Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia Moving From Fact-Finding to New Efforts
Over the coming months, the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia will be moving towards completion of its fact-finding activities and initiating new efforts focused on:
Seeking accountability for the Hun Sen government’s extensive human rights, democracy, and rule of law violations and,
Developing strategies for how the Khmer and international communities can deal with the upcoming 2023 national elections, given the reality that Hun Sen’s long-standing campaign of repression has pre-determined the election results.
The publication of an especially important new report by the United Nations on 3 August 2022, called “The State of Press Freedom in Cambodia” makes crystal clear, in powerful terms that are highly unusual for the United Nations, that the extensive and increasingly serious violations of freedom of expression and press freedom rights by the Hun Sen government make free and fair elections impossible, and require special attention and action in the context of the scheduled Cambodian national elections in 2023. The United Nations stressed this point a second time on August 26 with the Statement issued by the UN Special Rapporteur for Cambodia, summarizing the findings of his initial in-country assessment visit. He confirmed that free and fair elections were impossible given the wide scope and long-standing nature of the major human rights abuses of the Hun Sen government. The Commission of Inquiry could not agree more with this United Nations’ assessment. Unless major improvements are made to reduce human rights and rule of law violations, the pre-determined and tightly controlled results of the 2023 elections do not deserve to be accepted or recognized as valid by the international community. Indeed, those elections should not take place at all, unless the harsh and extensive restrictions on political participation that have been imposed are eliminated, and unless the main political opposition party is allowed to function in a meaningful and effective way, without their party being declared illegal, and without their leaders and members (and other critics of the government) being subjected to arrest and criminal prosecution on a mass trial basis.
Given these findings, and the extensive nature of the human rights and rule of law violations by the Hun Sen government, the Commission of Inquiry made the decision to give priority attention to the task of exploring and developing effective and meaningful ways of holding Hun Sen accountable for his long campaign of repression and abuse.
In addition, inspired by the United Nation’s 3 August report linking major human rights abuses – and restrictions on freedom of expression and media rights in particular – and the impact of these violations on the upcoming 2023 national elections, the Commission also has decided to give priority attention to the national elections. Attention is also given to how the Khmer and the international communities should deal with the election and its pre-determined results, given the tight controls that the Hun Sen government has imposed on the electoral process, and on the ability of the Khmer people to make meaningful political choices. The Commission will convene a special session and hearing early in 2023 on these election related issues. It also will be exploring a wide variety of strategies that the Khmer and international communities can follow aimed at helping to produce a more meaningful and effective free and fair election process than presently is possible, given the harshly repressive restrictions and controls that have been imposed by the Hun Sen government which is aimed at eliminating any meaningful form of political opposition.
Four things to keep in mind:
It is time to hold the Hun Sen government accountable for their long-standing campaign of persecution and repression;
The French Criminal Court Decision of December, 2021 holding Hun Sen and his Generals responsible for the 1997 Grenade Attacks provides the starting point for our accountability efforts;
Accountability begins by ending the criminal prosecutions of critics of the government, human rights defenders, and leaders of the political opposition, freeing them from jail, and ending other forms of repression used against civil society; and,
It also means that the Khmer and international communities should not, and must not, recognize and accept the results of the upcoming national elections in 2023, unless meaningful and effective human rights and rule of law reforms are implemented to make the elections truly free and fair.
Join with us in the coming months to help seek effective methods for obtaining accountability for the Hun Sen government’s abuses, and for securing more meaningful and effective electoral choices for the Khmer people.