Wrap-Up Statement by Commissioner Paul Hoffman for the Special Election of the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia, 23 September 2023

Much has happened since the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia started its series of fact-finding hearings two years ago. Most notably, Hun Sen doubled down on his major human rights and rule of law abuses, in order to totally eliminate the only remaining political opposition, so as to control and dictate the results of the July, 2023 national elections, and to extend and solidify his autocratic power. But equally, if not more important, was the reaction of the United Nations, the European Union and the international community to this unprecedented power grab, and Hun Sen’s decision to eliminate the last vestiges of a presumed claim of a democratic political system in Cambodia. Instead of remaining relatively quiet, as had happened so often in the past, the United Nations spoke out forcefully at the highest levels, challenging Hun Sen’s actions, and for the first time openly questioning the legitimacy of Hun Sen’s election.   

The United Nations, also for the first time, issued an “Action Plan of Reform Measures,” spelling out a detailed road map of steps that the Hun Sen government would have to take before the July national elections could be considered and treated as free, fair and legitimate. Hun Sen did not implement any of those mandated reforms, and instead continued to abuse his powers in order to maintain his uncontested hold on power.  

The dramatic change in the international community’s approach to Hun Sen and his abuses, establishes a firm foundation for the Khmer community to also act in a new way, to accomplish what Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch referred to as the need to promote “meaningful and effective change” for Cambodia, the touchstone that the Commission of Inquiry adopted as its primary goal at the start of its work two years ago.    

The key question is: Where do we go from here? What steps can and should be taken in the coming months aimed at producing meaningful change for Cambodia given Hun Sen’s solidification of his power and control? How can the United Nations’ “Action Plan of Reform Measures” be used as a base to move forward towards meaningful change and reform?   That is the core, urgent question that we must address, and provide some useful answers for, at today’s special session of the Commission of Inquiry. 

Let’s do that in two ways. First by identifying the specific reforms that need to take place. And, second, by proposing a simple plan of four concrete and easy to carry out advocacy steps that the Khmer community can take in the next several months to help accomplish the reforms we (and the United Nations) have identified. 

As far as the key reforms that have to be made, the United Nations’ “Action Plan of Reform Measures” provides the core elements. They include: 

First, re-instating legal status and operational functioning of the principal opposition political parties that Hun Sen had declared illegal and closed down in the run-up to the national elections. 

Second, ending the “Mass Criminal Trials,” and other politically motivated criminal prosecutions, and vacating and clearing the records of the many political leaders, like Kem Sokha and Thiery Seng, critics of the government, and independent journalists, who were criminally prosecuted and sent to jail for offering alternative views to those of Hun Sen and his government.   

Third, allowing for the reopening and return to functioning status the numerous independent media outlets like Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, the Cambodia Daily, the Phnom Penh Post and the Voice of Democracy, that were closed down or had their operations severely restricted, to end criticism of the government’s policies.  

Fourth, ending the harsh restrictions imposed on the core institutions of civil society, to allow alternative voices to be expressed and heard, and to assure that citizens’ free speech and free association rights are properly protected and observed, without surveillance and controls. 

Fifth, allowing social media to operate without monitoring and supervision designed to restrict and punish criticism of the government. 

These are not the full agenda of necessary reforms, but the starting points in the direction of meaningful change that the United Nations mandated. 

Next, what are the initial advocacy steps that the Khmer community can take in the coming weeks and months to help produce these reforms?   

The calendar and work plan of action steps takes the lead from the United Nations, and the various international forums and platforms that they will be making available that will be focused on Cambodia and on Hun Sen’s human rights and rule of law abuses. That starts with what the United Nations calls their Universal Periodic Review Process (the UPR). Cambodia’s UPR review will feature an official public hearing on Cambodia’s human rights and rule of law problems that will be convened in April of 2024. But there also will be preliminary stages of Cambodia’s UPR review process between now and then that provide opportunities for the Khmer community to submit written and oral statements and complaints that allow groups and members representing the community to “speak truth to power,” and to gain international attention to their concerns. For example, written complaints and statements can be submitted between September 23 and October 11 to the UN Human Rights Council to be taken into account when they start their UPR Cambodia human rights review. 

The United Nations also will be conducting what they call an “Interactive Dialogue” on Cambodia as part of the October, 2023 meeting of the UN Human Rights Council with the UN Special Rapporteur for Cambodia. The Khmer community has been given the opportunity to make a presentation as part of that dialogue. These are all useful forums and platforms at the international level where we can present our views and concerns, and advocate for change. 

But let’s not forget what the Khmer community can do in its own right within the community to promote effective change. Seyla Nhean’s Urgent Action Alert system is a powerful tool to give voice to individual members of the Khmer community, and to bring widespread international attention and support for challenging to worst cases of abuse. 

Finally, we must give prominent attention to the plan announced by Hun Sen in early August to “transfer” his power to his son Hun Manet. This attempt by Hun Sen to self-select his successor, and to keep the government under his family’s control on an indefinite basis, flies in the face of basic principles of democracy, and the specific assurances set out in the Paris Peace Accords guaranteeing a democratic system of governance for Cambodia. Self-selecting a successor is not democracy. It is the worst form of dictatorship and autocracy, made even more objectionable by the element of family corruption and cronyism. In the coming months, the Khmer community must challenge this action with every major foreign government, as well as with the United Nations. We must make the right of the Khmer people to choose their own leaders, as guaranteed in the Paris Peace Accords, a primary focus for all of our organizing and advocacy efforts.   That is a key direction that all of our future efforts must take.    

Of course, we must continue to challenge and give attention to the ongoing series of major human rights and rule of law abuses that Hun Sen has employed to remain in power, including his “stealing” of the 2023 national election by eliminating the political opposition.  But the “weakest link” in that systematic exercise of autocratic and abusive control is Hun Sen’s current effort to transfer power and control to Hun Manet by executive fiat.   

The Khmer community needs to mobilize an international effort to stop this ultimate abuse of power, that would permanently and arbitrarily take away the right of the Khmer people to choose, through legitimate election process, their own leaders through a democratic system of governance. The international community should not, and will not, let this final slap in the face of the rule of law and democracy take place. Join with us in the coming months to make our protest against the illegal transfer of power to Hun Manet the lynchpin of our efforts to produce meaningful and effective change for Cambodia that will return human rights and the rule of law to the Khmer people.        

This week we filed a formal challenge and protest with the UN Credentials Committee related to the Hun Manet transfer of power. This is an urgent issue. Opposing this illegal transfer of power must be the focus of action and advocacy by the Commission and the Khmer community in the coming months if there is a chance for a democratic future for Cambodia.