UN Human Rights Council – 57th Session
Interactive Debate with UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia
Delivered by Sigrid Lipott
Thank you Mr. President,
CIVICUS welcomes this new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia. There has been no tangible progress in meeting the benchmarks presented to the Council in October 2022 by the Special Rapporteur including to reform restrictive laws and release human rights defenders. Instead, the assault on civic and political space in the country has continued under Prime Minister Hun Manet, who came to power in August 2023.
We echo the concerns in your report that dozens of human rights defenders including trade unionists, land and environmental activists and the political opposition have been detained, prosecuted and or imprisoned. Many have been criminalised for incitement and as you noted the judiciary has been weaponised to silence political and human rights actors.
In July and August 2024, the government launched another crackdown under which more than 60 individuals - including youth, environmental, and political activists - were charged and imprisoned for speaking out against a trade pact between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
CIVICUS calls on the government to revise all restrictive laws including the Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO) so that it conforms with Cambodia’s human rights obligations. We also urge the Special Rapporteur to push the government to release all human rights defenders including the five young activists from the Mother Nature Movement detained in different far-flung prisons, HRD Koet Saray and end its harassment of CSOs such as labour rights group CENTRAL. The government must also end all forms of transnational repression against activists abroad.
We thank you.
