What The UN Human Rights Compliance Review And The French Criminal Court Decision Mean For The Hun Sen Government

Morton Sklar
Legal Counsel, Commission of Inquiry

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE:  WHAT THE MARCH 9-11 UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE COMPLIANCE REVIEW SESSION ON CAMBODIA MEANS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE JUST ISSUED FRENCH CRIMINAL COURT DECISION HOLDING HUN SEN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAJOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

As you know, the French Criminal Court in Paris, invoking the principle of “universal criminal jurisdiction” (i.e., every nation’s courts have the authority to hold major human rights violators accountable for the most serious abuses that violate universally accepted human rights standards, such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and mass assassinations or disappearances), has just found probable cause to believe that high-level officials of the Hun Sen government were directly involved with, and responsible for, a grenade attack against an opposition political party rally in 1997 that killed 16 participants and injured 125 more. They based their finding on a report by a US Federal Bureau of Investigation team that uncovered strong evidence that Hun Sen’s Personal Bodyguard Unit knew of the attack in advance, helped the grenade throwers gain access to the grounds, facilitated their escape, and even provided them housing at their military barracks. 

This court decision is the first of its kind dealing with human rights abuses taking place in Cambodia under the Hun Sen regime. It means that for the first time a court outside of Cambodia, and not under the direct control of the Hun Sen government, will be carrying out independent judicial review aimed at providing justice and accountability for the long list of major human rights and democracy violations carried out by the Hun Sen regime aimed at keeping it in power over the past 37 years by suppressing any form of criticism, dissent and political opposition.

But the French Court decision also has profound impacts on the United Nations human rights review of Cambodia that will be taking place on 9, 10 and 11 of March at the Human Rights Committee in Geneva.  At that session, Members of the Human Rights Committee will be expressing their concerns to a number of high-level Cambodian government officials appearing before them, and posing questions on specific abuses, including the grenade attack that was the subject of the French Court decision, and a number of politically motivated assassinations, arrests and “show trials” that currently are in progress.  

At a briefing by Members of the Human Rights Committee held on 2 March several proposed questions and areas of concern that will be raised with the Hun Sen government were disclosed. They included:

1. Questions by Member Arif Bulkan, about the government’s direct involvement in a long series of politically motivated assassinations of government critics (Kem Ley), labor leaders (Chea Vichea), environmental activists (Chut Wutty), and most recently, a youth leader (Sin Khon),

2. Questions by Member Shuichi Furkuya, on declaring the principal opposition political party illegal, and arresting, imprisoning and subjecting to Mass Criminal Trials hundreds of opposition leaders and members,

3. Questions by Member Kohauyah Tchamdja Kpatch on the government’s misuse of statutes and the court system to punish the exercise of free expression rights, and to close down independent media outlets.