Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia

The present report reflects on the work of the Special Rapporteur, Professor Surya Subedi, for the past six years in general and the past 12 months in particular. The Special Rapporteur has had the privilege of serving as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia since May 2009. It gives him pleasure to state that the situation in Cambodia has come full circle during the intervening six years and the country is currently in the process of peaceful political transition. These years have been stimulating, intellectually challenging and rewarding at the same time for the Special Rapporteur. He finds it gratifying to report that some of his recommendations have been implemented and others are in the process of being implemented by the Government. The focus of the Special Rapporteur during the reporting period (1 July 2013–24 July 2014) has been on the possibility for the establishment of an independent national human rights institution that meets the benchmarks of the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and on the implementation of the recommendations contained in his previous four substantive and substantial reports dealing with judicial, parliamentary, electoral and land reform in Cambodia. The Special Rapporteur focused his last two missions to the country — conducted in January and in June 2014 — on those two objectives and continued to monitor the situation of human rights in Cambodia. The Special Rapporteur was welcomed by the Government during his two missions to the country in January and June 2014. He was able to meet with senior members of the Government of Cambodia, including the Prime Minister, who assured him that many of his recommendations were being implemented and that those specifically relating to judicial and electoral reform would be implemented in the near future. The Prime Minister was receptive to the idea of establishing an independent national human rights institution that meets the Paris Principles. Cambodia witnessed major political events during the reporting period, including elections to the National Assembly in July 2013. The elections were conducted in a largely peaceful manner, but were marred by allegations of electoral irregularities. Calling for an independent and credible investigation into those allegations, the newly elected members of Parliament belonging to the opposition party the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) refused to take their seats in the National Assembly. In the aftermath of the elections, people were for the most part able to express themselves freely and to enjoy their freedom of assembly through numerous protest marches and demonstrations, both large and small. Those protests were mostly well disciplined and peaceful and were in general not subject to restriction by the authorities. The sharing of views and information through new means, particularly social media, enabled more ordinary people to take interest and directly participate in the national political and economic discourse than ever before. The Special Rapporteur believed that the ability of people to exercise their rights was a sign of a maturing democracy in Cambodia, which he welcomed. On 22 July 2014, the two parties finally ended their stand-off by reaching an agreement on several key issues, and CNRP announced that it would assume its seats in the National Assembly. However, the violence and use of excessive force witnessed on repeated occasions since the elections, as well as the indefinite continuation of an ambiguous and arbitrary ban on demonstrations that lasted over six months at the time of writing, and the arrest of CNRP members on very serious charges widely believed to be politically motivated, ran counter to this trend. The international community has invested heavily in Cambodia; however, some of the State institutions, such as the judiciary and the National Election Committee, have not been able to command the full trust and confidence of the entire population. The Special Rapporteur welcomed in principle the enactment of three fundamental laws on the judiciary which had constituted the core of the recommendations in his first substantial report in 2010. Those laws contain a number of provisions designed to strengthen the workings of the judiciary, for instance, in regard to case management. Although the Special Rapporteur is concerned by certain provisions in those laws which are detrimental to the independence of the judiciary and the doctrine of the separation of powers, the laws passed by Parliament should provide a framework for improvement in the future. With regard to parliamentary and electoral reform, the long overdue reform has become more urgent now than ever and the Special Rapporteur has made further recommendations in the present report. The Special Rapporteur is encouraged by the acceptance of the rationale and the need for electoral reform contained in his report on electoral reform (A/HRC/21/63) by both the ruling and opposition parties. He hopes that, in addressing those fundamental issues, the two parties will reach a logical conclusion on principled grounds, rather than be guided merely by political expediency of a temporary nature. This is an opportunity to carry out a comprehensive reform of lasting character informed by international standards so that the situation that arose following the 2013 elections to the National Assembly will not repeat itself. By virtue of the fact that it is the ruling party, the Cambodian People’s Party and the Government itself have the responsibility to demonstrate maximum flexibility, leadership and seriousness and embrace the demands for reform to ensure a smoother functioning of democracy in the country. At the same time, the opposition party too must be reasonable and realistic and promote tolerance and harmonious race relations. The overall assessment of the Special Rapporteur of the situation of human rights is that it is evolving in a generally positive direction, and he remains optimistic for the long-term development of the nation. He welcomes the end of the political stalemate, which now makes it possible to make meaningful progress towards building a governance structure that protects and respects human rights. This is the final report of the present Rapporteur for the Human Rights Council