‘Speak Truth To Power‘ Khmunity Campaign Statement at the Special Session of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia, 4 March 2022

Hello, my name is Seyla Nhean. Today, March 4 we launch the “Truth to Power” Khmunity Campaign. This coincides with the Commission’s “Special Session” highlighting the most recent appalling violations requiring immediate action along with the UN Human Rights Committee meeting where Cambodia will be under compliance review.

Inspired by the work of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia to bring international attention to major human rights and democracy abuses by the Hun Sen government, the Khmer community has decided to organize a new way to mobilize action on the most serious cases.

The community has set in motion a new Urgent Action Case Alert System. This Urgent Action Case Alert System will make it possible for community members to write letters of concern and protest to the highest-level of the Hun Sen government officials | regarding cases requiring immediate attention and action. 

This Khmer community campaign builds on the urgent action case alert model used by Amnesty International but expands on the Amnesty approach in two important ways.  

First, case alerts will not be limited to situations of arbitrary imprisonments of prisoners of conscience. The Khmer community version will cover all major situations of abuse. For example, the assassination of youth leader Sin Khon just a few weeks ago deserves attention and action. The mass criminal trials of political opposition leaders and critics of the government also deserve attention and action even if some of the accused and targeted defendants are not yet in jail.

Second, major problems that involve more general types of highly abusive policies also deserve urgent action treatment. For example, the newly proposed government decree that would impose a system of government monitoring and control on the use of the Internet, including social media communications, similar to the Great Firewall of China, requires urgent attention and action, even before individual internet users are arrested and prosecuted under the new law.

Letter writing may not seem like a powerful tool to oppose tyrannical regimes. But the Amnesty model has shown that mobilizing strong community grassroots involvement and protest can indeed have a major impact on convincing abusive governments to alter their policies. Shining a powerful spotlight on major abuses can be a very powerful method for “speaking truth to power,” and convincing abusers that the international community will demand accountability, and an end to impunity.”

The “Truth to Power” Khmunity Campaign involves the Cambodia Act Now! Letter-Writing Initiative, the Urgent Action Alert System, and Advocacy Toolkit with a downloadable electronic version that is available today.

I would like to close with a poem by the Khmer community

“The voices of the Cambodian People Unite
Echoing in unison to the world
Speaking Truth to Power
Demanding for a free and just society
Reclaiming the Kingdom back to the people.”

We believe that this Khmunity Campaign will inspire and empower our communities toward meaningful change for a brighter Cambodia through unity. We look forward to having you join us in this effort.