Human Rights Council holds separate interactive dialogues on the situation of human rights in Ukrainevand with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia

 OHCHR

1 Oct 2020

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Cambodia

Presentation of Report

RHONA SMITH, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia,
said civic and democratic space in Cambodia continued to contract and there was little evidence of any shift towards political reconciliation.  Members of civil society, including human rights defenders, trade unionists and environmentalists, continued to report being subjected to undue interference, intimidation and harassment by the authorities.  Public threats, surveillance, and arrests of civil society members were still being reported to the Special Rapporteur from a range of sources.  As of 30 September 2020, Cambodia had no community transmissions of COVID-19 and the World Health Organization had recorded some 277 cases, and no deaths.  Unfortunately, there was evidence of COVID-19 being politicized.  Initially, the virus was characterized by Samdech Techo, the Prime Minister, as a ‘foreign disease’.  This had contributed to discrimination and stigma, particularly in respect of Khmer Islam people.  The Special Rapporteur said that since the submission of her annual report, the campaign launched by the Ministry of Justice to ameliorate prison overcrowding by expediting trials had produced results.  By the end of August 2020, over 5,000 backlogged criminal cases had been cleared.  Nevertheless, Ms. Smith remained concerned at the prevalence of pre-trial detention, the lack of viable alternatives to custodial sentencing, evidentiary standards, and the variations in due process guarantees across the country.

Statement by Concerned Country

Cambodia, speaking as a concerned country, said that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Rapporteur had continued to have a substantive virtual exchange with the Government since August.  Cambodia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic had placed the people at the centre, and had left no one behind.  It had transformed the threat of the pandemic into an opportunity for reforms, notably in the fields of health, justice and education.  One could not pick and choose among human rights.  Regrettably, the report had deviated from this approach.  It had a one-sided and excessive focus on civil and political rights, with many positive developments underreported.  Cambodia was home to almost 6,000 non-government organizations, and nearly 2,000 media outlets, which were functioning freely.

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