LIBRARY

4 April 2007

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 NGO members expresses our grave concern over unresolved fees imposed on foreign lawyers to practice before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) by the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC) which is creating a stalemate and derailing the ECCC process.
We are particularly concern regarding the most recent standoff between the BAKC and the international judges in their inability to come to an agreement, and to learn that because of the failure of the BAKC to compromise on this issue of fees, the plenary session scheduled for the end of this month will not be convened. We urge the BAKC and the ECCC to arrive at an appropriate agreement which ensures freedom of choice of counsels immediately.
CHRAC squarely places the onus of resolving this issue of fees on the shoulders of the BAKC and holds it accountable for the inability of the ECCC to adopt Internal Rules.

29 March 2007

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL), the Cambodian Committee of Women (CAMBOW), the Alliance for Freedom of Expression in Cambodia (AFEC) and the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC) are deeply concerned about the threat made by the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to expel the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), an international organization, from the country or to revoke staff visas.

Expulsion of OSJI would be inconsistent with Article 12 (2) of the Agreement between the United Nations and RGC which ensures that "representatives... of national and international non- governmental organizations will at all time have access to the proceedings before the Extraordinary Chambers." By making this threat the government risks giving the impression to an international audience that it will not allow the activities of ECCC to be properly scrutinized and monitored.

20 March 2007

The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 local NGO members and the Bangkok-based Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development Forum Asia), applaud the progress made by the Review Committee on Internal Rules during the 10-day meeting in resolving the major disagreements. We trust the agreement of these issues responded to CHRAC's nine key concerns submitted to the First Plenary Session held in November 2006 (ie, power of the Pre-Trial Chamber, nature of supermajority voting, defence rights, victim participation, protection and reparations, widespread public access to reasoned decisions of the Court, etc.).

CHRAC and Forum Asia would like to express our deep concern about the newly-raised issue of fees for foreign lawyers in terms of application and when they are selected to practice as imposed by the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BACK) as stated in the statement of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) released on March 16, 2007 and newspaper articles.

We urge the BAKC to reconsider its request, in particular the exorbitant, prohibitive amount in light of spirit of larger goals of the ECCC and in light of other international and mixed tribunals (ICTY, ICTR, and SCSL) which on the whole do not charge a fee or a limited amount. We believe the BAKC's request practically and severely limits the freedom of choice of counsel afforded an individual, a legal principle that is recognized both by Cambodia and Cambodia with other nations.

10 March 2007

On the morning of March 10, 2007, approximately 300 indigenous people from the villages of Chrop, Sre Sranok, and Kbal Romeas in Kbal Romeas commune peacefully rallied in front of Bopeakta Yaram pagoda located in Chrop Village to call for an urgent resolution to the dispute. Community land used by the indigenous people has been grabbed and cleared by four companies (Sopheak Nika Investment Agro-Industrial Co. Ltd, Sal Sophea Peanich Co. Ltd, Siv Guick Co. Ltd, and Phou Mardy Co. Ltd) which have been given government concessions to plant trees in the area. The dispute was caused by unclear marking of the boundaries of the concessions.

CHRAC investigators monitoring this land dispute believe the authorities of Stung Treng province have failed to address the concerns of the indigenous villagers, instead supporting the concession companies. Furthermore, there were threats by local authorities and soldiers employed as security guards for the concession companies to arrest villagers before and after the peaceful gathering which would seriously violate the villagers' right to peaceful assemble to express their grievances.

6 March 2007

Sre Ambel community lives under threat of losing their land over concession granted to a Thai Khon Kaen Sugar (KSL) company and CPP Senator Ly Yong Phat.

2 March 2007

Historically, Cambodians have suffered through a culture of violence perpetuated by the Khmer Rouge regime and other political groups. The impact of this violence continues to affect many people within Cambodia. One of the most vulnerable affected groups are the women of Cambodia. Violence against women - particularly in the form of domestic violence, rape, and human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation - is one of the most serious human rights problems in Cambodia.

Although Cambodia is beginning to recognize the significance of violence against women, the extent of the Government's willingness to educate the judiciary, the police and the public on these issues, and to implement laws and policies that prevent such violence and protect victims, is still quite limited.

27 February 2007

LICADHO, ADHOC & CCHR are shocked and condemn the deployment of mixed forces used to crack down on a peaceful demonstration by monks on the morning of February 27, 2006 in Phnom Penh near the Vietnamese embassy.

52 Khmer Kampuchea Krom monks had planned to gather in front of the Vietnamese embassy in Phnom Penh to demand the reversal of a decision made last Saturday by Vietnamese authorities to defrock three monks who allegedly took part in a Khmer Krom demonstration in Southern Vietnam. Today's initiative was part of a bigger campaign taking place in several countries throughout the world to protest the defrocking.

26 February 2007

LICADHO, ADHOC & CCHR condemn the assassination of Hy Vuthy, President of the Free Trade Union of Workers in the Kingdom of Cambodia (FTUWKC) at the Suntex garment factory, and demand a proper investigation by the authorities to bring his killers to justice.

Hy Vuthy, aged 34, was shot dead at 5.15am on February 24 while riding his motorbike home after finishing his nightshift at the Suntex factory in Phnom Penh's Dangkao district. The murder, which took place a kilometer from the factory, was reportedly committed by two men on a motorbike.

Hy Vuthy had been President of FTUWKC members at the factory for less than a year. He had previously been a member of the Cambodian Union Federation (CUF), a rival union widely considered to be close to the government. According to preliminary investigations by LICADHO, ADHOC and CCHR, Vuthy had received telephone death threats approximately three months ago.

23 February 2007

Commissioned artwork for a women's right training offered to communities on domestic violence and trafficking.

21 February 2007

The lease contract signed by the Municipality of Phnom Penh and Shukaku Inc. on February 6, 2007 is illegal and raises grave concerns for all residents of Phnom Penh, the Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) and Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) said today.

"This contract, which threatens to displace at least 4252 families, was negotiated in a shroud of secrecy without even the pretense of participation from the tens of thousands of people who will be directly affected," said the Housing Rights Task Force. "If these families are forcibly removed from their homes, following recent precedents by the Municipality and the poor track record of Shukaku's director Lao Meng Khin, this would mark the largest single displacement of people in Cambodia since the privatization of land in 1989."

15 February 2007

LICADHO condemns the decision of the Battambang provincial court this week to convict and sentence five community activists involved in a land dispute in Bavel district.

On February 13, the court convicted the five villagers, including a 78-year-old man, of using violence to infringe against the private property of others. No evidence was presented at the trial that the defendants had in fact used violence against anyone.

"This case is a sad example of how the law is misused to unfairly punish poor villagers who desperately need land, while the interests of rich or powerful people are protected," said LICADHO president Kek Galabru.

8 February 2007

Many of the 250 families of Chi Kha Leu commue, Sre Ambel district in Koh Kong province have been living on their land since 1979 however their quiet existence on the land came to an abrupt end in May 2006. Since then the villagers have been fighting an uphill battle to save their land. They have petitioned the local authorities, faced bulldozers, excavators and armed military police, have been shot at and they even tried to petition the National Assembly. This week the villagers took their case to the courts.

Trouble began in the commune on 22 May 2006 when demolition workers with bulldozers and excavators, accompanied by armed police including military police, moved into three villages in the commune (Chhouk, Trapaing Kandorl and Chi Kor). The demolition workers cleared and flattened villagers' land, destroying rice fields and fruit plantations. The demolition was commissioned by the Agriculture Duty Free Shop Development Company (later known as the Sugar Industry Company Ltd) and the Koh Kong Plantation Company, which were readying the land for commercial sugar cane production. Both companies are owned by Mr Ly Yong Phat, a wealthy businessman and a Cambodian's People Party (CPP) member in the Senate.

30 January 2007

This report aims to provide an intimate look at the real living conditions faced by Cambodian prisoners. By drawing from first hand accounts of prisoners and from the observations and reports of LICADHO prison researchers, this report is told in the first person using a fictional identity to protect anonymity. It provides supplementary statistical information for relevant issues.

It is hoped that this report will be used by government and prison officials, human rights advocates, researchers, media, aid donors and legal professionals as a tool to identify existing problems, improve prison conditions and promote prisoners' rights. This report builds on previous reports from the past 10 years, as well as considering new information gathered over the course of 2005 and the first ten months of 2006.

This report also highlight an urging problem that needs to be addressed: children in prisons, both prisoners and those living with their sentenced mothers.

29 January 2007

January 28, 2007 marked three years - or 1,096 days - that Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have spent in prison since their arrests for the assassination of prominent trade unionist Chea Vichea. One day in prison for an innocent man is too long; both men have spent the last three years in prison for a crime that there is considerable evidence they did not commit. To mark the anniversary of their arrests, Cambodian NGOs and trade unions launched a public campaign that will continue until their release from prison.

29 January 2007

Nearly 500 children are currently detained in Cambodia's prisons. For these children, the prisons they call "home" are overcrowded, unhygienic and lacking in basic facilities. Many are detained with adults, are regularly held in pre-trial detention that exceeds the legal time limit, and many are sentenced to prison time without any regard to their age. They suffer the same poor living conditions, food rations and health provisions as the detained adults and have limited access to education, training and legal representation.

The Securing Children's Rights project is co-funded by the European Union and jointly implemented by LICADHO, Legal Aid of Cambodia (LAC) and DanChurchAid (DCA). The project operates in Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Battambang, Siem Reap, Kandal and Kampot provinces. The overall aim of the programme is that children and minors should be properly protected in legal and labour institutions. Children should be protected against dangerous work, e.g. prostitution and unregulated industrial work; they should have access to legal representation and their interests should be protected by government and authorities at all levels.

28 January 2007

On the three-year anniversary of the arrests of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun, Cambodian NGOs and trade unions are today launching a continuous public campaign for their release from prison.

"The injustice suffered by these two men has gone on far too long. The courts must set them free, so that they can return to their families and their normal lives," said Thun Saray, President of ADHOC.

Despite extensive evidence of their innocence, Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun are serving 20-year prison sentences for the murder of prominent trade unionist Chea Vichea. Many individuals - including former King Norodom Sihanouk, Chea Vichea's family and the main eyewitness to the murder - have declared that they are innocent. The two men have been waiting for 18 months for the Court of Appeal to review their case.

25 January 2007

With the inclusion of the prohibition of the death penalty in the 1993 Constitution, the Kingdom of Cambodia basically restituted the legal situation that existed in April 1989, when the government of the State of Cambodia banned capital punishment at the constitutional level.

Beyond domestic abolition, successive coalition governments since 1993 failed to demonstrate genuine commitment toward further ensuring the permanent prohibition of capital punishment in Cambodia by acceding to Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. For more than a decade now, Cambodia has been firmly enlisted in the camp of the more than 30 abolitionist none-State Parties to the Second Optional Protocol.

25 January 2007

The August 1, 2005 trial and convictions of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun for the murder of trade unionist Chea Vichea was marked by violations of fair trial rights and a lack of credible evidence. The following are some of the main issues raised by the trial that will be reviewed in this paper: 1/ Failure to hear prosecution witnesses in court, 2/ Lack of evidence, 3/ Undue reliance on confessions, etc.

The unofficial transcript is based on written notes taken during the trial; it is not verbatim and some parts of the trial were inaudible.

24 January 2007

Over the past few days, Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC), a coalition of 23 member NGOs, has learned from a source who wishes to remain anonymous that there have been disturbing developments in the progress of the rules committee and the future of the ECCC - including the possible pull-out of international senior officials should the Internal Rules not meet minimum international standards.

The lack of public information about this potential impasse underscores the need for more transparency in the rules drafting process, including NGO monitoring of committee meetings. At the very least, regular, detailed press briefings are necessary to keep the Cambodian people up-to-date on the cause of the latest delay in the court process. People are losing faith as the delays continue without explanation.

23 January 2007

CHRAC, NGOF, CFI, CLEC, LAC and ILO-ITP express their full support for the reclamation of the indigenous land in Kong Yu and Kong Thom villages, Pateh commune, O'yadao district, Ratanakiri, who today are filing a lawsuit to reclaim land illegally taken from them by H.E. Keat Kolney, sister of Senior Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance Keat Chhon. The NGOs hope that the case of Kong Yu will show that even the most vulnerable members of society are entitled to protection under Cambodian law.

Kong Yu and Kong Thom villages are located in a remote area in Ratanakiri. As with many indigenous groups, these families speak their own language, practice swidden agriculture, and maintain animist beliefs and traditional ceremonies. The surrounding environment and landscape play a critical role in indigenous life. In spring 2004, villagers endured a series of coercive tactics by authorities designed to force them to sell their lands.