On Attack Anniversary, a Repeated Plea

On Attack Anniversary, a Repeated Plea: "Families of victims in a gruesome 1997 grenade attack renewed calls for the government and the FBI to reopen a stalled investigation Tuesday, as they marked the 13th anniversary of the assault. (30 March 2010)"

Burma: Election Laws May Shut Down Opposition Parties

Burma: Election Laws May Shut Down Opposition Parties: "
(New York) - Newly issued laws in preparation for 2010 elections in Burma are designed to exclude the main opposition party and ensure a victory for the ruling military, Human Rights Watch said today.

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UN special rapporteur pleased with Cambodian rights - People's Daily Online

nUN special rapporteur pleased with Cambodian rights - People's Daily Online: "

UN special rapporteur pleased with Cambodian rights People's Daily Online The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia informed Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Sok An on Monday that he has seen real ...

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Human rights body says Cambodia's drug rehab centres must close - Monsters and Critics.com

Human rights body says Cambodia's drug rehab centres must close - Monsters and Critics.com: "

Human rights body says Cambodia's drug rehab centres must close Monsters and Critics.com Phnom Penh - A prominent human rights organization said Monday the Cambodian government should close all its 11 drug detention centres, describing them as ... Cambodian rehab centres torture drug users: rights groupSAMAA TV Cambodia: Close Compulsory Drug Detention CentersReuters AlertNet all 3 news articles »

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Cambodia: Close Compulsory Drug Detention Centers

Cambodia: Close Compulsory Drug Detention Centers: "
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Cambodia labor union marks killing of leader - eTaiwan News

Cambodia labor union marks killing of leader - eTaiwan News: "

Cambodia labor union marks killing of leader eTaiwan News AP Cambodia's largest labor union warned Friday that it would launch a nationwide strike unless authorities arrests those responsible for the slaying of ... and more »

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Cambodia labor union marks killing of leader - NewsOK.com

Cambodia labor union marks killing of leader - NewsOK.com: "

Cambodia labor union marks killing of leader NewsOK.com PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's largest labor union warned Friday that it would launch a nationwide strike unless authorities arrests those ... and more »

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World Report: Abusers Target Human Rights Messengers

World Report: Abusers Target Human Rights Messengers: "
(Washington, DC) - Governments responsible for serious human rights violations have over the past year intensified attacks against human rights defenders and organizations that document abuse, Human Rights Watch said today in issuing its World Report 2010.

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UN official addresses rights rally - Phnom Penh Post

UN official addresses rights rally - Phnom Penh Post: "

Center For American Progress

UN official addresses rights rally Phnom Penh Post CAMBODIA celebrated International Human Rights Day on Thursday amid a stark warning from the United Nations' top rights official in the Kingdom that land ... ASIA: Crisis in Human Rights Protection in Asia - Bad Policing Systems as a ...Mindanao Examiner all 207 news articles »

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Youth for Human Rights International

Dear Human Rights Supporter,

In honor of the 61st anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), we urge leaders in countries around the world to recognize that children who do not know their rights are vulnerable, and to promote the UDHR and "cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories," in accordance with the General Assembly when this document was adopted and proclaimed on December 10th, 1948. The question is not what it would cost to teach human rights but what it would cost not to. 

The purpose of Youth for Human Rights International is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace. Translated in more than 20 languages, some of our child-friendly materials are, for a limited time, available for free on our websitewww.youthforhumanrights.org.

This year the art and essay entries were wonderful. Such creative ideas artfully depicted. Congratulations!

We are celebrating this historic day with more than 60 events in countries around the world.

Let's make 2010 a year of human rights learning!

With Kind Regards,

Mary Shuttleworth, EdD
President
Youth for Human Rights International

61th Anniversary of Universal Declaration on Human Rights

Please click the title (above) to watch the 61th Anniversary of Universal Declaration on Human Rights held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia: "we all need Freedom of Expression and Justice. No discrimination."

Thousands in Capital March for Rights

Thousands in Capital March for Rights: "Some 5,000 human rights activists and supporters marched through Phnom Penh on Thursday, as Cambodia marked International Human Rights Day. (10 December 2009)"

Hundreds of activists mark 61st Human Rights Day

Hundreds of activists mark 61st Human Rights Day: "
Hundreds of Cambodians from local NGOs, international organizations and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia gathered on thursday to mark the 61st Human Rights Day, held under the theme of “we all need freedom of expression and justice.”
Navi Pillay, senior official for United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the objective of this year’s celebration is to promote discrimination- free societies and a world of equal treatment for all, based on the belief that all human rights are born free and equal in dignity and rights. A joint statement from the meeting urged the effective implementation of the law on the defence and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities.
“We have to put an end to and eliminate all forms of trafficking in and exploitation of women and children by punishing the service or demanders,” the statement said. “We all have to protect and promote the rights of indigenous people as well as of minorities who are living in Cambodia, from discrimination of any form,” it said.

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Cambodia faces worrying human rights trends: UN - Sin Chew Jit Poh

Cambodia faces worrying human rights trends: UN - Sin Chew Jit Poh: "

Cambodia faces worrying human rights trends: UN Sin Chew Jit Poh PHNOM PENH, Dec 10 (AFP) - Rising land disputes and crackdowns on government critics are "worrying trends" in Cambodia, a UN representative said Thursday in ... Sisters attacked with acidStraits Times all 2 news articles »

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“WE ALL NEED FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND JUSTICE”

INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DEC 10, 2009

Media Release

“WE ALL NEED FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND JUSTICE”i

More than 10,000 Cambodians from communities around the country, including trade unionists, students, farmers, fishermen, musicians, youths, tuk tuk drivers, motorcycle drivers and NGO workers, will celebrate International Human Rights Day (IHRD) in their communities this year.

These celebrations are tied together with the common theme “We All Need Freedom of Expression and Justice!” and a common symbol - the blue Kramar to represent the important role of human rights defenders in Cambodia.

The community initiatives will mark the achievements made in human rights in Cambodia, but also focus on critical issues still facing the country’s citizens – including exploitation of land and natural resources; restrictions to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly; and violations of labor rights.

IHRD is celebrated every year on 10 December as a reminder of the enduring human rights struggles which continue to affect societies and communities in every country. IHRD bears witness to and highlights pervasive human rights abuses as well as standing as a call for action.

The celebration of IHRD also marks an opportunity for civil society, governments, international organisations and citizens themselves to highlight their efforts in securing recognition and observance of human rights principles.

Sample celebrations and activities on 10 December, 2009 

• More than 200 motorcycle drivers and Tuk Tuk drivers will hold media conference and release balloons in Traing village in Siem Reap.

• More than 900 villagers will gather in a local pagoda in Chi Kreng, Siem Reap to discuss Buddhist principles, human rights and watch videos on human rights issues.
• More than 500 villagers and farmers will play traditional games, discuss human rights issues and march in Chhouk village in Koh Kong province.
• More than 500 trade unionists will gather to discuss human rights, labor rights and to march around Laang village in Kampot province.
• More than 150 students, monks and local authorities will gather in Neav Sav village in Kampong Thom province to discuss human rights, to march and release balloons.
• Groups of family members, farmers, union leaders, students, artists and NGO workers will bring packages of food and meet more than 52 human rights defenders detained in Phnom Penh and 8 provincial prisons. 

“Cambodia’s constitution guarantees the right to freedom of expression and association, both of which are fundamental to a vibrant democracy,” said Sar Mora, President of the Cambodian Food Service Workers Federation (CFSWF). “Without the freedom to express ourselves, the government cannot understand our hopes and desires, and the goal of justice becomes an illusion.” 

“Justice must be accessible to the poor and marginalized, and the law must be applied fairly to all including the rich and powerful,” said Pung Chhiv Kek President of Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO). “The poorest farmer has the same rights as the richest businessman.” Kek adds “Cambodia’s courts are failing to provide justice to numerous victims of human rights abuses on a daily basis, real reforms of the courts, to strengthen their independence and professional and to eliminate corruption, are desperately needed.” 

“We welcome development but not at the expense of the poor,” says Yeng Virak, Executive Director of Community Legal Education Center (CLEC). “There must be an end to forced evictions, and there must be government policies which ensure and enable participation and rights to information, expression and movement for everyone.”

“Friends of December 10^th”is an informal group of individuals working to support and assist initiates to celebrate International Human Right Day throughout Cambodia.

News media are invited to attend the December 10 celebrations and contact focal persons listed for individual activities held 70 areas in Phnom Penh and 17 provinces.

News media are invited to attend the December 10 celebrations and contact focal persons listed for individual activities held 70 areas in Phnom Penh and 17 provinces.

Universal Periodic Review Submission: Cambodia

December 1, 2009

Cambodia's human rights record comes under its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on December 1, 2009 at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Under the process, the rights record of each member state is reviewed once every four years. Human Rights Watch's submission to the Human Rights Council focuses on Cambodia's track record on several core human rights issues. These include freedom of expression, association and assembly; impunity; judicial independence and rule of law; prisons and arbitrary detention; forced evictions and land confiscation; and refugees and asylum seekers.

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I. Summary

As a party to the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements and numerous international human rights treaties, Cambodia has committed itself to respect and protect the rights of all persons in Cambodia. While Cambodia has experienced strong economic growth since United Nations-brokered elections in 1993, the government has treated respect for human rights as an obstacle, rather than an aid, to development.
Cambodia's judiciary continues to lack independence, with authorities using the criminal justice system to silence critics. Freedom of expression and association are compromised as human rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists, and opposition party members face threats, intimidation and occasionally violence and imprisonment. Impunity is almost complete for human rights violations, whether on a large scale, such as the killing of hundreds of opposition party members in the run-up to the 1993 elections, the government's extrajudicial killing campaign after Prime Minister Hun Sen's 1997 coup, or in individual cases, such as the killing of journalists and labor activists. Many of those implicated in such abuses have been promoted to the highest ranks of the military and police.  As a result, government critics continue to operate in a climate of fear.

Violence against women goes unpunished. Trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is rampant. Thousands of urban poor are being forcibly evicted from their homes without proper redress, while farmers throughout the countryside are losing their land and their livelihoods to illegal logging and land concessions.
This submission focuses on core areas on which Human Rights Watch has conducted extensive research.
 
II. Human Rights Issues
 
A. Civil and Political Rights

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen continues to maintain its grip on power through control and politicization of the army, police, military police, bodyguard units, civil service, the courts, election machinery, and electronic media.
 
Freedom of Expression, Association, and Assembly

The Cambodian government controls all television and most radio stations and regularly suspends, threatens, or takes legal action against journalists or news outlets that criticize the government. Freedom of speech is hampered by provisions in Cambodian law that allow individuals to be criminally prosecuted for peaceful expression of their views. Reporters risk dismissal, physical attack, and even death for covering controversial issues; for example the murder in July 2008 of opposition journalist Khim Sambo. The government confiscates, bans, or suspends controversial publications, such as reports by the international organization Global Witness that alleged complicity of top government officials in illegal logging.
Human rights defenders as well as community activists involved in forest protection and opposing forced evictions regularly come under attack. In 2008 Prime Minister Hun Sen announced that the government would enact a law to regulate non-governmental organizations (NGOs). There are concerns the law will be used to restrict legitimate activities of NGOs and other civil society organizations.
A 2007 law on demonstrations requires organizers to give local authorities five days' notice and holds organizers responsible for any misconduct that occurs.  Authorities reject requests for or forcibly disperse many demonstrations. Workers who organize or strike for better wages and working conditions are subject to harassment, physical attacks, and unfair dismissal.
 
B. Administration of Justice
 
Impunity

A UN-backed Cambodian court created to bring justice to victims of the Khmer Rouge (the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia) has been plagued by credible reports of political interference in the court from the Cambodian government, corruption among Cambodian personnel, lack of sufficient victim and witness protection, and the limited number of cases brought to address the deaths of as many as 2 million people from 1975-1979.

While the Khmer Rouge period is the most serious example of impunity in Cambodian history, impunity has been the norm both before the Khmer Rouge period and after. In addition to the cases mentioned in section 1 above, more recent examples include:

• Three trade union leaders (Chea Vichea, Ros Sovannareth, and Hy Vuthy) have been murdered in recent years. None of their killers has been brought to justice.
• In 2008, Mean Sokchea, an army officer in Hun Sen's personal bodyguard unit, Brigade 70,  in a drunken stupor apparently mistakenly shot and killed a waitress. He was detained by police overnight but then released, allegedly after intervention by Brigade 70 commander Hing Bun Heang. The waitress's family, who were told by police that their daughter was shot while authorities were chasing robbers, received US$2,700 from Mean Sokchea.
• In 1999, Tat Marina, age 16, was severely disfigured in an acid attack allegedly committed by Khun Sophal, the wife of a senior government official, Svay Sitha, because she was angry her husband was having a relationship with Tat Marina. Neither Khun Sophal nor her suspected accomplices have been prosecuted.

Judicial Independence and Rule of Law

Cambodia's courts remain highly politicized and under government control. All key judges are CPP members, including the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Council of Magistracy, established to ensure judicial independence, remains politicized and ineffectual, as does the Constitutional Council, which is mandated to safeguard the constitutionality of legislation. The government has yet to pass a new criminal law, anti-corruption law, or other legislation critical to the protection of human rights.
 
Prisons and Arbitrary Detention

Prisons are overcrowded, with inadequate food, water, health care, and sanitation. Police routinely use torture to force confessions from criminal suspects. Police arbitrarily round up sex workers, homeless children and families, beggars, and people who use drugs and detain them in government-run "rehabilitation" centers, where they are subject to physical mistreatment and lack of food and medical care.

A government crackdown on prostitution after passage of an anti-trafficking law in 2008 that criminalizes prostitution focuses on closing brothels and arbitrarily detaining sex workers, rather than prosecuting traffickers. Many sex workers are sexually or physically abused during roundups and detention. People held in government-run drug treatment centers are subject to arbitrary detention; lack of access to health care, including drug dependency treatment; abusive measures imposed ostensibly for treatment; and physical abuse by guards.
 
C. Forced Evictions and Land Confiscation

Cambodia's rural and urban poor are increasingly losing their land to illegal concessions awarded to foreign firms, government officials, and those with connections to government officials. In Phnom Penh, at least 85,000 people have been unlawfully forcibly evicted during the last ten years, with another 70,000 currently facing eviction proceedings.  Authorities often provide insufficient notice of impending evictions and inadequate housing and compensation to displaced people afterwards. For example, three years after 1,000 families were forcibly evicted from Sambok Chap village in Phnom Penh, the government has yet to provide adequate health care, water, sanitation, schools, and other basic services to the evictees, relocated to a remote site far from the city. On numerous occasions police and soldiers have used unnecessary or excessive force in evictions, such as in 2007, when soldiers and police shot dead two unarmed villagers during a forced eviction of 317 families in Preah Vihear.
 
D. Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Cambodia continues to violate its obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which it is a state party, by forcibly returning Vietnamese Montagnards before they are able to apply for refugee status with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Cambodians who help Montagnards exercise their right to seek asylum are subject to arrest. 

In 2008, UNHCR announced that Cambodian immigration police at the Ministry of Interior, and not UNHCR, would begin screening all asylum seekers in Cambodia other than Montagnards. This is a matter of concern because Cambodia has not, to date, provided sufficient protection for registered asylum seekers and recognized refugees, especially from Vietnam and China. 

• In June 2007, Cambodian authorities defrocked and deported to Vietnam Tim Sakhorn, a Khmer Krom (ethnic Khmer originally from southern Vietnam) Buddhist abbot in Cambodia.  Tim Sakhorn had immigrated to Cambodia from Vietnam in 1978 and was a naturalized Cambodian citizen.  Upon his deportation to Vietnam, he was sentenced to prison on charges of "undermining national unity."
• In May 2007, Le Tri Tue, a labor union activist from Vietnam, went missing after registering at the UNHCR office in Phnom Penh. He has not been heard from since. 
• In August 2002, Cambodian police arrested two Chinese asylum seekers who were members of the banned Falun Gong movement. It is thought they were deported to China.

E. Cooperation with Human Rights Mechanisms

Cambodia has failed to institutionalize human rights protections. Despite an enormous amount of aid, technical assistance and goodwill, it has failed to reform the criminal justice system; allow the judiciary to act independently;  create accountable and transparent administrative structures, such as in the police or gendarmerie; and establish an independent national human rights institution to promote and protect human rights. Ongoing threats and attacks on human rights defenders and community activists, the resulting climate of fear, and continued impunity make clear the need for continued UN engagement. Key to such an engagement is authoritative and independent assessments of the human rights situation to the international community and the Cambodian people by the special rapporteur through the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the rapporteur's support for Cambodian human rights defenders and cooperation with and technical assistance to the Cambodian government.

Four special representatives have worked on the human rights situation in Cambodia since 1993, submitting thorough and accurate reports. The Cambodian government and, in particular, Prime Minister Hun Sen, have responded with personal attacks on all four; publicly insulting them, at times refusing to meet them, and calling for their dismissal. The last representative, Yash Ghai, resigned in 2008, noting that Cambodia still faces serious human rights challenges and "deep-seated systematic deficiencies in the judiciary and other key institutions charged with upholding the rule of law and protecting the rights of individuals." In 2008 the UN Human Rights Commission replaced the special representative post with that of special rapporteur, though the functions are essentially the same.

Most importantly, the Cambodian government has systematically ignored the hundreds of thoughtful, constructive, and detailed recommendations offered by each special representative. They have provided a roadmap for reform - to protect the vulnerable, to end impunity, to ensure equality for women, to create a professional and independent judiciary - yet their recommendations have been almost completely disregarded. 
 
III. Recommendations to the Cambodian Government
 

Regarding freedom of expression, assembly, and association:

• Cease the harassment, arbitrary arrests, and physical attacks on human rights defenders, civil society activists, and opposition party members; and investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of such attacks.
• Ensure that the rights of individuals and organizations to defend and promote human rights are protected, including the right to peacefully criticize and protest government policies, in accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 1998 UN General Assembly Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
• Liberalize electronic media ownership rules, including allowing transmitters of private, critical media to be as strong as those of pro-government private stations.

Regarding Forced Evictions:

• Immediately enact a moratorium on forced evictions until the government has properly adopted and implemented a strict legislative framework on evictions and resettlement as well on land and housing rights.
• Immediately issue an order expressly prohibiting the involvement of any military personnel in all land disputes, including acting as guards for private companies.
• Develop alternate strategies to assist those being evicted and ensure them adequate housing and access to basic services, health care and employment.

Regarding refugees and asylum seekers:

• Implement the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which Cambodia is a party, through national asylum legislation and asylum procedures that are fair and transparent and that provide refugees with all of the rights in the Refugee Convention, including, most fundamentally, the right  of nonrefoulement, not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
• Provide durable solutions for refugees in Cambodia; in cases where durable solutions cannot be assured in Cambodia, facilitate third-country resettlement. 
• Clearly establish whether the Law on Nationality affords Khmer Krom the status and protection of Cambodian citizens. Provide Khmer Krom who have fled from Vietnam and who are not granted Cambodian citizenship the right to seek asylum. Do not deport to Vietnam Khmer Krom with a well-founded fear of persecution in that country.

Regarding impunity:

• Investigate and prosecute longstanding cases of impunity and other human rights violations such as the deadly 1997 grenade attack on an opposition rally and summary executions committed after the 1997 coup; as well as more recent rights violations, such as excessive use of force by soldiers and police in forced evictions and the assassinations of labor leaders and journalists.
• Reformulate the Supreme Council of Magistracy as an impartial body, independent of the Ministry of Justice and political parties, so that it can implement its constitutional mandate to ensure judicial independence.
• Investigate and act upon credible reports of kickbacks and corruption at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and publish the findings. 

Regarding prisons and arbitrary detention:

• Ensure that Cambodian prison conditions meet the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
• Investigate and prosecute traffickers, rather than focusing on street sweeps of sex workers and brothel closures in which sex workers -- not traffickers -- are treated as perpetrators.
• Close drug treatment centers that are extra-judicially detaining alleged drug users and expand access to evidence-based, voluntary, affordable, community-based outpatient drug dependency treatment.
• Provide due process protections to alleged drug users and sex workers detained in government-run centers and ensure that proper regulations and monitoring are in place to prevent the mistreatment of detainees.

Regarding human rights mechanisms:

• Continue the mandate of the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Cambodia.
• Continue to cooperate with the Cambodia Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.  

Source: Human Rights Watch

Concerns over the land dispute in Kror ya commune, Santouk district, Kampong Thom province

Statement

Concerns over the land dispute in Kror ya commune, Santouk district,

Kampong Thom province

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 21 NGOs, expresses its regret and concerns over the violence that happened on November 16, 2009, caused least 9 people injured and 7 people arrested and still there are some more people that authorities are searching for the arrest, the violence has also caused the destruction of other properties.

Based on actual monitoring on the site found that after the eruption of violence, the joint competent authorities some of more than 70 people have been deployed and surrounded and closed the road access for with the aim to search for suspects for arrest and, therefore, created the situation for those people who live in that area a grave fear. Until this time, a number of seven people have been arrested by authorities under the charge of destruction of public properties and amongst of these arrested people, four of them were arrested in Kampong Cham province.

CHRAC noted that the land dispute in the area of Banteay rongeang has happened since there is presence of Vietnamese Company namely Tan Bien Kampong Thom Aphivath Caoutchouc Co LTD, this company has received land concession from the Cambodian government with the land size of 8100 hectares in 2007, the land concession is for the development and growing of agro-industry of rubber, this land dispute has not been resolved properly by local authorities and there was no any field study prior to the granting of land concession to this company. The land tenure by the affected people has started the year of 2004 and land was given through the land allocation by Association of disabled military for agricultural development before the arrival of Tan Bien Company.

CHRAC believed that the earlier resolution of land dispute between the people and Tab Bien Company did not perform according to the reality of living situation of people and principle for the exchange of land of authorities was not able to make people acceptable because of the land targeted to be exchanged or given to people is far away, with small size, lack of merits or elements in provision as a land possession. Furthermore, the authorities have caused fear against people such as shooting, threatening and secretly setting fire on the people’s houses, banning of people not to travel freely, all of these factors increased even more tensions in the land dispute area.

In order to solve this case sooner and acceptable, CHRAC wishes to recommend and appeal to the royal government, provincial authorities and all classes of competent authorities to act as follow:

• Stop using the armed forces for the suppression violently against the people and open road access for people to travel in the area. 
• Urgently stop the arrest of community people representatives including all forms of threatening. 
• Release the arrested and detained representatives of community people for them to re-gain their freedom. 
• Quickly resolve the land dispute for those affected and poor people fairly and acceptable or alternatively, undertaking of on-side upgrading by allowing people to grow rubber on their respective land and sell their rubber products to company. 
• Organize to have real negotiation and in person between people and authorities.
• Establishment of joint and independent commission for dealing with this land case.

Phnom Penh, November 23, 2009

Further information, please contact:

Mr. Hang Chhaya       CHRAC Chairman/Executive Dir. of KID         Tel: 012 865 910

Mr. Thun Saray          President of ADHOC                                       Tel: 016 880 509

Mr. Sok Sam Oeun     Executive Director of CDP                               Tel: 012 901 199

Ms. Sun Chansen       President of KYA                                             Tel: 017 788 955

___________________________
Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC)
Address: # 9E0, St. 330, Sangkat Boeung Keng Kong III,
Khan. Chamcar Morn, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Tel/Fax: (855) 23 218 759, Tel: (855) 23 301 415, 305 609
E-mail: chrac@forum.org.kh or chracsecretariat@yahoo.com
Web: http://www.chrac.org

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This list was set up by the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee if you subscribe, or unsubscribe, please contact chrac@forum.org.kh

Thai factory worker kills Cambodian colleague with an axe

Nov 20, 2009, 3:42 GMT

Bangkok - A Thai labourer allegedly killed a Cambodian co-worker with an axe early Friday after a heated and inebriated argument over the two countries' deteriorating diplomatic relations, police said.
  
Thai national Sinchai Namnon, 44, was the chief suspect in the slaying of Cambodian national Dieng, 40, who died shortly after midnight from a gash in the head and a nearly severed arm. Both injuries were inflicted with an axe.
  
The two men were employees at the Srimaharacha rubber processing company in Sri Racha, Chonburi province, 60 kilometres south-east of Bangkok.
  
'They were drinking together and got in an argument about the Thai engineer who was arrested on spying charges in Cambodia last week,' Police Lieutenant Colonel Praphan Wangkanom said.
  
Sinchai had fled the scene by the time police arrived.
  
'We are still investigating whether there were others involved in the attack,' Praphan told the German Press Agency dpa.
  
Thai engineer Sivarak Chutipong, an employee of the Cambodian Air Traffic Service (CATS), was arrested in in Phnom Penh on November 11.
  
The Cambodian government has accused Sivarak of passing on confidential information to the Thai embassy about the arrival of fugitive former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on November 10.
  
Sivarak's arrest was part of an escalating spat between the two neighbouring countries, triggered by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's decision to name Thaksin his personal adviser.
  
Thaksin, who was toppled in a 2006 coup, faces a two-year jail term in Thailand on an abuse-of-power charge and is the main political antagonist of the current Thai government.
  
Thailand recalled its ambassador from Phnom Penh following the official announcement of Thaksin's appointment and called for a review of all aid and economic agreements with Cambodia.
  
Cambodia also recalled its ambassador and expelled Thailand's second secretary on charges of recruiting Sivarak.
  
The spat is likely to harm both countries' economies.Cambodia is a major market for Thai exports, while Thailand is a major source of employment for Cambodian labourers.
  
According to a report released Friday by the International Organization for Migration, some 148,420 Cambodians had obtained permission for 'temporary stay' in Thailand as labourers as of early September.
  
Another 6,130 Cambodians have been granted work permits, allowing them to work in the country year round.
  
Cambodians account for about 10 per cent of the one million-plus migrants working legally in Thailand. Thousands more work illegally in the kingdom.

Source: Asia-Pacific News 

Read more: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1514433.php/Thai-factory-worker-kills-Cambodian-colleague-with-an-axe#ixzz0XNWqrjNq

Japan: Press North Korea on Human Rights

Adopt Policy to Resettle Refugees and Former Japanese Residents

November 19, 2009 

(New York) - The new Japanese government should take a leadership role in helping to improve human rights conditions in North Korea, Human Rights Watch and three other nongovernmental organizations said today in a letter to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. 

Human Rights Watch, Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, and The Society to Help Returnees to North Korea also urged Japan to address the plight of North Korean refugees and the fate of those who migrated from Japan to North Korea between 1959 and 1984.

"Abuses against North Koreans take place right on Japan's doorstep, but Japan has been largely silent on human rights issues except for abductions of Japanese citizens," said Kanae Doi, Tokyo director at Human Rights Watch. "The new Japanese government should lead the way in raising wider human rights issues with North Korea."

The letter noted that Japan has raised awareness about North Korea's human rights conditions, especially the plight of Japanese abductees, by co-sponsoring several United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions condemning human rights violations in North Korea. Most recently, the European Union and Japan submitted a new resolution to the General Assembly in late October 2009. 

The letter notes that "Japan can play a stronger and more proactive role in promoting and protecting the human rights situation in North Korea by raising human rights issues in future dialogues with North Korea, pressing China to protect and recognize North Korean refugees, accepting North Korean refugees who do not have ties to Japan, and continuing to accept former migrants to North Korea who return to Japan."

More than 93,000 people migrated from Japan to North Korea from 1959 to 1984 under a campaign by pro-North Korea groups that advertised North Korea as a "heaven on earth." The migrants include Japanese citizens, former citizens, former residents, and their spouses and children. According to North Korean escapees, the North Korean government eventually sent not a small number of them to labor camps where they died of hunger, lack of medical care, and physical abuse. Japan has resettled a small number of former Japanese residents who escaped, but has no explicit policy on their resettlement.

"Improving human rights conditions in a country such as North Korea is a daunting task, but Japan should not waste this opportunity to help North Koreans both in and outside the country," Doi said.

Source: Human Rights Watch

Condemn the lifting of parliamentary immunity from Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) President Sam Rainsy

CCHR, CLEC, NICFEC and LICADHO

November 16, 2009

We, the undersigned members of Cambodian civil society, condemn the lifting of parliamentary immunity from Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) President Sam Rainsy by the National Assembly on November 16, 2009. The Assembly’s action is yet another blow to Cambodia’s faltering democracy, and continues the government’s disturbing trend of using the courts to intimidate and weaken political opponents.

Rainsy is the third SRP member to be stripped of parliamentary immunity – the second time this year only - in the past five months. Fellow SRP Parliamentarians Mu Sochua and Ho Vann were stripped of their immunity by the National Assembly on June 22, 2009. The latter was acquitted by the Phnom Penh court on September 22, 2009; yet, the National Assembly has failed to restore his parliamentary immunity back.

The Assembly’s practice of routinely stripping opposition party MPs of immunity raises grave doubts about Cambodia's democracy. Even more disturbing is the nature of the charges against these politicians, whose alleged crimes all stem from public expression of opinion on sensitive topics to the ruling party.  

The Svay Rieng court is considering charging Rainsy with incitement and destruction to public property in relation to the uprooting of wooden posts set to mark Cambodia’s newly-agreed border with Vietnam which took place on October 25, 2009.  The Cambodian government alleges that this act “incited” villagers to commit crimes; Rainsy claims that the markers were on Cambodia’s soil. Accusations were brought against Sam Rainsy after complaints by the Vietnamese government which enjoys a long history with the ruling party.

The Cambodia-Vietnam border issue is a sensitive issue. In late 2005, Beehive radio owner Mam Sonando was charged and sent to Prey Sar prison after Sonando broadcasted an interview in which Seang Pengse was critical of a border treaty signed by the Cambodian Government. Shortly after, Cambodian Independent Teacher Association (CITA) President Rong Chun joined Sonando in jail when the government accused him of incitement in relation to a joint statement signed by civil society leaders calling for the “mourning of lost land” to Vietnam.

Today’s events are a testament to Cambodia’s shrinking democracy, and the willingness of the ruling party – with the support of their partner National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia (FUNCINPEC) and the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP), it seems – to quash political dissent. This morning, all 87 members of parliament present at the National Assembly voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of Sam Rainsy. Members of National Assembly from SRP and Human Rights Party (HRP) were not present at the NA.

The lifting of parliamentary immunity and the increase in defamation, disinformation and incitement charges against journalists, civil society members and opposition party leaders is reminiscent of the 2005 crack down on opposition and nongovernmental voices. In that year, Sam Rainsy and two other SRP MPs, Chea Poch and Mr. Cheam Channy, also had their parliamentary immunity removed so they could face criminal charges filed by the government. Mr. Cheam Channy was subsequently imprisoned for a year after being unlawfully convicted by the military court on bogus criminal charges.

We urge the National Assembly to respect its principle of parliamentary immunity and for the Cambodian government and courts to cease harassment and end groundless legal attacks against opposition party politicians and other critics.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Ou Virak, President of Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), 012 404 051

Mr. Yeng Virak, Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), 012 801 235
Mr. Hang Puthea, Executive Director of Neutral & Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Election (NICFEC), 012 959 666

Ms. Pilorge Naly, Director of Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), 012 803 650