to articulate any foreign policy for the country. The time to go out with a begging bowl to foreign countries should be over. It only lowers Nepal's standing internationally and exposes the naïve and shallow character of Nepal's political leaders. No foreigners will build Nepal. Foreign countries have their own agenda behind whatever assistance they may provide to Nepal. People in Nepal should start believing in themselves and put their act together to build the nation.

Q: Cambodia has had a long period of political transition with occasional setbacks between the Paris Peace Accord signed in 1991 and now, how would you describe the process, and is there a lesson Nepal can learn from it?

Subedi: The lesson Nepal can learn from the Cambodian experience is to abide by the letter and spirit of past agreements reached among the major political actors. Once people start deviating from their own commitments they lose the trust and confidence of other people. Such a breakdown in trust and confidence costs the country and the people dearly. This is what seems to be happening in Nepal. Political leaders should lead the way and set good examples at least in their public life. You are right to point out the commitments expressed in the Paris Peace Accord concerning the situation in Cambodia. But the process to implement the commitments has been frustratingly slow. That is why Cambodia finds itself in this situation. In my personal opinion, both Cambodia and Nepal should honestly honour and implement the provisions in the past agreements to move the country forward so that they can achieve higher economic growth, political stability and social harmony in order to ensure that the fruits of democracy reach to as many people as possible

Q: Is there a chance that the current transitional period in Nepal will drag that long?

Subedi: No it should not last that long in Nepal. I am hopeful that the constitution will be written and promulgated within the stipulated time frame. There is no other way out and any sensible political leader should have realised this. However, writing a new constitution is not an end itself. It is a vehicle to advance the society in a more civilised manner. For this, the political process should take the issues of impunity, transitional justice, and respect for human rights as seriously as the process of writing the new constitution. It is where people like us with independent and objective minds and no party political ties have a role to play in applying more pressure on the government and all political leaders and assist the UN agencies such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in playing a more meaningful and effective role in Nepal.

Q: What is your take on the ongoing debate and controversy surrounding the issue of army integration in Nepal?

Subedi: The issue relating to the integration of the Maoist fighters into the Nepal army is basically a political one and should be resolved on the basis of the past agreements reached. The rank and file of the foot soldiers in both camps are the sons and daughters of the same poor Nepali people. They both have same aspirations for themselves and for their country and have similar traits. It should not be a problem to bring them together. There should be a programme of training to depoliticise the mind-set of Maoist fighters fit for a professional army loyal to the nation and the people as a whole rather than to their political masters. The problem may lie in the integration into the upper levels of the military hierarchy as the people in the existing Nepal Army would like to safeguard their current position and their prospects for promotion etc. But the number at the top end of the scale is small and a political solution should and could be found to address such concerns.

Q: What are your hopes and fears for the Nepali peace process?

Subedi: I am optimistic. In terms of the political change, so much has been achieved in Nepal. Some of them have been unprecedented in the world. Now the time has come to capitalize on this political achievement and focus on the overall nation-building process in unison. The fears would of course not necessarily be the derailment of the peace process because it is not a viable option for anyone, but the lack of foresight, wisdom and vision on the party of political leaders resulting in constant bickering and squabbling.

Human Rights Study Project Presents Cambodia Research

17 April 2009 • Issue 61, Number 25
By Andy Howlett '10
News Editor
Virginia Law Weekly
University of Virginia Law School (USA)

It’s been a long time since Cambodia has been at the forefront of the nation’s attention like it was in December of 1972, but, at least for an afternoon, the Law School community was focused on the Southeast Asian state as seven students from the Human Rights Study Project (HRSP) presented their findings from their trip there last January. The presentation took place last Thursday in Caplin Pavilion.

As a country, second-year student and director of HRSP Robin Freeman noted, Cambodia faces many challenges, including abject poverty, ethnic disparities, and a history of war. But Cambodia is also a nation with many assets, the most significant of which is its people, Freeman explained. “They are kind and respectful . . . and they are also curious and entrepreneurial . . . and most of all hopeful, a people who look forward to a future of opportunity rather than back toward their troubled past.”

Freeman conducted her research on people living with disabilities in Cambodia, which accounts for around 21 percent of the population. These people face serious discrimination from the government and from other Cambodians, Freeman discovered.

Focusing on a different group of discriminated Cambodians, second-year student Kathleen Doherty examined the status of some of Cambodia’s indigenous (i.e. non-Khmer) ethnic groups, who often have the highest rates of poverty and least access to education and healthcare. Doherty visited several remote areas in the country and concluded that many indigenous Cambodians were not even getting the minimal level of education that the rest of the country was getting. Doherty suggested that non-government organizations had drafted a blueprint for better schools, and it was “now up to the Cambodian government to do something about it.”

Second-year Zach Williams presented on “The Availability and Role of Legal Counsel to the Criminally Accused.” He concluded that many Cambodians lack access to a lawyer, especially during the “investigation phase” of proceedings against them, which in a civil law country like Cambodia carries a weightier significance. Reflecting on the experience, Williams noted that “lawyer jokes are popular in this society but we don’t know what it is like to live in a country where there is no one around to defend you . . . when the Khmer Rouge was finally forced from power there were only about ten attorneys left in Cambodia.”

Third-year student Dana Jupiter examined the causes and effects of the rampant commercial sex industry in Cambodia. A key problem is that, in a society where the line between voluntary prostitution and sexual slavery is blurry, there is too much of an emphasis on prosecution and not enough on victim’s rights. “Even though the commercial sex industry is legal, the sex workers themselves are stigmatized, and the general focus on prosecution of sex workers only exacerbates this,” said Jupiter.

Speaking of the criminal justice system, third-year Gabe Walters examined the tribunals that were trying members of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime, which terrorized Cambodia in the late 1970s and killed millions. Walter’s research left him skeptical: “I question the court’s ability to achieve justice broadly,” he concluded. “I don’t think the court will be able to bring the closure, fairness, and justice that is desperately needed to heal this deeply traumatized society.”

Other HRSP students examined a wide variety of topics dealing with human rights in Cambodia: Second-year Guillermo Jover-Cataldi looked at the phenomenon of forced evictions in Cambodia which has “become a human rights issue through international covenants the Cambodia has signed.”

Second-year Kathleen Ho examined the connection between microfinancing and human rights. “The link lies in access to finance,” Ho explained. “Microfinancing equips the poor with the tools reduce their own vulnerability against the conditions of poverty,” and therefore simply providing access to microfinancing is not enough: it must be coupled with access to healthcare, education, and other resources.

Third-year Pamela McElroy looked at the situation of ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia and their access to citizenship rights. “I think that most Vietnamese living in Cambodia would be recognized as Cambodian citizens if they sought to be,” she said, “but this doesn’t really solve their problems if they are not being granted the same level of access to rights of citizenship.” The law in Cambodia denies many rights to ethnic Vietnamese in a discriminatory manner, and in violation of international agreements, she concluded.

Approximately 25 members of the Law School community attended the talk on a sunny Thursday afternoon, which was accompanied with an assortment of traditional Cambodian fare. The presentations were followed by a lengthy question-and-answer period during which the students discussed their experiences.

US Wants More Rights Improvement [... but yet the US goes on to work closely with Cambodia's autocratic regime ?!?!]

By Poch Reasey, VOA Khmer
Phnom Penh
03 April 2009

[Editor’s note: Carol Rodley became Cambodia’s ambassador in October 2008. In an interview with VOA Khmer in March, she discussed the growing relationship between Cambodia and the US, on topics ranging from the Khmer Rouge tribunal to the global financial crisis. Below is the second of a six-part series resulting from the interview.]

Q. The most recent State Department annual human rights report on Cambodia indicates that Cambodia still has a poor rights record. As the US Ambassador to Cambodia, do you have any plans to help Cambodia improve that record?

A. I would say that the report this year acknowledges that some progress has been made and lays out those areas of progress but then also goes on to talk about in some detail areas that are still a problem. And we try to make that report as factual as possible. It’s intended to be based on facts, on actual cases, not on opinions. And we will continue to work with the government to address those areas that remain a concern.

I’ll give you an example: due process is one area of concern. This really is a central issue in a lot of the land cases that are so much in the local press and so much the concern of the human rights NGOs and a lot of civil society. I went to see the justice minister recently, and one of the things we talked about was the problem of due process and the plan that the government has for improving that situation. I would just say that no country has a perfect human rights record, my own included. Human rights, just like democracy, are something that can always be improved, and that’s the approach we are trying to take here.

Q. Has the US embassy done any workshops or programs that help strengthen the human rights area in Cambodia?

A. We have done a lot of work in the area of human rights over the years and also the rule of law in strengthening the judicial system. Recently we have been providing training for young lawyers. We have in the past provided training for the judges. We’ve funded a program to make information on court decisions more easily available to the public, so that people can look and see what kinds of cases the different courts heard and what kind of decisions the court came to in different kinds of cases. This is part of a push for greater openness and greater accountability.

Cambodia Needs A Rights-Based NGO Law

Thursday, 5 March 2009
Press Release: Asian Human Rights Commission

In 1991 two accords were concluded to end the war that had ravaged Cambodia for so many years. These accords assigned the UN to keep the peace, organize the election of a new government and administer Cambodia for some 18 months, in 1992 and 1993, for all these purposes.

The UN presence then gave birth to a civil society in Cambodia, previously a communist country, when local NGOs were successively created to do human rights and development work. Together with the peace accords and international assistance, the UN laid a solid foundation for the civil society’s further development after the end of its mandate.

Nowadays, despite the lengthy and tortuous procedures for their creation through some ten layers of administrative units from the grassroots to the top of the Ministry of Interior, there are nevertheless some 2000 NGOs on the ministry’s register. Thanks to their work across the country NGOs have become an integral part of Cambodia’s social fabric.

However, over recent years, the government has imposed a number of restrictions on their activities, especially the activities of human rights NGOs. In 2005 the Ministry of the Interior issued a set of guidelines to instruct all commune authorities (grassroots authorities), among other things, that all activities of NGOs and other associations and civil society organisations, "must have cooperation from provincial or municipal governors" and "all invitations to provincial, district and commune officials to attend any seminar or training sessions must have the approval" of these governors as well.

These guidelines in effect restrict the activities of NGOs as their members have to travel potentially long distances to the offices of provincial or municipal governors and get through lengthy bureaucracies to get such approvals. Cambodian local authorities have rigorously enforced these guidelines and have banned or interrupted many NGO activities, especially the holding of public forums for the public to debate issues affecting their livelihood.

Now the government has set out to regulate NGOs through an act of parliament. Upon its election in July 2008, with a substantially increased majority, 90 out of the total seats of 123, the government has made this law one of the three laws to be enacted as a matter of priority, the other being the penal code and the anti-corruption law. The reason for this urgency was the government’s concern that their funding could come from terrorist groups. Prime Minister Hun said in September 2008: “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.”

This reason is hardly plausible since the control of funding for terrorist activities are already adequately dealt with by the Anti-Terrorism Law enacted in 2007 (Chapter 11 on funding and aid for terrorism). The real reason behind the need for such a law is more likely the anti-NGO sentiment still prevailing in the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, a former communist party. In 2006 Heng Samrin, the President of the National Assembly and Honorary President of the ruling party, said: “Today, so many NGOs are speaking too freely and do things without a framework. When we have a law, we will direct them.” After the July 2008 election Heng is still holding the two positions.

As spelt out clearly in Cambodia’s Constitution, freedom of association is one of the fundamental rights of the Cambodian people, and, according to the same constitution, there needs to be a law to determine this right.

However, this law should further guarantee and protect this fundamental right. It should faithfully reflect Cambodia’s international human rights obligations under the peace accords mentioned above and other international human rights instruments, and also its own constitution.

The accords say, among other things, that “all persons in Cambodia shall enjoy the rights and freedoms embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant international human rights instruments” and “Cambodia undertakes “to support the right of all Cambodia citizens to undertake activities that would promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms".

The Universal Declaration, which Cambodia has incorporated in its constitution, guarantees the right to freedom of association. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Cambodia is a party, also guarantees this right and elaborates it further “1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests. 2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others."

The same NGO law should not in any way curtail the Cambodian people’s “right to participate actively in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the nation”, a right that is guaranteed and protected under Article 35 of their Constitution.

Cambodian lawmakers should be reminded that civil society is essential for democracy and development, and their country is supposed to be a liberal democracy according of its Constitution. The regulation of NGOs should not mean to “direct them” as National Assembly Chairman Heng Samrin has said.

In designing the NGO law, those Cambodian lawmakers should get inspiration, for instance, from the South African Non Profit Organisations Act of 1997. Like the South African Law, the Cambodian law should be designed, for instance, “to provide for an environment in which (NGOs) can flourish” with no unjustified restrictions on their activities, and “to establish an administrative and regulatory framework within which (NGOs) can conduct their affairs”. The same law should also require “every state organ to determine and co-ordinate the implementation of its policies and measures in a manner designed to promote, support and enhance the capacity of nonprofit organisations to perform their functions.”

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.

France stays quiet on human rights issues in Cambodia

France provides help to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal

Friday, April 25, 2008
By J.M. Cambodge Soir Hebdo
Translated from French by Luc Sâr

France provided an additional grant of $1 million to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. The announce was made by Rama Yade, France’s Secretary of State in charge of Foreign Affairs and Human Rights, during a press conference held on Friday 25 April, at the French embassy in Phnom Penh.

The secretary of state was on a 3-day official visit in the kingdom. One portion of this visit was dedicated to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT). Rama Yade reminded that “France was the second largest donor to the tribunal after Japan,” and that international justice was one of the priorities of France’s action overseas. “This tribunal also has a strong French influence, in particular, with the justice system based on the French law system,” she said.

For all these reasons, France reaffirms its engagement to the KRT, and provides an additional grant of $1 million for the 2008 operation. 75% of this amount will be directed to the international budget. This announcement is good news for the KRT which is still looking for an additional budget of more than $100 million in order to operate until 2011. Donor countries are still waiting for a detailed budget from the KRT before they proceed to the funding. The announcement will be made in May.

Regarding the recent news on the KRT, Rama Yade declined to “provide comments” regarding the outburst of Jacques Vergès, last Wednesday, during his client’s appeal hearing.

With a lot of prudence, Rama Yade also touched on the thorny human rights issue in the kingdom. She only said that she met both human rights defense groups and members of the government, including Hun Sen. She did not provide any public judgment on this issue, saying only that Cambodia is a “land of contrast.” On Friday morning, the timing was not reserved for thundering declarations, but it was in fact filled with diplomatic talks. However, the goal of this visit, as Rama Yade said it, wasn’t it for “re-launching the political dialog, as well as the economic and cultural exchange” between the two countries?

Excerpt from Human Rigths Watch - World Report 2008

Human Rights Watch
Report, January 31, 2008

Cambodia
Events of 2007

Ten years after the 1997 coup, in which Prime Minister Hun Sen ousted his then co-Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh, impunity for human rights violations in Cambodia remains the rule. 2007 was marked by ongoing illegal confiscation of farmers’ land, forced evictions of urban poor, and attacks on rights defenders, as well as the murders of a trade union leader, a community forestry activist, and a monk. The continued to operate at the behest of the executive, and no progress was made to address judiciaryrampant corruption or widespread plundering of natural resources. More than halfway through its three-year mandate, the Khmer Rouge Tribunal faced serious allegations of corruption and government interference.

Commune council elections, held in April with less political violence than in the past, were won by Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP). Ranariddh remained abroad, and in March was sentenced in absentia to 18 months’ imprisonment for breach of trust over the sale of his former party’s headquarters.

Suppression of Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly
The government continues to control all television and most radio stations, with media that criticized the government subject to suspension or threats of legal action. In June 2007 the government banned dissemination of a report by the international nongovernmental organization (NGO) Global Witness that alleged complicity of top government officials in illegal logging. Journalists who covered the report and people who helped prepare it received anonymous death threats. The French-language newspaper Cambodge Soir suspended publication in June after a staff strike protesting a reporter’s dismissal for covering the report.

In August a reporter in Pursat was the victim of two attempted arson attacks on his home, which the commune police chief attributed to the reporter’s logging coverage. Community activists involved in forest protection who came under attack included Seng Sarom, murdered in July in Stung Treng, and Sath Savuth, forced to flee his Oddar Meanchey home after a grenade was thrown at it in July.

In July the government-controlled Cambodian Bar Association claimed that lawyers cannot be legally employed by NGOs or provide legal services unless the NGO has signed an agreement with the Association. In June Finance Minister Keat Chhon’s sister, Keat Kolney, filed a complaint with the Association against nine legal aid lawyers, accusing them of “inciting” villagers to file complaints against her in a Ratanakiri land dispute.

On February 24 Hy Vuthy, president of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC ) at the Suntex factory in Phnom Penh, was shot dead. He was the third FTUWKC official to be killed in three years. In May riot police dispersed 1,000 striking workers from a factory in Kandal protesting the firing of workers organizing a union there.

Authorities continue to disperse or reject requests for many demonstrations. In October the government approved a demonstrations law that requires organizers to give local authorities five days’ notice and holds organizers responsible for any misconduct that occurs.

Crackdown on Kampuchea Krom Monks
On February 27, 2007, heavily armed police dispersed a demonstration near the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh by Kampuchea Krom (ethnic Khmer originally from Vietnam) monks. They were protesting religious and ethnic persecution in Vietnam. That night one of the protesting monks, Eang Sok Thoeun, was found dead in his pagoda. Police labeled it a suicide, ordered his immediate burial, and prohibited monks from conducting funeral proceedings. On April 20 Phnom Penh police forcefully dispersed another Kampuchea Krom protest in which counter-demonstrators physically attacked the monks. In June Cambodia’s Supreme Buddhist Patriarch Tep Vong and the Ministry of Cults and Religion issued an order banning monks from participating in demonstrations.

On June 30, Cambodian officials defrocked Kampuchea Krom monk Tim Sakhorn, a Cambodian citizen who was the representative of the Khmer Kampuchea Krom Federation (KKF) in Takeo, and escorted him to the border. Tep Vong alleged that Sakhorn had conducted propaganda harming Cambodia-Vietnam friendship by allegedly distributing leaflets about the KKF. In November Sakhorn was sentenced in a Vietnamese court to one year’s imprisonment on charges of undermining national unity.

Rule of Law
In June 2007 the National Assembly passed a long-awaited Criminal Procedures Code, but it lacked safeguards regarding pretrial detention, rights of suspects after arrest, and extradition. In July the Constitutional Council ruled that Cambodia should consider its commitments under the Convention on the Rights of the Child when sentencing children.

Despite new eyewitness statements, in April the Appeals Court upheld the conviction of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for the murder of labor leader Chea Vichea in 2004. The original trial and appeals court decision were criticized for failing to meet fair trial standards by United Nations officials and rights groups.

Land Confiscation
The rural and urban poor continue to lose their land to illegal concessions awarded to foreign firms, government officials, and those with connections to government officials. Hun Sen failed to implement a public pledge made in March 2007 to dismiss CPP members involved in land grabs. On several occasions police used excessive force in evictions, such as in November when soldiers and police shot dead two unarmed villagers during a forced eviction of 317 families in Preah Vihear.

Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Five senior Khmer Rouge (KR) officials were placed in a detention facility at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal during 2007: Kaing Khek Iev (Duch), the former chief of S-21 (Tuol Sleng) prison; Pol Pot’s deputy, Nuon Chea; former KR Foreign Minister Ieng Sary; former KR Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith; and former KR head of state Khieu Samphan. They were all charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, except for Ieng Thirith, who was charged only with crimes against humanity.

Problems with the work of the tribunal included serious allegations of mandatory kickbacks by Cambodian staff to government officials in exchange for their positions. In February, after the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) called for an investigation of these corruption allegations, government officials threatened to bar OSJI staff from the tribunal’s premises and expel their international staff from Cambodia. International pressure caused the government to back down.

The tribunal has yet to establish satisfactory victims’ support and witness protection units. Trials are expected to start in April 2008.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Cambodia continues to violate its obligations under the Refugee Convention by forcibly returning dozens of Vietnamese Montagnards before they could apply for asylum with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As of September 2007 there were 360 Montagnards under UNHCR protection. In April three Cambodians in Ratanakiri who helped Montagnard asylum seekers make contact with UNHCR were arrested on human trafficking charges for allegedly accepting money from Montagnards. Charges were later dropped.

Key International Actors
In June 2007 international donors, whose aid covers half Cambodia’s national budget, increased their annual pledge to US$690 million, with China’s pledge for the first time included as part of the formal donor package. Top donors were Japan, China, and the European Union. In June the International Monetary Fund criticized Cambodia’s “high cost of informal fees” and failure to pass an anti-corruption law. In August the World Bank, which froze some funding for Cambodia in 2006 because of corruption by Cambodian officials, pledged $70 million for poverty reduction projects.

In August an announcement by the United States that it would increase its counterterrorism cooperation with Cambodia coincided with Cambodia awarding US petroleum giant Chevron an offshore mining contract. In February the US lifted a ban on aid to the Cambodian government instituted after the 1997 coup. New aid included Foreign Military Financing for the Cambodian military to purchase non-lethal “excess defense articles” and International Military Education and Training funds. In April the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) hosted National Police Chief Hok Lundy for counterterrorism discussions in Washington, despite Lundy’s alleged involvement in political violence, drug smuggling, and human trafficking.

In March Cambodia endorsed the Oslo Declaration, which bans cluster munitions.

Local Group Backs UN Envoy's Rights Report

Licadho's Kek Galabru

By Ker Yann, VOA Khmer
Washington
21 March 2008

A human rights report delivered by a special UN envoy to the Human Rights Council in Geneva this week was accurate and in line with reports from other agencies, a human rights worker said Thursday.

The Rights Council report, delivered by UN envoy Yash Ghai, outlined widespread human rights abuses, especially in land thefts.

Rural displacement remained a problem, as well as the shooting, wounding and killing of protestors, Kek Galabru, founder of the rights group Licadho said Thursday.

Ghai, who has been denied official meetings on trips to Cambodia in the past, also met with Om Yentieng, head of Cambodia's Human Rights Committee, on the sidelines of meetings this week.

Speaking from Geneva on "Hello VOA," Kek Galabru called the meeting a positive sign that will hopefully lead to more cooperation in the future.

"In the end Mr. Yash Ghai told the conference he was very pleased to have Mr. Om Yentieng meet with him outside the conference to discuss different issues," she said.

Delusional Om Yentieng: Envoy's Rights Report Wrong

Official: Envoy's Rights Report Wrong

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
20 March 2008

The government issued a strong denial of a UN human rights report Thursday, claiming its work in improving the rights situation had gone unmentioned.

Cambodia's human rights adviser, Om Yentieng, said in prepared remarks to the UN Human Rights Council that a report by UN special rights representative Yash Ghai did not accurately reflect the "real situation in Cambodia."

Ghai delivered a report and an address to the Rights Council in Geneva Thursday, saying Cambodia's slow progress in building the rule of law led to a lack of guarantees and security.

This led to the victimization of the poor and the increasing marginalization of disadvantaged communities, he said.

Om Yentieng, who is the chairman of Cambodia's Human Rights Committee, said Ghai's analysis of the government was "not acceptable."

Ghai had also been critical of donors, who he said continue to deliver aid despite widespread rights abuses.

Kaori Yoshimatsu, third secretary at the Japanese Embassy, said Thursday Japan contributed to human rights by providing aid in the building of civil law, procedures of law and the training of legal professionals.

French Embassy spokeswoman Fabiene Mansencale said Thursday France hoped Ghai and the government would "find a way of working together for the wider benefit of the people of Cambodia."

Ending U.N. mandate imperils human rights

February 14, 2008

By LAO MONG HAY
UPI Asia Online

Column: Rule by Fear

HONG KONG, China, The Cambodian government is bound by the Paris Peace Agreements that were concluded in 1991 to end a protracted war in the country. Under these agreements, a field office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights was established in Cambodia, and the U.N. secretary-general appointed a special representative, all to monitor human rights conditions and help the Cambodian government honor its obligations under these agreements.

From the beginning, however, there has been friction between this U.N. field office and special representative on the one hand, and the Cambodian government on the other. The former has issued reports and statements critical of the latter's human rights performance and its disregard for recommendations on improving human rights.

The friction came into the open in 2006 and has since grown worse, as the Cambodian government has mounted continual attacks on the fourth special representative, Professor Yash Ghai from Kenya, for his public reports and statements critical of the human rights situation in Cambodia.

In a speech to a Human Rights Day rally on Dec. 10, Ghai, during his fourth visit to Cambodia, noted among other things a psychosis of fear among numerous communities and families, especially among those facing eviction due to land-grabbing: "fear of the state, fear of political and economic saboteurs, fear of greedy individuals and corporations, fear of the police and the courts."

In a statement at the end of his visit, he added that "state authorities, as well as companies and politically well-connected individuals, show scant respect for the rule of law" and that the courts and legal profession "have failed the people of Cambodia woefully."

Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia, took Ghai's remarks as an "insult" to the Cambodian people and government, and lashed out at him with diatribes, calling Ghai "deranged" and "a long-term tourist," for instance. He also threatened to close the U.N. field office. He then informed U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the Cambodian government "is now considering whether the U.N. secretary-general's special representative is 'still necessary' as stipulated" in the Paris Peace Agreements. Hun Sen urged the United Nations to spend the money for human rights in Cambodia elsewhere.

However, in all their attacks on Ghai, Hun Sen and his officials have not disputed the veracity of his reports and statements on human rights conditions in the country. Reality has only confirmed what Ghai has noted. Seventeen years after the signing of the peace agreements the Cambodian government has not been able to honor many of its main obligations under these agreements. It has not taken effective measures to ensure that the policies and practices of ill-treatment and repression of the past shall never be allowed to return as stipulated in the agreements.

Although the Cambodian government has ratified many relevant international instruments, it has not ratified the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights whereby aggrieved persons can bring cases to the U.N. Human Rights Committee for adjudication if they are not satisfied with rulings by national adjudication bodies.

Furthermore, it has not established state institutions for liberal, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law worthy of their names. From top to bottom, all these institutions are under the control of the ruling party, the Cambodian People's Party. State power, as Ghai remarked in 2006, is very much concentrated in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen, who is known as "the strongman of Cambodia."

Moreover, there is no independent judiciary to adjudicate and enforce human rights for aggrieved individuals. This legal institution is very much under political control as "99 percent of judges and prosecutors" are members of the ruling party. It is also widely acknowledged to be very corrupt as well. In addition, there is not an independent national human rights institution, ombudsman, anti-corruption body or police oversight agency which could help aggrieved individuals attain redress and bring human rights violators to justice.

Many of the fundamental rights enumerated in the peace agreements, such as freedom of assembly and association, due process and equality before the law and protection from the arbitrary deprivation of property or deprivation of private property without just compensation, have not been observed, respected or protected. Peaceful public demonstrations are practically banned. Land-grabbing is rife. In 2007, it affected more than 5,000 families who were forcibly evicted from their homes and land without just compensation.

The Cambodian government moreover has not supported the right of all Cambodian citizens to undertake activities which would promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Instead, human rights defenders frequently face threats and intimidation, or even death, when the government sees them as aligning with the opposition.

In such circumstances, and so long as Cambodia has not ratified the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, nor honored its human rights obligations under the peace agreements nor established proper institutions for liberal, parliamentary democracy and the rule of law, especially an independent and impartial judiciary, the U.N. secretary-general's special representative for human rights in Cambodia is very necessary.

Whether Hun Sen and his government like him or not, this special representative, together with the field office of the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, remain as the last and only bulwark for the protection of human rights in Cambodia.

Appeasing strongman Hun Sen at this juncture by ending Ghai's nomination, closing the U.N. field office and/or terminating the U.N. human rights mandate altogether would remove this bulwark and imperil human rights in Cambodia. The policies and practices of ill-treatment and repression of the past that the peace agreements had set out to prevent would then be free to terrorize the country with all the consequences the long-suffering Cambodian people know only too well.
--
(Lao Mong Hay is currently a senior researcher at the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He was previously director of the Khmer Institute of Democracy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and a visiting professor at the University of Toronto in 2003. In 1997, he received an award from Human Rights Watch and the Nansen Medal in 2000 from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.)