Cambodia - Universal Periodic Review

UPR 32, January 30, 2019
Recommendations by Canada

Recommendations

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Thank you, Mr. President.

Canada remains deeply concerned by the shrinking of democratic space in Cambodia, including restrictions on civil society, the media, and the political opposition. This trend has been further compounded by undemocratic elections in 2018.

Canada recommends that Cambodia:

1. Strengthen democratic participation, by ensuring an independent media, a safe and enabling environment for civil society and labour unions, and the full participation of opposition parties and politicians in the next commune, senate, and legislative elections;
2. Fully reinstate the opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and its members;
3. Implement measures to prevent illegal land evictions. Use accountability and transparency mechanisms to resolve land disputes in an equitable and expeditious manner, as noted in the HRC resolution 36/32 adopted by consensus;
4. Amend Article 45 of the constitution to permit same-sex couples to marry.

Canada is closely monitoring the implementation of the recently announced reforms to increase political space and is concerned that they may not yield any practical change. Canada continues to call on the government to hold free and fair national elections, allow basic civil rights for the people of Cambodia, and reinstate freedom of expression and political participation.

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, in the first two cycles of the UPR, Cambodia received 343 recommendations, of which 301 were accepted (an acceptance rate of 88%). Canada’s previous recommendations to Cambodia were related to freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as involuntary relocation.

There is specific human rights law in Cambodia. The body of legislation includes a code of conduct for police, laws governing freedom of the press, anti-human trafficking, land rights, and governance of the judiciary. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords, which provided an internationally-backed comprehensive system of governance, incorporate the International Declaration on Human Rights. Cambodia has ratified eight of the nine core human rights treaties, and some of their optional protocols. However, there are remaining significant challenges to political freedom and concerns over democracy, the rights to freedom of expression, of association, and of assembly as well as land rights.

After the 2013 elections that saw significant gains made by the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the Cambodia People’s Party (CPP)-led government began implementing legislative, regulatory and constitutional changes, creating a framework that strongly appears designed to eliminate political opposition.

The Law on Associations and NGOs (LANGO), passed in 2015, remains unduly restrictive of civil society as it imposes overly burdensome reporting requirements on civil society organizations, allows for unfettered ministerial discretion over the registration of NGOs, and requires “political neutrality” by all associations and NGOs. In March 2018, the government introduced an amendment to the Criminal Code that includes a “lèse majesté” provision, which criminalizes any negative speech against the King.

In February 2017, the government passed a series of amendments to the 1998 Law on Political Parties, granting it sweeping powers to suspend and dissolve parties. In September 2017, the leader of the CNRP, Kem Sokha, was arrested for treason without first suspending his parliamentary immunity, justified by the doctrine of “in flagrante delicto” but based on a video that had been online for more than three years. The charges are seen as politically motivated, and have been ruled to be ‘arbitrary’ by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

Land ownership remains a prominent area of concern in Cambodia. Current policies of the Government of Cambodia appear to exploit a lack of land entitlements among the public to expedite private developments, resulting in widespread land grabbing and forced evictions for Cambodians. There has also been a crackdown on protestors and journalists who report on land disputes, who have been intimidated, harassed, and interrogated by the authorities for their activism. Currently, approximately 150,000 Cambodians are at risk of forced eviction. “Beautification” schemes and development projects continue to be a main cause of displacement and dispossession for Cambodians nationwide. In Cambodia’s 2014 UPR, it indicated it had appointed representatives to protect the land interests of “poor people” as well as cooperation with NGOs and a dispute resolution system, yet, land issues remain a strong concern.

Moreover, LGBTI individuals have seen little advancement in their legal status, but have made impressive gains in acceptance in wider society. Although there have been some localized gains in legal status of LGBTI couples, Cambodian law does not protect nor recognize same-sex relations.