The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Press Conference
Published on 26 April 2005
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) will hold a media conference in Phnom Penh on April 28, 2005, on the occasion of the publication by the Observatory of its worldwide 2004 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders.
This report addresses the cases of 1,154 human rights defenders and over 200 organizations committed to the defense of human rights (NGOs, trade unions, etc.) targeted by acts of repression in about 90 countries. The cases documented in the Observatory 2004 Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders reflect the deteriorating situation of human rights defenders around the world, at a time when human rights are instrumentalised or sacrificed to Realpolitik.
In Asia, an increasing number of defenders were assassinated in 2004 (the Observatory registered 28 cases of assassinations in Afghanistan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand). In Indonesia, Mr. Munir, co-founder of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS), died after having been poisoned on September 7, 2004, during his flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam. The record of arbitrary detentions remains high, in particular in China and in Vietnam, where cyber-activists involved in democracy are systematically arrested. In Iran, journalists involved in human rights are also subjected to arbitrary arrests. Besides, it remains impossible to act in favour of human rights in Burma, Laos and North Korea.
In Cambodia, human rights defenders continue to suffer threats and intimidation. In 2004, LICADHO1 documented 42 cases of threats against human rights defenders. There were a number of violent incidents, including the assassination of Chea Vichea and Ros Sovannareth, trade union leaders and labour rights activists, which created a climate of fear.
For more information, please contact:
▪ ADHOC: (+855) 16 920 730
▪ LICADHO: (+855) 12 802 506
▪ FIDH: (+33) 1 43 55 25 18
▪ OMCT: (+41) 22 809 49 39
