LIBRARY

28 October 2010

We write to welcome you to Cambodia, and to summarize what we perceive as the most pressing human rights issues affecting Cambodia’s relationship with the United States.

In 2010, the US-Cambodia partnership faces a serious threat. Cambodian democracy has entered a precipitous decline. The institutions required for checks and balances and self-government - which were painstakingly built with the help of the US government - are in the process of being systematically dismantled by the ruling party. If left unchecked, the inevitable result of this process will be Cambodia’s degeneration into a pariah state, shunned by the international community and useless as an ally. Of course, the inevitable result will also be much worse for ordinary Cambodians.

28 October 2010

We write to welcome you and your wife to Cambodia, and to summarize what we perceive as some of the most pressing human rights issues affecting Cambodia.

Cambodia is currently facing its most serious crisis since the 1997 coup, which constitutes a backward slide in the country’s democratization. The international community, notably the UN, made significant contributions to bringing peace and the concept of democracy and rule of law to Cambodia. Sadly, the hard-won steps which have been made toward pluralistic democracy are now in danger. In particular, efforts to promote Human Rights are deteriorating.

1 October 2010

* Cambodian Opposition Leader, Sam Rainsy Convicted of Disinformation * Garment Factory Workers Strike

30 September 2010

"I was told by the company that I could earn $ US 180 per month as a domestic helper in Malaysia. During the first six months my salary would be deducted to cover the expenses of the company. I thumb-printed the documents without knowing their content, and the company did not give me any copies or explain anything in detail to me. But I know that the company changed everything. In fact, the company changed my name and age in the documents, and I was told to use the name of my older sister."

This is an account of an underage girl who was sent to work as a domestic worker in Malaysia where she was mistreated with other Cambodian maids. Channa (not her real name) was brought up in Koh Kong province in a poor family. She met with a representative of a licensed recruitment agency who promised to give her a highly paid job in Malaysia. She was underage, but the company facilitated falsified documents including a passport, visa and other necessary documents so that she could be sent to work abroad.

21 September 2010

We, the undersigned organizations, are deeply disappointed with the government’s actions to intimidate and threaten workers and union members who have joined the four-day-garment strike from September 13-16, 2010.

The government’s response to this entirely legal - and long-declared - strike has included attacks on protesters, legal threats against organizers, and the court-sponsored retaliation against union members. This must stop immediately if the two sides are to reach an agreement during upcoming talks on September 27.

Thousands of workers from the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers Democratic Unions (C-CAWDU), the National Independent Federation of Textile Unions of Cambodia (NIFTUC) and 13 other unions took part in a peaceful strike to demand an increase in the current wage to meet minimum living standards.

2 September 2010

Since 2007, the human rights abuses and violence encountered by human rights defenders in Cambodia have continued unchecked. Respect for the rights of human rights defenders has continued to deteriorate with dramatic setbacks in press freedom, misuse of the justice system to silence government critics, and the imposition of harsh new restrictions on peaceful protests.

LICADHO has continued to monitor the situation closely in order to provide a report that analyzes the current challenges faced by human rights defenders in Cambodia on a daily basis. Investigations have confirmed that Cambodia remains a dangerous place for human rights defenders.

In 2008 and 2009 representatives of communities engaged in land disputes were threatened with violence, spurious legal action or imprisonment; trades union leaders were assaulted, arrested and persecuted for legitimate trade union activity; and journalists and human rights workers at NGOs were threatened, arrested and obstructed in carrying out their work. The Cambodian government continues to pursue repressive tactics, terrorizing human rights defenders and undermining their ability to defend peacefully the rights of others.

While threats and attacks against human rights defenders have continued - and in some instances increased - since 2007, a number of disturbing trends have emerged.

2 September 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) condemns the conviction on disinformation charges of LICADHO employee Mr. Leang Sokchouen. This politically-motivated decision has no basis in fact or law, and underscores the dire state of Cambodia’s judiciary. The disproportionate two-year prison sentence also sends a disturbing message to members of Cambodian civil society.

Sokchouen was accused of distributing anti-government fliers in Takeo Province on January 4, 2010. Sokchouen was a longtime acquaintance of co-defendant Tach Khong Phoung, but consistently testified that he had no knowledge on the flier incident. The so-called evidence provided by the police against Sokchouen consisted of a simple list of phone numbers claiming Sokchouen and Tach Khong Phoung had called each other.

2 September 2010

On Saturday, May 29, 2010, at 6:15 a.m., Mr. Leang Sokchouen, an employee of LICADHO, was arrested at his home in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district by police officers from the Internal Security Department of the Ministry of Interior. Subsequent to his arrest, Mr. Sokchouen was transferred to the Headquarters of the National Police Commissioner in Phnom Penh, where he was held incommunicado for more than 33 hours, despite repeated requests by family and his lawyer to be able to access him.

Cambodia is State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 9 (1) of the ICCPR reads as follows:

"Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as established by law."

The Human Rights Committee, the treaty body which is tasked with monitoring the State parties'' performance under the ICCPR, has stated that deprivations of liberty must in all cases be carried out in accordance with domestic legislation (principle of legality). More importantly, the Committee has held that deprivations of liberty must not be arbitrary, clarifying that "arbitrariness is not to be equated with against the law, but must be interpreted more broadly to include elements of inappropriateness, injustice, lack of predictability and due process of law."

Leang Sokchouen's arrest and remand in custody by the Cambodian judiciary bears all the hallmarks of inappropriateness, injustice, lack of predictability and due process outlined by the Human Rights Committee. These violations are characteristic of political systems that fail to genuinely implement basic principles of the rule of law.

1 September 2010

* Cambodia-Thai Diplomatic Relations Improved * LICADHO Staff Member Convicted of Disinformation and Sentenced to 2 years Imprisonment * President of Human Rights Party's Parliamentary Immunity to be Removed

8 August 2010

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) strongly condemns the violent dispersal and forced removal of about fourty-five villagers from Phnom Penh by the municipal and district police, and security guards. The villagers had peacefully assembled at a distance of a hundred meters from Prime Minister Hun Sen’s villa in central Phnom Penh earlier this morning.

The group of villagers, composed of men, women, and children, including babies, had reached the capital either one or two days earlier. The trip was organized to raise awareness about a longstanding land dispute between the villagers and local authorities, including members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. This dispute involves over 400 families in the Doun Ba commune, Koas Krolar district, in Battambang.

1 August 2010

* Report on Sex Workers in Cambodia by HRW * Verdict of Duch Announced: Majority of Cambodians and International Community Disappointed * Chi Kreng Trial Adjourned

31 July 2010

On March 22, 2009, 80 Chi Kreng villagers protested on the disputed land, demanding that they be allowed to farm. Authorities proceeded in shooting the protesters, resulting in four villagers injured, three of them hospitalized.

25 July 2010

"The wage must be at least equal to the guaranteed minimum wage; that is, it must ensure every worker of a decent standard of living compatible with human dignity" Article 104 of Cambodian Labor law.

On 8 July 2010, the government proposed to increase the current minimum wage from $50 to $55, with an additional $6 as a family allowance, the total of $61, to be implemented in October 2010 and renegotiated only in 2014. Unions and civil society have responded that this is not enough.

The current living standard of garment workers is very low. A recent 2009 study by the Community Legal Education Centre concluded that workers would require at the very least $72 per month to meet minimum requirements for food, lodging and medication. A suitable salary that would allow the most basic needs to be met, and is demanded by the unions, is estimated at $93 per month.

25 July 2010

We, the undersigned organizations, would like to salute the courage and determination of union members from the Cambodian Labour Confederation (CLC) and Cambodian National Confederation (CNC) who took part in a peaceful rally in front of the National Assembly on the morning of July 25, 2010, despite initial restrictions by Phnom Penh authorities. Between 3,500 and 4,500 union members gathered to demand a minimum wage increase that would meet minimum standards of living.

We also welcome the late change of mind by the Phnom Penh police this morning to tolerate this peaceful assembly of workers.

20 July 2010

On July 20, 2010, LICADHO President Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek wrote a letter to the Phnom Penh Post's editor calling for the immediate closure of the Social Affairs Center at Prey Speu.

19 July 2010

Cambodia’s prison population is in the midst of an unprecedented population boom. Just six years ago, the 18 prisons monitored by LICADHO were at roughly 100% of their collective capacity1. Since then, the population has exploded, growing at an average rate of 14% per year. Prison capacity has also increased, but not nearly enough to keep pace with growth.

The General Department of Prisons (GDP) reported in March 2010 that the entire prison system held 13,325 inmates - 167% of the system’s 8,000-inmate capacity. The 18 prisons LICADHO monitors, meanwhile, were filled to 175% of capacity as of June 2010. As of December 2009, one third of all Cambodian prisoners - over 4,000 - were in pretrial status.

1 July 2010

A land dispute in Chi Kreng district of Siem Reap province, turned ugly when four villagers were wounded when members of a joint force - including police, military police, border police and soldiers - opened fire on a crowd of farmers in Anlong Samnor commune on Sunday, March 22.

Over a year later, not a single officer has been prosecuted for the violence committed on that day. However, nine villagers are facing trial in July 2010 on spurious charges of attempted killing in relation to the March 2009 shooting incident.

1 July 2010

* Supreme Court Trial Upholds Defamation Verdict Against Opposition MP Mu Sochua * Donors Pledge $1.1 Billion in Aid at 2010 Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum * Government Appoints National Anti-Corruption Council * UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Makes Third Visit to Cambodia

21 June 2010

On June 15th, 2010, 350 community representatives from 24 provinces and municipalities - including ethnic minority communities - gathered near Wat Botum pagoda to rally for land rights.

Most of the representatives were engaged in land disputes with companies who had received economic land concessions from the government. Some face eviction, while others are being prevented from entering waters where they normally make their living as fishermen. The rally aimed to draw attention to their plight, and to gather petitions to be delivered to Prime Minister Hun Sen. The representatives gathered three boxes full of petitions.

About 80 of the representatives from Memot Disrict, Kampong Cham, initially gathered in front of Wat Botum on June 14. They were dispersed by about 20 police and authorities and forced to leave Wat Botum. LICADHO and other NGOs provided food, accommodation, and mediated with authorities on their behalf. The authorities ordered them to return home.

18 June 2010

In June 2010, LICADHO helped organized two events to promote the rights of children in Cambodia. International Children's Day was celebrated on June 1st, with the slogan "Community Without Trafficking." The World Day Against Child Labour occurred on June 12th under the theme "I protect the children, do you?"

The two events are celebrated every year to highlight children's rights and promote prevention and elimination of the worst forms of child labor. The aim is also to draw public attention and increase awareness of children's rights violations.