Concluding Remarks by Commissioner Louisa Coan Greve for the Rule of Law of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia, 10 September 2022

Thank you for joining with the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia’s special session dealing with rule of law issues. We want to express our special appreciation to Kingsley Abbott of the International Commission of Jurists for providing us with a detailed explanation of what the international rule of law standards mean, and why they are important. And also to Brad Adams, long-time Asia Director of Human Rights Watch, and to the participating members of the Khmer community, for helping us to understand how the international rule of law standards apply to the situation in Cambodia.

Of special importance and relevance to Cambodia, and to the Khmer people, are the recent developments regarding the French Criminal Court decision issued on February 2, which Brad Adams described, making clear in very concrete terms that Prime Minister Hun Sen and his highest level officials could and would be held criminally responsible for their most serious human rights abuses. For many years, Hun Sen and his officials have been enjoying a degree of “impunity,” or an apparent freedom of being held responsible, for their violations of international human rights and ule of law standards. Justice and accountability for Cambodia seemed to be a distant dream. International human rights groups like Human Rights Watch, and international agencies and officials of the United Nations, would condemn the human rights and democracy violations that the Hun Sen government engaged in on a regular basis. But he ignored these criticisms and continued to carry out an increasing level of abuses. Finally, the French Criminal Court decision has shown us that Hun Sen’s abuses are not without consequences. That the world is watching, and that justice and accountability will prevail, even if it is a slow-moving process.

The prevailing question or concern of the Khmer community that came across most clearly at this rule of law session is: “Why is it taking so long for justice and accountability to take place?  Why do we not see the French Court decision resulting in immediate judicial action against Hun Sen? And why has it taken so long for the international community to finally give concrete enforcement attention to the long-standing, and ever-increasing problems in Cambodia?”

What we all need to recognize is that the international legal processes work slowly. International organizations and foreign governments are very reluctant to challenge the sovereign powers of other governments and their heads of state, even when their actions violate basic human rights standards.

In order to force them to act, and to demand justice and accountability, a number of initial steps have to take place the “prime the pump,” and to make it clear to the world that major abuses of the type that the Hun Sen government has been imposing on its people must be condemned and dealt with at the international level.

It is important to realize that the process of justice and accountability is made up of a number of steps, not just the final one of bringing a human rights violator before a court of justice. A judicial proceeding with criminal charges and a finding of “guilty” is the last step in the process. It has to be preceded by extensive fact-finding efforts, like the ones taking place with our Commission of Inquiry, and by a long process where the international community builds up its willingness to take on a sovereign government and to tell them that they are violating international standards and must bear the consequences.

Making the world understand the reality of what is taking place – to grasp the seriousness of the violations of international standards that the Hun Sen government has embraced – is the important and necessary first step that has to take place before the judicial proceeding that we all are looking towards to produce justice and accountability becomes possible. So let’s not underestimate the power and impact that our fact-finding efforts, and our demands for justice and change, have in this accountability process. If we help to make the world aware of the severity of the problems, if we take the actions that force the international community to act to demand change, then we are making progress towards accountability. If we are making Hun Sen aware that the world is watching, then we have taken the first essential steps in the direction of obtaining justice and accountability. All these steps are necessary parts of the accountability process, not just the final court proceeding.

The second key question that is most on the minds of the Khmer community is: “What can we do, as members of the community, to help speed up the process of bringing meaningful accountability and effective change to Cambodia?” The simple answer to that question is: “Make your voice, your objections, your demands for change and accountability, heard as frequently and as powerfully as possible, in all the available international forums.” Make clear that what is happening in Cambodia is not acceptable. That Hun Sen’s claim before the United Nations on March 11 that the people of Cambodia prefer, and have chosen, a one-party state simply is not true. It means speaking out forcefully through the Khmer Urgent Action Case Alert System to demand protection for victims of politically motivated arrests and imprisonments. It means boycotting tourism in Cambodia, and supporting other economic sanctions against companies doing business with Hun Sen supported companies. It means making your concerns and demands heard by the United Nations and other international agencies and officials working on Cambodian issues. It means putting pressure on the Hun Sen government at every opportunity, and in every available forum. Unless we mobilize as strong a voice as possible on behalf of the oppressed in Cambodia, Hun Sen’s regime of harsh repression and autocratic rule will continue.

That is why the work of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia is important and useful. And why your continued participation and involvement in these proceedings are helpful. It is a long and difficult journey. Not an easy and instantaneous one. So join us for our next session, which will take place at the beginning of 2023, and will be focused on the national elections in Cambodia that will be taking place in July of that year. How do we make it possible for meaningful and fair democratic elections to take place given the harsh campaign of repression that the Hun Sen government has been engaging in, and their consistent efforts to eliminate the political opposition and all the vestiges of a democratic form of governance? And if meaningful and effective political opposition, and the exercise of internationally protected free speech and free press rights, are not possible in Cambodia, then what can and should the Khmer people do to force attention to these problems, and to produce meaningful change in the electoral process? Should we vote in the upcoming elections, or boycott a pre-determined electoral process that does not constitute a democratic choice? Should the international community accept the results of a rigged and pre-determined election, or deny recognition of the results of a fundamentally flawed system? Those are among the key questions that we will be focusing on at our next session, and we invite you to join us to hear our conclusions and recommendations. Until then, keep up the efforts to demand justice and accountability for Cambodia and for the Khmer people.   

Remember, justice and accountability come in a variety of ways, and in a variety of steps. You can make a difference by speaking out, by condemning the Hun Sen government’s abuses, and by demanding meaningful change and accountability. Your voice matters, and has an impact, just as strong as any court proceeding!!!