Opening Remarks by Commissioner Louisa Coan Greve for the Rule of Law of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia, 10 September 2022
Welcome to the third session of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia. My name is Louisa Coan Greve, a member of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia. To start our rule of law session, we wanted to provide you with a short summary of the work of the Commission of inquiry for Cambodia thus far, so you will understand what has taken place, and how it leads up to today’s hearing, focused on rule of law issues:
The idea for the Commission of Inquiry resulted from a meeting convened on July 18, 2021, of approximately 50 Khmer groups and leaders, by Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch. At that meeting, which was designed as an “information sharing and strategic planning webinar,” Brad Adams suggested that past efforts had not produced the type of what he referred to as “effective, meaningful and systemic” types of improvements and change.” He challenged the Khmer community to come up with new and more creative approaches. The Commission was established by the Khmer community with that in mind, based on the models for this type of independent fact-finding body used by the United Nations Commission of Inquiries for Burma (Myanmar) and Syria. It has brought together some of the best minds and most experienced Cambodia and human rights experts, to work together to promote more effective observance of democracy and human rights standards for Cambodia, and for the Khmer people.
The Commission’s first launch session took place on October 23, 2021, a date chosen to coincide with, and give prominent attention to, the commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Peace Accords in 1991, since the accords incorporated core democracy and human rights standards that were intended to guide the newly created government of Cambodia. Hun Sen, prime minister at that time, himself signed the Accords and agreed to the internationally established democracy and human rights standards that they contained. The first session identified the issues to be given priority attention by the Commission and outlined the proposed schedule of hearings to follow. It also stressed the importance of including “victims’ testimonies,” and highlighted the cases involving the assassination of Kem Ley, Chea Vichea, and Chut Wutty.
The Commission’s second session took place on March 4, 2022, a date chosen to coincide with the convening of a special compliance review session on Cambodia by the United Nations’ human rights committee. The Commission decided to hold its session concurrently with the United Nations’ Cambodia hearing, in recognition that no single agency or platform could produce meaningful change by itself. Effective reform of major human rights abuses requires many voices and many platforms to act in concert on a more coordinated basis, in order to bring international attention to the point of “critical mass” that is necessary to encourage and support effective remedial action. The Commission submitted several official statements to the UN for consideration, including a proposed “List of Issues,” and a summary of the Commission’s “interim findings and recommendations.”
The second session on March 4, also was used to announce the launching of the Khmer urgent action network, as an important symbol of the direct, active and more energized involvement by the Khmer community itself in these monitoring efforts. The campaign is designed to follow the highly successful Amnesty International philosophy of promoting human rights observance by “shining a powerful spotlight” on major abuses, and “speaking truth to power” in a strong, community-based voice. Every candle that is lighted by each member of the community on particular cases and issues of concern, through their letters of concern and protest, adds to the strength of the light being shined on major cases and abuses needing urgent attention and action.
Just before the Commission’s special session in March was convened, something especially noteworthy took place. A French criminal court issued a decision finding probable cause to hold two of Hun Sen’s top generals (the heads of his personal bodyguard unit) criminally responsible for the 1997 grenade attacks on an opposition political rally that killed 16 participants and injured over a hundred more. The only reason that Hun Sen himself was not named and criminally charged as well was that he enjoys “head of state immunity” while he serves as prime minister.
The French court decision is of major importance. It proves that Hun Sen and his colleagues cannot expect to enjoy impunity from being held responsible for their major human rights abuses. Along with the United Nations’ March hearings, and actions by other international voices and platforms, it shows that meaningful progress is being made in the direction of justice and accountability for Cambodia and the Khmer people.
This brings us to today’s rule of law session by the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia. At the United Nations hearings on Cambodia in March, the head of the Hun Sen government’s delegation attempted to claim that the government was justified in having its courts declare the opposition political party illegal, and initiate criminal prosecutions against hundreds of its leaders and members. The chair and members of the human rights committee rejected that claim outright. They pointed out that the rule of law requires more than just invoking statutes and courts as a basis for harshly abusive policies that violate international human rights and democracy standards. They made clear that the Hun Sen government was improperly misusing the law as a “smokescreen” to try to justify its abuses and to eliminate and punish criticism and meaningful political opposition in order to remain in power.
The Commission is convening this rule of law session today, to help explain what the rule of law actually requires, and why what the Hun Sen government has been doing does not conform to these international standards. Why the United Nations human rights committee was correct in its finding that the Hun Sen government’s closing down of the political opposition party, and the arrest and imprisonment of its members and leaders, along with other critics of the government and representatives of the independent media, violates international law, and why these abuses must end.
First, let’s start with a short narrated introduction explaining what the rule of law session will cover, why the rule of law principle is important, who will be testifying, and what they will be testifying about.