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Showing posts with label Adherence to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adherence to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. Show all posts
Friday, April 29, 2011
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Khmer M'chas Srok Declaration at the UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva
Human Rights Council 13th Regular SessionUPR Session – Consideration of Cambodia Report
March 17, 2010
EIP: World Association of School as an instruction of Peace
(Statement by Khmer M'Chas Srok)
_____________________________
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
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
Monday, July 13, 2009
Khmer M'Chas Srok's Open Letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Hun Sen's visit
Click on the letter in Khmer to zoom inUnofficial translation from French by Luc Sâr
Open Letter
To Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic,
Co-President of the 1991 Paris Peace Conference on Cambodia
55 Faubourg Saint-Honoré Street, 75009 Paris
To Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic,
Co-President of the 1991 Paris Peace Conference on Cambodia
55 Faubourg Saint-Honoré Street, 75009 Paris
Subject: Violations of human and citizen rights in Cambodia by Mr. Hun Sen’s regime
Mr. President,
In the name of the movement for the defense of Khmer people rights, the Khmer M’Chas Srok (KMS) movement has the honor to inform you about the disarray faced by the Cambodian people who are currently living under the regime of Mr. Hun Sen, Cambodia’s current prime minister.
The disarray faced by the Cambodian people stems from our poignant feeling of being deprived of good governance, of social protection, of all dignity in regards to fundamental rights stipulated in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The non-respect of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords – in which France is the co-president – by the Cambodian government is very blatant, in particular, in the case “of agreements involving the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, the neutrality and the national unity of Cambodia” and the “Declaration of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Cambodia” involving the following:
- The October 2005 signing of the additional treaty to that concluded in 1985 – which provided a retroactive legalization of all the illegal and unequal treaties concluded in 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1985 between Cambodia and Vietnam – contravenes to the text and the spirit of the Paris Peace Accords. This signing definitively compromises Cambodia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
- Poverty, corruption, anarchy, illegal confiscation of lands belonging to farmers by men in power, voting under threat, impunity, the lifting of the immunity of Members of Parliament, the use of the judicial system as political tools, have been denounced by:
Mr. President,
France is the country where the majority of expatriated Cambodians reside. As French citizens of Cambodian origin, we are shocked to see the French Republic, the birthplace of Human Rights, welcoming on 14 July 2009 a representative of the Cambodian government who tramples Democracy and Human Rights in his own country, at the risk of the French Republic tarnishing its international image.
Our indignation would be lessened if France could firmly remind this guest – who happens to be a representative of the Cambodian government – that Cambodia has the duty to respect its engagements and obligations towards France and the international community, according to its own engagements made without ambiguity on the French soil, during its signing of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia.
France always stood with oppressed people who are deprived of the most rudimentary rights and who aspire to live with dignity as human beings.
Mr. President,
In appealing to your sense of justice, the Khmer people maintain our high hope to find anew our rights for a decent life, in conformance to Human Rights that France was always able to promote to all the people in the world.
Paris 12 July 2009
Khmer M’Chas Srok
-------
KMS-LETTRE Ouverte-SARKOZY-12July-09-44FR
Objet : VIOLATIONS DES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET DU CITOYEN AU CAMBODGE PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT DE M. HUN SEN
Monsieur le Président ;
Au nom du mouvement de défense des droits du peuple Khmer, le Khmer M’Chas Srok (KMS) a l’honneur de vous faire part du désarroi du peuple cambodgien vivant actuellement sous le gouvernement de M. HUN Sen, le premier ministre du Cambodge.
Le désarroi du peuple Khmer émane du sentiment poignant d’être orphelin sans bonne gouvernance, sans protection sociale, privé de toute dignité, eu égard aux droits fondamentaux inscrits dans la déclaration universelle de droit de l’homme des Nation Unies.
Le non-respect des accords de Paix de Paris du 23 Octobre 1991(dont la France est le Co-président) par le Gouvernement du Cambodge est parfaitement flagrant, notamment, dans le cas « des Accords concernant la souveraineté, l’indépendance, l’intégrité territoriale et l’inviolabilité, la neutralité et l’Unité Nationale du Cambodge » et la « Déclaration de la réhabilitation et la reconstruction du Cambodge », à savoir :
- La signature en Octobre 2005 du traité additif au traité de 1985 qui rend rétrospectivement légaux tous les traités illégaux et inégaux de 1979, 1982, 1983 et 1985 entre le Cambodge et le Vietnam contrevient aux textes et à l’esprit de ces dits Accords. Cette signature compromet définitivement l’intégrité territoriale et la souveraineté du Cambodge.
- La pauvreté, la corruption, l’anarchie, la confiscation illicite des terres des paysans par des hommes forts du pouvoir, les élections sous la menace, l'impunité des forfaits, le levé d'immunité des membres parlementaires, l’utilisation du pouvoir judiciaire comme un instrument politique, sont dénoncés par :
Monsieur le Président,
La France est le pays où la majorité des Cambodgiens expatriés sont résidents. En tant que français d'origine cambodgienne, nous sommes choqués que La République Française, berceau des Droits de l’Homme, puisse recevoir, le 14 Juillet 2009, un représentant du Gouvernement du Cambodge qui piétine dans son propre Pays la Démocratie et les Droits de l’Homme, au risque de maculer ainsi l’image internationale de la République française.
Notre indignation serait néanmoins tempérée, s’il pouvait être fermement rappelé par la France à cet invité, représentant du Gouvernement du Cambodge, que le Cambodge a le devoir de respecter ses engagements et ses obligations envers la France et la communauté Internationale, selon ses propres engagements énoncés sans ambiguïté sur le sol de la France, lors de la signature des Accords de Paix de Paris sur le Cambodge du 23 Octobre 1991.
La France se tient toujours aux côtés des peuples opprimés, privés de droits les plus élémentaires et qui ont l’espoir de vivre dignement en tant qu’êtres humains.
Monsieur Le Président,
En faisant appel à votre sens de justice, le peuple khmer conserve le grand espoir de retrouver ses droits à une vie convenable, conformément aux Droits de l’Homme que la France a toujours su promouvoir pour tous les peuples du monde.
Paris le 12 Juillet 2009
Khmer M’Chas Srok
Mr. President,
In the name of the movement for the defense of Khmer people rights, the Khmer M’Chas Srok (KMS) movement has the honor to inform you about the disarray faced by the Cambodian people who are currently living under the regime of Mr. Hun Sen, Cambodia’s current prime minister.
The disarray faced by the Cambodian people stems from our poignant feeling of being deprived of good governance, of social protection, of all dignity in regards to fundamental rights stipulated in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The non-respect of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords – in which France is the co-president – by the Cambodian government is very blatant, in particular, in the case “of agreements involving the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and inviolability, the neutrality and the national unity of Cambodia” and the “Declaration of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Cambodia” involving the following:
- The October 2005 signing of the additional treaty to that concluded in 1985 – which provided a retroactive legalization of all the illegal and unequal treaties concluded in 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1985 between Cambodia and Vietnam – contravenes to the text and the spirit of the Paris Peace Accords. This signing definitively compromises Cambodia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
- Poverty, corruption, anarchy, illegal confiscation of lands belonging to farmers by men in power, voting under threat, impunity, the lifting of the immunity of Members of Parliament, the use of the judicial system as political tools, have been denounced by:
- International organizations, such as Global Witness and Transparency International,
- Special Representatives of the UN Secretary-general for human rights in Cambodia (Peter Leuprecht, Yash Ghai, etc…),
- The US Ambassador in Cambodia in 2009.
Mr. President,
France is the country where the majority of expatriated Cambodians reside. As French citizens of Cambodian origin, we are shocked to see the French Republic, the birthplace of Human Rights, welcoming on 14 July 2009 a representative of the Cambodian government who tramples Democracy and Human Rights in his own country, at the risk of the French Republic tarnishing its international image.
Our indignation would be lessened if France could firmly remind this guest – who happens to be a representative of the Cambodian government – that Cambodia has the duty to respect its engagements and obligations towards France and the international community, according to its own engagements made without ambiguity on the French soil, during its signing of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia.
France always stood with oppressed people who are deprived of the most rudimentary rights and who aspire to live with dignity as human beings.
Mr. President,
In appealing to your sense of justice, the Khmer people maintain our high hope to find anew our rights for a decent life, in conformance to Human Rights that France was always able to promote to all the people in the world.
Paris 12 July 2009
Khmer M’Chas Srok
-------
KMS-LETTRE Ouverte-SARKOZY-12July-09-44FR
LETTRE OUVERTE
A Monsieur NICOLAS SARKOZY, Président de la République Française,
CO-PRESIDENT DE LA CONFERENCE DE PAIX DE PARIS DE 1991 SUR LE CAMBODGE
55, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 PARIS
A Monsieur NICOLAS SARKOZY, Président de la République Française,
CO-PRESIDENT DE LA CONFERENCE DE PAIX DE PARIS DE 1991 SUR LE CAMBODGE
55, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 PARIS
Objet : VIOLATIONS DES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET DU CITOYEN AU CAMBODGE PAR LE GOUVERNEMENT DE M. HUN SEN
Monsieur le Président ;
Au nom du mouvement de défense des droits du peuple Khmer, le Khmer M’Chas Srok (KMS) a l’honneur de vous faire part du désarroi du peuple cambodgien vivant actuellement sous le gouvernement de M. HUN Sen, le premier ministre du Cambodge.
Le désarroi du peuple Khmer émane du sentiment poignant d’être orphelin sans bonne gouvernance, sans protection sociale, privé de toute dignité, eu égard aux droits fondamentaux inscrits dans la déclaration universelle de droit de l’homme des Nation Unies.
Le non-respect des accords de Paix de Paris du 23 Octobre 1991(dont la France est le Co-président) par le Gouvernement du Cambodge est parfaitement flagrant, notamment, dans le cas « des Accords concernant la souveraineté, l’indépendance, l’intégrité territoriale et l’inviolabilité, la neutralité et l’Unité Nationale du Cambodge » et la « Déclaration de la réhabilitation et la reconstruction du Cambodge », à savoir :
- La signature en Octobre 2005 du traité additif au traité de 1985 qui rend rétrospectivement légaux tous les traités illégaux et inégaux de 1979, 1982, 1983 et 1985 entre le Cambodge et le Vietnam contrevient aux textes et à l’esprit de ces dits Accords. Cette signature compromet définitivement l’intégrité territoriale et la souveraineté du Cambodge.
- La pauvreté, la corruption, l’anarchie, la confiscation illicite des terres des paysans par des hommes forts du pouvoir, les élections sous la menace, l'impunité des forfaits, le levé d'immunité des membres parlementaires, l’utilisation du pouvoir judiciaire comme un instrument politique, sont dénoncés par :
- les organisations internationales telles que Global Witness, Transparency International,
- les Représentants Spéciaux du Secrétaire Général de l’ONU pour les Droits de l’Homme au Cambodge (Peter Leuprecht, Yash Ghai, …),
- l’Ambassadrice des Etats Unis d’Amérique au Cambodge en 2009,
Monsieur le Président,
La France est le pays où la majorité des Cambodgiens expatriés sont résidents. En tant que français d'origine cambodgienne, nous sommes choqués que La République Française, berceau des Droits de l’Homme, puisse recevoir, le 14 Juillet 2009, un représentant du Gouvernement du Cambodge qui piétine dans son propre Pays la Démocratie et les Droits de l’Homme, au risque de maculer ainsi l’image internationale de la République française.
Notre indignation serait néanmoins tempérée, s’il pouvait être fermement rappelé par la France à cet invité, représentant du Gouvernement du Cambodge, que le Cambodge a le devoir de respecter ses engagements et ses obligations envers la France et la communauté Internationale, selon ses propres engagements énoncés sans ambiguïté sur le sol de la France, lors de la signature des Accords de Paix de Paris sur le Cambodge du 23 Octobre 1991.
La France se tient toujours aux côtés des peuples opprimés, privés de droits les plus élémentaires et qui ont l’espoir de vivre dignement en tant qu’êtres humains.
Monsieur Le Président,
En faisant appel à votre sens de justice, le peuple khmer conserve le grand espoir de retrouver ses droits à une vie convenable, conformément aux Droits de l’Homme que la France a toujours su promouvoir pour tous les peuples du monde.
Paris le 12 Juillet 2009
Khmer M’Chas Srok
Monday, October 27, 2008
Independence or Paris?
Monday, 27 October 2008
Written by Sophan Seng
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post
Written by Sophan Seng
Letter to The Phnom Penh Post
Dear Editor,
I am dismayed by the government's rehearsal for the national independence celebration (‘Bigger and better' Independence Day, October 23). Of course, Cambodia's Independence Day on November 9 is important as Cambodia gained full freedom from the French on that day, but I believe the Paris Peace Agreement on October 23 is equally important.
October 23 is considered a renaissance for Cambodia in both economic and political terms. Though Cambodia has encountered problems in terms of fully implementing the chapters of the treaty, the path to democracy in Cambodia lies in the treaty's stipulations.
While we already have full independence, Cambodia's political upheavals will end and its democracy will become genuine when it fully adheres to the October 23 Paris Peace Agreement. I would like to suggest that all Cambodian people and political parties remember the significance of this very important day. Political dogmas aside, October 23 should be celebrated and commemorated equally to national Independence Day on November 9.
Sophan Seng
PhD student in political science
University of Hawaii at Manoa
I am dismayed by the government's rehearsal for the national independence celebration (‘Bigger and better' Independence Day, October 23). Of course, Cambodia's Independence Day on November 9 is important as Cambodia gained full freedom from the French on that day, but I believe the Paris Peace Agreement on October 23 is equally important.
October 23 is considered a renaissance for Cambodia in both economic and political terms. Though Cambodia has encountered problems in terms of fully implementing the chapters of the treaty, the path to democracy in Cambodia lies in the treaty's stipulations.
While we already have full independence, Cambodia's political upheavals will end and its democracy will become genuine when it fully adheres to the October 23 Paris Peace Agreement. I would like to suggest that all Cambodian people and political parties remember the significance of this very important day. Political dogmas aside, October 23 should be celebrated and commemorated equally to national Independence Day on November 9.
Sophan Seng
PhD student in political science
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Cambodia has peace, but no freedom
HONG KONG, China, Dec. 12LAO MONG HAY
UPI Asia Online
Column: Rule by Fear
In October 1991, the warring factions in Cambodia and 17 concerned countries gathered in Paris to sign, in the presence of the secretary-general of the United Nations, a set of agreements to end the war in Cambodia.
All state signatories then recognized, among other things, that Cambodia's tragic history required special measures to assure the protection of human rights and to prevent the return of the policies and practices of the past.
Among these measures were Cambodia's adoption of pluralistic liberal democracy as its system of government and its undertaking to ensure respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms. For their part, the other state signatories also committed themselves to promoting and encouraging such respect and observance and for the United Nations to monitor human rights in this war-stricken country.
The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, or UNTAC, was established to ensure the implementation of these agreements. UNTAC deployed approximately 20,000 peacekeepers costing US$1.6 billion to keep the peace and organize the election of a new government.
Cambodia, however, did not enjoy peace and stability when the Khmer Rouge, the second strongest of the four Cambodian warring factions, defected from the peace process and resumed their armed struggle to disrupt the peacekeeping operation and the election held in 1993. Their struggle continued after the election of a new government and the departure of UNTAC.
In 1996, a group of Khmer Rouge fighters broke away from Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, and rallied to the government. In July 1997, another war broke out in the capital between the two warring factions in the coalition government formed after the election, a clash between the royalist FUNCINPEC Party and the former communist Cambodian People's Party.
FUNCINPEC was routed, and the CCP emerged a decisive victor. In April 1998, Pol Pot died. The CPP won the election in July of that year, and the remainder of Pol Pot's followers surrendered to the government at the end of the same year. Cambodia has since ushered in an era of peace, stability and economic growth.
With a weakened FUNCINPEC as a coalition partner in the government and a small opposition in the Parliament after the 1998 election, the CCP reasserted its grip on the power it had lost five years earlier. It soon signaled its disengagement from international human rights obligations when it abolished a public holiday on Oct. 23 in commemoration of the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 which had bound Cambodia to these obligations.
Just prior to the election of 2003, which the CCP comfortably won, the CCP-led government began to practically ban peaceful public demonstrations and protests. Since then, organizers have to seek prior permission for their protest action. If they are given such permission, the authorities invariably assign a place where demonstrations can be held. Unauthorized demonstrations are broken up, with violence if need be.
Only strong pressure, especially from ambassadors of influential donor countries, can push the government to lift the ban. Thanks to such pressure, the government lifted its ban on a public demonstration to commemorate International Human Rights Day this year.
Meanwhile, protests or resistance against evictions in cases of land disputes with the rich and powerful are invariably met with the violence of the police or the arrests of leaders of these protests or resistance on the charge of incitement, wrongful damage to property, infringement upon public property, battery or fraud. This year a human rights non-governmental organization has recorded 320 cases of land disputes in which two people were killed, more than 10 were seriously injured and 138 were arrested, of whom 55 are still in detention.
Labor strikes have suffered the same fate. Last month about 2,000 workers staged a lawful and peaceful strike at their factory, Fortune Garment and Woolen Knitting Co., in Saang District in Kandal province. A mixed police force was sent to brutally break up that strike, causing serious injuries to two female workers. Four union officials were also arrested in this crackdown.
NGOs are facing the same restrictions as they cannot carry out their activities without "cooperation" from provincial and municipal authorities. From June to October of this year, an organization called Voice of Democracy organized 19 public forums in different localities for people to debate and address issues facing them. Eight of these forums experienced various degrees of disruption or obstruction by local authorities.
Press freedom is also restricted. Journalists have been facing threats and intimidation in their work. A few have faced lawsuits. Reporters of the Khmer-language program of the U.S. network Radio Free Asia are known to be "frequently singled out for harassment by government officials." The field editor of this radio network said that "news reports about illegal logging, malnutrition in impoverished areas and human rights abuses have resulted in angry, and sometimes threatening, calls from senior Ministry of Information officials."
The report of Global Witness on illegal logging was banned in June, and a magazine called The Free Press Magazine was confiscated in November of this year. In both cases, the authorities arbitrarily took action without any recourse to the due process of law to adjudicate the unlawfulness of these publications.
The human rights abuses above are but a sample, as there are numerous others. They nevertheless show that the Cambodian government has not honored its international human rights obligations, and policies and practices of the past, though in a milder form, have now returned in Cambodia.
The state signatories to the Paris Peace Agreements should honor their commitments to promote and encourage observance of, and respect for, human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia and should work with the Cambodian government to put an end to these abuses so that the long-suffering people of Cambodia can enjoy peace, stability, human rights and their freedoms.
--
(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.)
All state signatories then recognized, among other things, that Cambodia's tragic history required special measures to assure the protection of human rights and to prevent the return of the policies and practices of the past.
Among these measures were Cambodia's adoption of pluralistic liberal democracy as its system of government and its undertaking to ensure respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms. For their part, the other state signatories also committed themselves to promoting and encouraging such respect and observance and for the United Nations to monitor human rights in this war-stricken country.
The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, or UNTAC, was established to ensure the implementation of these agreements. UNTAC deployed approximately 20,000 peacekeepers costing US$1.6 billion to keep the peace and organize the election of a new government.
Cambodia, however, did not enjoy peace and stability when the Khmer Rouge, the second strongest of the four Cambodian warring factions, defected from the peace process and resumed their armed struggle to disrupt the peacekeeping operation and the election held in 1993. Their struggle continued after the election of a new government and the departure of UNTAC.
In 1996, a group of Khmer Rouge fighters broke away from Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge leader, and rallied to the government. In July 1997, another war broke out in the capital between the two warring factions in the coalition government formed after the election, a clash between the royalist FUNCINPEC Party and the former communist Cambodian People's Party.
FUNCINPEC was routed, and the CCP emerged a decisive victor. In April 1998, Pol Pot died. The CPP won the election in July of that year, and the remainder of Pol Pot's followers surrendered to the government at the end of the same year. Cambodia has since ushered in an era of peace, stability and economic growth.
With a weakened FUNCINPEC as a coalition partner in the government and a small opposition in the Parliament after the 1998 election, the CCP reasserted its grip on the power it had lost five years earlier. It soon signaled its disengagement from international human rights obligations when it abolished a public holiday on Oct. 23 in commemoration of the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 which had bound Cambodia to these obligations.
Just prior to the election of 2003, which the CCP comfortably won, the CCP-led government began to practically ban peaceful public demonstrations and protests. Since then, organizers have to seek prior permission for their protest action. If they are given such permission, the authorities invariably assign a place where demonstrations can be held. Unauthorized demonstrations are broken up, with violence if need be.
Only strong pressure, especially from ambassadors of influential donor countries, can push the government to lift the ban. Thanks to such pressure, the government lifted its ban on a public demonstration to commemorate International Human Rights Day this year.
Meanwhile, protests or resistance against evictions in cases of land disputes with the rich and powerful are invariably met with the violence of the police or the arrests of leaders of these protests or resistance on the charge of incitement, wrongful damage to property, infringement upon public property, battery or fraud. This year a human rights non-governmental organization has recorded 320 cases of land disputes in which two people were killed, more than 10 were seriously injured and 138 were arrested, of whom 55 are still in detention.
Labor strikes have suffered the same fate. Last month about 2,000 workers staged a lawful and peaceful strike at their factory, Fortune Garment and Woolen Knitting Co., in Saang District in Kandal province. A mixed police force was sent to brutally break up that strike, causing serious injuries to two female workers. Four union officials were also arrested in this crackdown.
NGOs are facing the same restrictions as they cannot carry out their activities without "cooperation" from provincial and municipal authorities. From June to October of this year, an organization called Voice of Democracy organized 19 public forums in different localities for people to debate and address issues facing them. Eight of these forums experienced various degrees of disruption or obstruction by local authorities.
Press freedom is also restricted. Journalists have been facing threats and intimidation in their work. A few have faced lawsuits. Reporters of the Khmer-language program of the U.S. network Radio Free Asia are known to be "frequently singled out for harassment by government officials." The field editor of this radio network said that "news reports about illegal logging, malnutrition in impoverished areas and human rights abuses have resulted in angry, and sometimes threatening, calls from senior Ministry of Information officials."
The report of Global Witness on illegal logging was banned in June, and a magazine called The Free Press Magazine was confiscated in November of this year. In both cases, the authorities arbitrarily took action without any recourse to the due process of law to adjudicate the unlawfulness of these publications.
The human rights abuses above are but a sample, as there are numerous others. They nevertheless show that the Cambodian government has not honored its international human rights obligations, and policies and practices of the past, though in a milder form, have now returned in Cambodia.
The state signatories to the Paris Peace Agreements should honor their commitments to promote and encourage observance of, and respect for, human rights and fundamental freedoms in Cambodia and should work with the Cambodian government to put an end to these abuses so that the long-suffering people of Cambodia can enjoy peace, stability, human rights and their freedoms.
--
(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.)
Friday, November 09, 2007
On Cambodia Independence
09 November 2007
OpEd by KONG Hean
OpEd by KONG Hean
For me, our poor motherland has lost its independence since the Socialist Republic of Vietnam waged its expansionist war against a sovereign Cambodia in December 1978. Therefore, we, Khmer people, had enjoyed our true indepenedence exactly 25 years before the infamous and illegal Vietnamese invasion. Cambodia has been a Vietnamese satellite state ever since. For how long? TWENTY EIGHT odd years.
Now comes the critical question. How to regain our independence?
There are, in fact, a few options:
1- Hun Sen government, in chorus with the National Assemby and the Senate, must declare void the supplemental treaty to the 4 treacherous treaties Heng Samrin and Hun Sen signed in 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1985 in violation of the spirit and the letter of the Paris Peace Agreements. This option triggers the question as to whether or not the CPP-controlled government and parliament would do it. To me, there is zero chance. So we go to the next option.
2- His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni can convene an international press conference (not a local one) and publicly declare void his royal signature and stamp sealed on the said supplemental treaty on November 30, 2005 by stating that he was ill-informed, hence making a huge mistake which was so detrimental to Cambodia and his subjects. Again, the question lies on whether or not our King would do it. Not a chance.
3- People Power like in Burma. It will certainly succeed. But the cost in human lives is certainly unimaginable. Are we prepared to risk our lives for the salvation of our country? We will certainly hear YES as an answer. How many precent of the whole Khmer population would say YES? It's at anyone's guess.
4- The SRP has actually 24 seats in the National Assembly. In our Constitution, an MP represents not only the people in his/her electorate. He/she represents the whole Khmer population. That article in the Constitution opens the opportunity to the 24 SRP MPs to officially write to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to convene follow-up meetings to assess whether or not the Paris Peace Agreements are fully observed by all parties. US Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. Joseph A. Mussomeli, has stated quite a few times that, I quote, " The Paris Peace Accord has no expiration date", unquote.
It appears now that the only hope left for the whole Khmer race to redeem its dignity and honour is in the hands of those 24 SRP MPs. Their true colours will be revealed right after this comment of mine.
Yours, KONG Hean
Now comes the critical question. How to regain our independence?
There are, in fact, a few options:
1- Hun Sen government, in chorus with the National Assemby and the Senate, must declare void the supplemental treaty to the 4 treacherous treaties Heng Samrin and Hun Sen signed in 1979, 1982, 1983 and 1985 in violation of the spirit and the letter of the Paris Peace Agreements. This option triggers the question as to whether or not the CPP-controlled government and parliament would do it. To me, there is zero chance. So we go to the next option.
2- His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni can convene an international press conference (not a local one) and publicly declare void his royal signature and stamp sealed on the said supplemental treaty on November 30, 2005 by stating that he was ill-informed, hence making a huge mistake which was so detrimental to Cambodia and his subjects. Again, the question lies on whether or not our King would do it. Not a chance.
3- People Power like in Burma. It will certainly succeed. But the cost in human lives is certainly unimaginable. Are we prepared to risk our lives for the salvation of our country? We will certainly hear YES as an answer. How many precent of the whole Khmer population would say YES? It's at anyone's guess.
4- The SRP has actually 24 seats in the National Assembly. In our Constitution, an MP represents not only the people in his/her electorate. He/she represents the whole Khmer population. That article in the Constitution opens the opportunity to the 24 SRP MPs to officially write to the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to convene follow-up meetings to assess whether or not the Paris Peace Agreements are fully observed by all parties. US Ambassador to Cambodia, Mr. Joseph A. Mussomeli, has stated quite a few times that, I quote, " The Paris Peace Accord has no expiration date", unquote.
It appears now that the only hope left for the whole Khmer race to redeem its dignity and honour is in the hands of those 24 SRP MPs. Their true colours will be revealed right after this comment of mine.
Yours, KONG Hean
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Overseas Cambodians held a meeting on the Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia
22 October 2007
By Moeung Tum
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
By Moeung Tum
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Cambodian-American and French-Cambodian delegates representing 9 associations from various US States and France held a meeting to discuss about means to push Cambodia to observe the Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia which was concluded on 23 October 1991.
Dr. Chak Sakhon, President of the Khmer Mchas Srok Movement (KMS) and the guest of honor of the conference, raised various issues about the violations of the Paris Peace Agreements, and she also exchanged ideas with the participants of conference on a number of important issues such as: “The 1979, 1982, 1983 1985 Treaties: The 1979 one was the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship treaty; the 1982 one was a treaty regarding the maritime territories, and we lost out sea territories starting from 1982; the 1983 treaty was a treaty declaring the statute of the Vietnamese and Cambodian people who lived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, at that time, borders were abolished, this was the time which saw a large influx of (Vietnamese) immigrants (into Cambodia); the 1985 treaty sets the legality to all the treaties above. Therefore, all these treaties did not abide by the Paris Peace Agreements.”
May Din, a former USAID official in the 60s told the participants: “Ladies and gentlemen, you who are Cambodian, you must have the will to unite with each other and work together. The truth is that the Paris Peace Agreements are very important, and the US was a signatory (of these agreements), and it is involved with this international agreement also.”
Dr. Chan Sakhon added that Cambodian overseas must unite to find a solution to help Cambodia through these agreements: “I am officially calling to the world, to the highest authorities, institutions and tribunal systems in all the signatory countries to the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, to review and choose an opportune timing and structure to use to guarantee the application and the full respect of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. This means that these signatory countries will do it utmost to pull out and preserve peace, justice, freedom, and democracy for the Cambodian people, and protect the everlasting stability (of Cambodia), the same as in other countries in the region.”
Participants to the conference have agreed to send a resolution to the US Congress and the US government, to the UN, to call for all the 18 signatory countries to the Paris Peace Agreements, to strengthen and apply these agreements in order to serve the interest of Cambodia.
Dr. Chak Sakhon, President of the Khmer Mchas Srok Movement (KMS) and the guest of honor of the conference, raised various issues about the violations of the Paris Peace Agreements, and she also exchanged ideas with the participants of conference on a number of important issues such as: “The 1979, 1982, 1983 1985 Treaties: The 1979 one was the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship treaty; the 1982 one was a treaty regarding the maritime territories, and we lost out sea territories starting from 1982; the 1983 treaty was a treaty declaring the statute of the Vietnamese and Cambodian people who lived along the Vietnam-Cambodia border, at that time, borders were abolished, this was the time which saw a large influx of (Vietnamese) immigrants (into Cambodia); the 1985 treaty sets the legality to all the treaties above. Therefore, all these treaties did not abide by the Paris Peace Agreements.”
May Din, a former USAID official in the 60s told the participants: “Ladies and gentlemen, you who are Cambodian, you must have the will to unite with each other and work together. The truth is that the Paris Peace Agreements are very important, and the US was a signatory (of these agreements), and it is involved with this international agreement also.”
Dr. Chan Sakhon added that Cambodian overseas must unite to find a solution to help Cambodia through these agreements: “I am officially calling to the world, to the highest authorities, institutions and tribunal systems in all the signatory countries to the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements on Cambodia, to review and choose an opportune timing and structure to use to guarantee the application and the full respect of the 23 October 1991 Paris Peace Agreements. This means that these signatory countries will do it utmost to pull out and preserve peace, justice, freedom, and democracy for the Cambodian people, and protect the everlasting stability (of Cambodia), the same as in other countries in the region.”
Participants to the conference have agreed to send a resolution to the US Congress and the US government, to the UN, to call for all the 18 signatory countries to the Paris Peace Agreements, to strengthen and apply these agreements in order to serve the interest of Cambodia.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Constitution Day should remind the government of its obligations
AS-232-2007
September 24, 2007
September 24, 2007
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
CAMBODIA: Constitution Day should remind the government of its obligations
CAMBODIA: Constitution Day should remind the government of its obligations
September 24 is Constitution Day in Cambodia; a public holiday called to celebrate the anniversary of promulgation of the country’s new constitution on the same day in 1993. This constitution was adopted by a constitutional assembly elected under the auspices of the United Nations, which administered the country in 1992 and 1993 pursuant to the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 that put an end to the war in that country.
According to those international agreements and its new constitution, Cambodia is a democratic country governed by the rule of law, and has adhered to international human rights norms and standards. Yet 16 years after the signing of those agreements and 14 years after the promulgation of that constitution, it has continued to fail in its obligations to ensure respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to support the right of all Cambodian citizens to undertake activities which would promote and protect human rights. Furthermore, it has continuously failed to act on certain important provisions of its constitution.
Cambodia’s performance on fundamental rights has remained very poor. As stipulated in the Paris Peace Agreements, these fundamental rights comprise of: the rights of life, personal liberty, security, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, assembly and association including political parties and trade unions, due process and equality before the law, protection from arbitrary deprivation of property or deprivation of private property without just compensation, and freedom from racial, ethnic, religious or sexual discrimination.
Despite the generous aid it has received, an average of over US0 million a year since 1993, and its exploitation of forests and the country's other natural resources, Cambodia has not been able to meet the right to life of its people. According to UNICEF, one in three Cambodians still lives below the poverty line of one US dollar a day. Cambodia has the highest infant and under-five mortality rate in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, respectively. It has a net primary school enrollment and attendance of 65 per cent. In 2005 the annual number of under-5 deaths was 61,000 for a country of 14 million inhabitants.
Cambodians have not been able to enjoy personal liberty and security when their country is rife with crime of all sorts. Nor have they been able to enjoy freedom of assembly and association, when peaceful public protests and demonstrations have been practically banned since early 2003. Requests for permission for demonstrations are subject to severe and meticulous scrutiny, and very few have been authoritsed. The police have used force to crack down on, and stop any unauthorised protests and demonstrations.
As regards political freedom and labour unions, opposition party activists and unionists have been harassed, intimidated, threatened and even killed. In March 2007, a candidate named Hak Sok from a newly formed political party, was shot dead in his own home, just days before the commune elections. In February 2007, a labour unionist, Hy Vuthy, was shot dead in Phnom Penh while riding home after his night shift.
Public authorities have undermined the due process of law when they have invariably issued orders, for instance to forcibly evict people from their land, or punish those who defy their orders. In April 2007, the governor of the seaport town of Sihanoukville did not apply for court orders, but simply sent armed police together with tractors to evict villagers and demolish their houses, turning those villagers homeless, on the charge that they had been illegally occupying other people’s property. Between the end of July and early August 2007, the government ignored the due process of law to get a luxurious housing development company to comply with its order to stop its construction work, it simply sent a team of officials together with workers and excavators to completely demolish a luxurious housing estate, estimated to be worth US million, that company had been building.
Cambodians have not enjoyed any equality before the law. The powerful and the rich can get away with their crimes while the weak and the poor, including the innocent, at times have to face the law for crimes that they may or may not have actually committed. In 2004 a prominent labour union leader, Chea Vichea, was murdered. Two men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, were arrested and later sentenced to 20 years in prison, despite alibi proving they had not been at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder, and the absence of prosecution witnesses in court.
In recent years the right to protection from arbitrary deprivation of property or deprivation of private property without just compensation has been notoriously violated. The powerful and the rich, in connivance with the powerful have grabbed land from people who have legally owned or occupied it, and offered them compensation worth a fraction of the market price of their land. Armed police are sent in to quell any protests or resistance to evictions. In August 2007, a group of 100 people comprising of armed civilians and military police in uniform and some personnel with sticks, hammers and axes allegedly hired by a company known as 7NG, went to the Dey Krahorm community in Phnom Penh to demolish houses, huts and tents in the area, without having any court order. Some 400 families protested against and resisted the demolition. Clashes occurred in which four women were badly beaten up.
There are also violations of other constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press, but they are not enumerated here. Having said this, Cambodians enjoy have enjoyed freedom of movement since 1993 and can travel anywhere inside or outside the country. Until July, 2007 when the government has curtailed the proselytizing work of Christian activists, they also enjoyed freedom of belief and of religion.
Cambodia has also failed in its undertaking to support its citizens who are engaged in promoting and protecting human rights. Public authorities have controlled and restricted their activities, intimidated and threatened them, and even accused them of incitement to protests and riot. Many government officials have continued to see human rights activists as trouble-makers. In 2005 the Ministry of Interior issued an order prescribing that NGOs and associations must have permission from provincial governors before they can hold seminars or training sessions. In April 2007, the police in the seaport town of Sihanoukville set out to arrest a human rights activist for inciting villagers to protest against, and resist eviction from their land. That activist had to go into hiding to avoid arrest.
On this 14th anniversary of the constitution, reflection should also be focused on the functioning of certain institutions stipulated in that constitution, namely the Judiciary, the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Council of National Defense and the National Congress.
The Paris Peace Agreements spelled out unambiguously that “an independent judiciary will be established, empowered to enforce the rights provided under the constitution.” The constitution has affirmed the separation of powers and this judicial independence. It has even assigned the judiciary the task of “protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens.”
However, in practice, the judiciary is not independent and is not given adequate resources for its functioning. It is under political control through direct government action against judges, through discrete intervention by powerful government officials, and/or through the affiliation of judges and prosecutors to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The CPP is a former communist party whose discipline and control are as strict as ever. In August 2007 the government bypassed the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, a supposedly independent constitutional body whose one task is to nominate and discipline judges and prosecutors, and arbitrarily removed Ly Vouch Leng, President of the Court of Appeal, and nominated You Bun Leng as her replacement.
As a result of such political control and lack of resources, the judiciary cannot, or is unwilling to protect the rights and freedoms of the Cambodian people. The newly enacted code of criminal procedure does not offer much help to the judiciary to carry out its constitutional duties. This code, enacted in August 2007, does not have sufficient provision to ensure full protection of the constitutional rights of the Cambodian people. For instance, a suspect in police custody cannot have the right of access to legal counsel or the right to contact a person of his or her choosing until after the 24th hour of his or her arrest, and then for only 30 minutes. He or she does not have to the right to medical treatment while in police custody. Only the custodial officer or the prosecutor can assign a doctor to visit him or her.
There are long delays in the administration of justice, impunity for the powerful and the rich, no equal protection by the law and no equality before the law. Backlogs of thousands of cases and prolonged delays, especially at the Court of Appeal, are an additional punishment for those who languish in jails where the conditions are well below the UN minimum standards. Bail is an exception rather than the rule.
The Constitutional Council is not independent and impartial. This Council has nine members, but the most of them are political appointees and are members of the ruling party (CPP). Furthermore, not all of them have the qualifications and expertise in the fields stipulated in the constitution, that is, law, administration, diplomacy or economics. The constitution itself bars its accessibility to the public. Only the king, the prime minister, members of the parliament and senators can raise issues of constitutionality with it. Litigants in court may raise the constitutionality of laws or regulations with the Constitutional Council through a complex procedure to the Supreme Court first, when they feel that those laws or regulations affect their rights.
As to the Supreme Council of National Defense and the National Congress, they have not yet been set up, even 14 years after the promulgation of the constitution.
The King is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and is to chair the Supreme Council of National Defence. It is not clear to whom or to which body the RCAF and their Commander-in-Chief is accountable if there is no such council. In the interim, it is apparent that they are accountable to the Prime Minister who is using them to reinforce his power.
The National Congress is a congregation of Cambodian people across the country which is supposed to be held every December, and to whom the government reports on various matters of national interests. All citizens have the right to participate in this forum. This congress can raise issues for state institutions to address. The Prime Minister convenes this congress, which is chaired by the king. In a way, through this forum, people can hold their leaders to account.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Cambodian government, parliament and the judiciary to fully honour Cambodia’s human rights and all other obligations under the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 and the constitution of the country. The government and parliament should respect the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary and allocate adequate resources for it to protect the rights and freedoms of the Cambodian people. They should ensure that the Constitutional Council is an independent body run by independent people with the qualifications and expertise required by the constitution. They should also ensure that this council is easily accessible to the public.
The AHRC also urges the government and parliament not to further delay the creation of the Supreme Council of National Defence and the National Congress. Any omission in this task is simply unconstitutional.
The AHRC further urges donors and UN and international agencies to work with the Cambodian government, parliament and judiciary to ensure that all of Cambodia's obligations under the Paris Peace Agreements and its constitution are fully honoured without any further delay, 16 years after the signing of those agreements and 14 years after the promulgation of that constitution.
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.
According to those international agreements and its new constitution, Cambodia is a democratic country governed by the rule of law, and has adhered to international human rights norms and standards. Yet 16 years after the signing of those agreements and 14 years after the promulgation of that constitution, it has continued to fail in its obligations to ensure respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to support the right of all Cambodian citizens to undertake activities which would promote and protect human rights. Furthermore, it has continuously failed to act on certain important provisions of its constitution.
Cambodia’s performance on fundamental rights has remained very poor. As stipulated in the Paris Peace Agreements, these fundamental rights comprise of: the rights of life, personal liberty, security, freedom of movement, freedom of religion, assembly and association including political parties and trade unions, due process and equality before the law, protection from arbitrary deprivation of property or deprivation of private property without just compensation, and freedom from racial, ethnic, religious or sexual discrimination.
Despite the generous aid it has received, an average of over US0 million a year since 1993, and its exploitation of forests and the country's other natural resources, Cambodia has not been able to meet the right to life of its people. According to UNICEF, one in three Cambodians still lives below the poverty line of one US dollar a day. Cambodia has the highest infant and under-five mortality rate in the region, at 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, respectively. It has a net primary school enrollment and attendance of 65 per cent. In 2005 the annual number of under-5 deaths was 61,000 for a country of 14 million inhabitants.
Cambodians have not been able to enjoy personal liberty and security when their country is rife with crime of all sorts. Nor have they been able to enjoy freedom of assembly and association, when peaceful public protests and demonstrations have been practically banned since early 2003. Requests for permission for demonstrations are subject to severe and meticulous scrutiny, and very few have been authoritsed. The police have used force to crack down on, and stop any unauthorised protests and demonstrations.
As regards political freedom and labour unions, opposition party activists and unionists have been harassed, intimidated, threatened and even killed. In March 2007, a candidate named Hak Sok from a newly formed political party, was shot dead in his own home, just days before the commune elections. In February 2007, a labour unionist, Hy Vuthy, was shot dead in Phnom Penh while riding home after his night shift.
Public authorities have undermined the due process of law when they have invariably issued orders, for instance to forcibly evict people from their land, or punish those who defy their orders. In April 2007, the governor of the seaport town of Sihanoukville did not apply for court orders, but simply sent armed police together with tractors to evict villagers and demolish their houses, turning those villagers homeless, on the charge that they had been illegally occupying other people’s property. Between the end of July and early August 2007, the government ignored the due process of law to get a luxurious housing development company to comply with its order to stop its construction work, it simply sent a team of officials together with workers and excavators to completely demolish a luxurious housing estate, estimated to be worth US million, that company had been building.
Cambodians have not enjoyed any equality before the law. The powerful and the rich can get away with their crimes while the weak and the poor, including the innocent, at times have to face the law for crimes that they may or may not have actually committed. In 2004 a prominent labour union leader, Chea Vichea, was murdered. Two men, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, were arrested and later sentenced to 20 years in prison, despite alibi proving they had not been at the scene of the crime at the time of the murder, and the absence of prosecution witnesses in court.
In recent years the right to protection from arbitrary deprivation of property or deprivation of private property without just compensation has been notoriously violated. The powerful and the rich, in connivance with the powerful have grabbed land from people who have legally owned or occupied it, and offered them compensation worth a fraction of the market price of their land. Armed police are sent in to quell any protests or resistance to evictions. In August 2007, a group of 100 people comprising of armed civilians and military police in uniform and some personnel with sticks, hammers and axes allegedly hired by a company known as 7NG, went to the Dey Krahorm community in Phnom Penh to demolish houses, huts and tents in the area, without having any court order. Some 400 families protested against and resisted the demolition. Clashes occurred in which four women were badly beaten up.
There are also violations of other constitutional rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of the press, but they are not enumerated here. Having said this, Cambodians enjoy have enjoyed freedom of movement since 1993 and can travel anywhere inside or outside the country. Until July, 2007 when the government has curtailed the proselytizing work of Christian activists, they also enjoyed freedom of belief and of religion.
Cambodia has also failed in its undertaking to support its citizens who are engaged in promoting and protecting human rights. Public authorities have controlled and restricted their activities, intimidated and threatened them, and even accused them of incitement to protests and riot. Many government officials have continued to see human rights activists as trouble-makers. In 2005 the Ministry of Interior issued an order prescribing that NGOs and associations must have permission from provincial governors before they can hold seminars or training sessions. In April 2007, the police in the seaport town of Sihanoukville set out to arrest a human rights activist for inciting villagers to protest against, and resist eviction from their land. That activist had to go into hiding to avoid arrest.
On this 14th anniversary of the constitution, reflection should also be focused on the functioning of certain institutions stipulated in that constitution, namely the Judiciary, the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Council of National Defense and the National Congress.
The Paris Peace Agreements spelled out unambiguously that “an independent judiciary will be established, empowered to enforce the rights provided under the constitution.” The constitution has affirmed the separation of powers and this judicial independence. It has even assigned the judiciary the task of “protecting the rights and freedoms of citizens.”
However, in practice, the judiciary is not independent and is not given adequate resources for its functioning. It is under political control through direct government action against judges, through discrete intervention by powerful government officials, and/or through the affiliation of judges and prosecutors to the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The CPP is a former communist party whose discipline and control are as strict as ever. In August 2007 the government bypassed the Supreme Council of the Magistracy, a supposedly independent constitutional body whose one task is to nominate and discipline judges and prosecutors, and arbitrarily removed Ly Vouch Leng, President of the Court of Appeal, and nominated You Bun Leng as her replacement.
As a result of such political control and lack of resources, the judiciary cannot, or is unwilling to protect the rights and freedoms of the Cambodian people. The newly enacted code of criminal procedure does not offer much help to the judiciary to carry out its constitutional duties. This code, enacted in August 2007, does not have sufficient provision to ensure full protection of the constitutional rights of the Cambodian people. For instance, a suspect in police custody cannot have the right of access to legal counsel or the right to contact a person of his or her choosing until after the 24th hour of his or her arrest, and then for only 30 minutes. He or she does not have to the right to medical treatment while in police custody. Only the custodial officer or the prosecutor can assign a doctor to visit him or her.
There are long delays in the administration of justice, impunity for the powerful and the rich, no equal protection by the law and no equality before the law. Backlogs of thousands of cases and prolonged delays, especially at the Court of Appeal, are an additional punishment for those who languish in jails where the conditions are well below the UN minimum standards. Bail is an exception rather than the rule.
The Constitutional Council is not independent and impartial. This Council has nine members, but the most of them are political appointees and are members of the ruling party (CPP). Furthermore, not all of them have the qualifications and expertise in the fields stipulated in the constitution, that is, law, administration, diplomacy or economics. The constitution itself bars its accessibility to the public. Only the king, the prime minister, members of the parliament and senators can raise issues of constitutionality with it. Litigants in court may raise the constitutionality of laws or regulations with the Constitutional Council through a complex procedure to the Supreme Court first, when they feel that those laws or regulations affect their rights.
As to the Supreme Council of National Defense and the National Congress, they have not yet been set up, even 14 years after the promulgation of the constitution.
The King is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and is to chair the Supreme Council of National Defence. It is not clear to whom or to which body the RCAF and their Commander-in-Chief is accountable if there is no such council. In the interim, it is apparent that they are accountable to the Prime Minister who is using them to reinforce his power.
The National Congress is a congregation of Cambodian people across the country which is supposed to be held every December, and to whom the government reports on various matters of national interests. All citizens have the right to participate in this forum. This congress can raise issues for state institutions to address. The Prime Minister convenes this congress, which is chaired by the king. In a way, through this forum, people can hold their leaders to account.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges the Cambodian government, parliament and the judiciary to fully honour Cambodia’s human rights and all other obligations under the Paris Peace Agreements of 1991 and the constitution of the country. The government and parliament should respect the separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary and allocate adequate resources for it to protect the rights and freedoms of the Cambodian people. They should ensure that the Constitutional Council is an independent body run by independent people with the qualifications and expertise required by the constitution. They should also ensure that this council is easily accessible to the public.
The AHRC also urges the government and parliament not to further delay the creation of the Supreme Council of National Defence and the National Congress. Any omission in this task is simply unconstitutional.
The AHRC further urges donors and UN and international agencies to work with the Cambodian government, parliament and judiciary to ensure that all of Cambodia's obligations under the Paris Peace Agreements and its constitution are fully honoured without any further delay, 16 years after the signing of those agreements and 14 years after the promulgation of that constitution.
# # #
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.
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