Introductory Statement for the Special Election of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia, 23 September 2023

Welcome to the special hearing of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia dealing with a number of urgent concerns related to the national elections of July, 2023, the determination by the United Nations that the elections cannot be considered free, fair and legitimate because of widespread human rights and rule of law abuses by the Hun Sen government, and the self-determined transfer of power from Hun Sen to his son Hun Manet that took place on the heels of the national elections. The urgent question that the Khmer Community now faces, and that this hearing is designed to help answer, is: “What can the Khmer Community do to deal with these developments, and to promote the type of meaningful and effective change that will help bring Cambodia back on a path towards democracy, and proper observance of international human rights and rule of law standards?”

It is understandable that this question is uppermost on everyone’s mind, and we want to devote this hearing to providing some reasonable answers that can help to increase your understanding of everything that has been taking place in the past few months regarding the political situation in Cambodia, and to suggest some concrete actions that we can and must be taking to promote meaningful democratic and human rights reforms.

Given Hun Sen’s autocratic manipulation of the election results by eliminating any meaningful political opposition, his destruction of key elements of civil society, such as the independent media, and now his self-determined decision to transfer power to his son Hun Manet, it is understandable if members of the Khmer Community are feeling the weight of Hun Sen’s authoritarian and highly repressive system of governance, and having difficulty seeing how they can make a difference and secure meaningful and effective change. The path towards progress and meaningful reform is not simple or easy. But even in the midst of the worst of Hun Sen’s highly repressive and authoritarian tactics, there are important signals and signs of hope that point the way towards effective reform. They start with the surprisingly forceful leadership role that the United Nations has taken on in confronting Hun Sen, and condemning his highly abusive tactics and actions. Not only did the United Nations issue a series of high-level reports and statements making clear that Hun Sen’s abusive policies made free and fair elections impossible, they also adopted what they called an “Action Plan of Reform Measures” that had to be implemented in order for the election results to be considered legitimate.

A second strongly hopeful sign was that the Khmer community, responding to the autocratic measures that Hun Sen used to destroy democracy and assure his continuation in power without effective opposition, became substantially more active, and developed a powerful new voice on the international stage. They adopted an “Urgent Action Case Alert System,” following the Amnesty International model, and established an ongoing in-country monitoring capability to track whether and to what extent Hun Sen was in fact making a serious effort to implement the United Nations’ reform measures.   

These two hopeful signs provide a strong foundation for a new set of proposed advocacy activities to take place over the next six months that will give the Khmer community a powerful new way to express their concerns and demands at the international level, to “speak truth to power,” and to demand justice and meaningful reforms, on an ongoing basis. These action steps are keyed to two major United Nations’ review sessions on Cambodia coming up in the next six months that will provide a unique set of platforms at the international level that will allow the Khmer community to mobilize international pressures against the Hun Sen/Hun Manet government abuses.

The best example of how that can work is the 20% percent increase in trade tariffs that the European Union recently imposed on imports from Cambodia, with very positive results.   Another excellent example of how the new set of advocacy actions that are being initiated can have a positive impact was the drafting and filing with the United Nations by the Khmer community of a community-based challenge to the legality and legitimacy of the transfer of power to Hun Manet. That submission cited inconsistencies between the procedures followed by Hun Sen to appoint his son as Prime Minister, and legal requirements set out under both the Cambodian Constitution and international law. This complaint also cited the United Nations’ own findings that the Cambodian election results were illegitimate, as a basis for arguing that Hun Sen could not make this nepotistic appointment of his son just days after the results of a highly questionable, rigged election, were announced.

This challenge to the appointment of Hun Manet as Prime Minister is just the first step in a series of major advocacy actions that are planned by and for the Khmer community in the coming weeks. There will also be an initiative to convene a special meeting with foreign governments, and to convince them to exert more pressure on Cambodia, tied to the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review session taking place in Geneva in May 2024; a very important meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur for Cambodia that the UN is setting up for us; and, most important, the May 2024 UN UPR review session and hearing on Cambodia, which will provide a number of opportunities to bring international attention to the Khmer community’s concerns.

In short, the thoroughgoing nature of the Hun Sen/Hun Manet government’s autocratic and repressive system of governance that the United Nations so forcefully condemned this past year presents us with numerous concerns and fears. But they also have created deep concerns in the international community that we can use as a basis for demanding effective change. We need to take up the challenge that Hun Sen and Hun Manet have presented in their high-handed manipulation of the election, by finding new and more effective ways of “speaking truth to power, and challenging their worst abuses at the international level. The United Nations has shown us this past year how stronger action at the international level can produce good results.  Let’s build on that foundation by joining forces with the United Nations and the international community to demand “meaningful and effective change” for Cambodia.