{"id":4315,"date":"2018-02-05T16:44:17","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T07:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/?p=4315"},"modified":"2018-02-05T16:44:17","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T07:44:17","slug":"hrc37cambodia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/news\/2018\/02\/05\/hrc37cambodia\/","title":{"rendered":"Written Statement submitted to 37th Human Rights Council session<\/i> \u201cThe Cambodia government must end persecution and suppression of political opponents, journalists and civil society in Cambodia.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
Human Rights Now has submitted a written statement \u201cThe Cambodia government must end persecution and suppression of political opponents, journalists and civil society in Cambodia.\u201d to the 37th session of Human Rights Council, which is going to be held in Geneva from 26 February, 2018.<\/div>\n
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HRN written statement on Cambodia for 37th HRC<\/a> [PDF]<\/div>\n
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The Cambodia government must end persecution and suppression of political opponents, journalis and civil society in Cambodia.<\/h3>\n

1. The Fundamental Rights of Cambodians are Being Attacked by the Cambodian Government\u2019s Attempt to Silence all Criticism<\/h4>\n

Over the last year, as the July 2018 general elections approach, the Cambodian government has levelled a devastating campaign of suppression against virtually all critical voices against it, targeting political opponents, journalists, human rights defenders, NGO workers, and activists in Cambodia.<\/p>\n

These suppressions constitute serious human rights violations including arbitrary arrests and constant surveillance of political opponents and activists and the dissolution of the major opposition political party, NGOs, and media outlets.<\/p>\n

Such suppressions violate fundamental human rights, especially freedom of assembly, freedom of association and freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

The suppression of critical political parties, media and civil society organizations also threatens the possibility of a fair election.<\/p>\n

Human Rights Now(HRN), a Tokyo-based human rights NGO, expresses deep concerns regarding the severity of the repeated human rights violations and urges the Cambodia government to immediately end its campaign of suppression against the opposition party, NGOs, and media outlets and activists. HRN also requests the international community to take immediate measures to help end the violations.<\/p>\n

2.Persecution of Political Opponents<\/h4>\n

The Cambodia government\u2019s suppression of critics reached a shocking new height on 16 November 2017 when the Supreme Court, with government instigation, dissolved the major opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government after its advances in 2017 local elections. The unjustifiable dissolution is a serious violation of the right to association under the ICCPR and Cambodia\u2019s Constitution.<\/p>\n

Since CNRP\u2019s dissolution, the government has continued persecuting and harassing former CNRP leaders, members, and supporters. On 23 November 2017, the prime minister suggested he would have had former CNRP leaders Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha killed for their statements to \u201corganize a new government\u201d made during a 2013 peaceful demonstration, echoing June 2017 statements to \u201celiminate 100 or 200 people\u201d if people protested the result of the local elections, suggesting threats of extra-judicial killings.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

CNRP President Kem Sokha was arrested on 3 September 2017 for \u201ctreason\u201d and remains in pre-trial detention.[2]<\/a>\u00a0The arrest was conducted reportedly without a warrant, and it ignores parliamentary immunity guaranteed by the Constitution. Furthermore, exiled former president Sam Rainsy was ordered by a Cambodian court on 29 December 2017 to pay a $1 million USD fine for defaming the prime minister among other charges.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Former CNRP members were placed under a five-year ban for political activity[4]<\/a>\u00a0and faced accusations of corruption, treason, and violence; a requirement to declare their finances or face imprisonment;[5]<\/a>\u00a0police investigations of their finances; and proposals to have their finances seized or restricted and their passports revoked.[6]<\/a>\u00a0Local CNRP officials face government threats to coerce them to defect to the CPP, including police surveillance, visits, and arbitrary prosecutions.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

3.Suppression of Civil Society and Media<\/h4>\n

Government harassment also extends to critical civil society and media voices.<\/p>\n

On July 2017, the Interior Ministry ordered the election-monitoring group Situation Room to stop its activities, thus preventing\u00a0de facto<\/em>\u00a0monitoring activities to ensure free elections.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

In September 2017, the government shut down the Cambodia Daily for alleged tax law infringement. In late 2017 the government also shut down at least 19 radio stations, including Radio Free Asia, Voice of Democracy and Voice of America, for allegedly failing to report how much airtime they were selling; the dissolutions almost exclusively targeted stations that carried independent content.[9]<\/a>\u00a0Two critical journalists, Yeang Sothearin and Uon Chhin, were also detained by police in November 2017 for allegedly producing news for their recently banned station.[10]<\/a><\/p>\n

Two environmental activists with the NGO Mother Nature were arrested by police in August 2017 and their NGO dissolved in September after being charged with incitement after legitimately investigating environmental issues.\u00a0[11]<\/a>\u00a0The two activists were convicted on 26 January 2018 for conducting this investigation.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

The government has also used the controversial Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO) to dissolve critical foreign-supported NGOs such as the National Democratic Institute in August 2017, the senior staff members of which were accused of conspiring to overthrow the government and which had its foreign staff expelled.[13]<\/a>\u00a0Under LANGO, the government also suspended the NGO Equitable Cambodia in September 2017, an NGO focused on protecting land rights,[14]<\/a>\u00a0and it investigated the Cambodian Center for Human Rights in November, founded by CNRP leader Kem Sokha. .[15]<\/a><\/p>\n

4.\u3000The Government of Cambodia Must Immediately End its Severe Suppression of Critics and Respect Their Human Rights<\/h4>\n

HRN strongly protests the Cambodian government\u2019s persecution and suppression of political opponents, NGOs, journalists, and activists in Cambodia.<\/p>\n

Such acts constitute clear grave violations of the freedom of assembly, of association and of speech, and it demonstrates that the government gave no consideration to the Council\u2019s September 2017 resolution or to the international community\u2019s concerns. To address the urgent situation:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0 HRN urgently calls upon the Cambodian Government to<\/p>\n