Announcement of November 1, 2023, Strategic Planning Session of International Experts in the Aftermath of Cambodia’s Rigged National Elections
Thayvie Sinn
Co-Founder, Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia
For obvious and very substantial reasons, the key question that everyone is asking in the wake of what the United Nations and most international observers have found to be the pre-determined and illegitimate Cambodian national elections of 23 July is:
Where do we go from here? – What can and should we be doing to deal on an effective basis with Hun Sen’s refusal to allow free, fair and legitimate elections to take place and the sad reality that he has chosen to double down on the harshly repressive measures that his regime has been following for some time in order to maintain and extend Hun Sen’s autocratic control of the government, the electoral process, and civil society’s ability to freely express its views.
Over the past six months leading up to the national elections, a number of United Nations’ officials and agencies at the highest levels, including Secretary-General António Guterres himself (see his statement on Cambodia of 31 May), have issued a series of reports and statements making clear in the strongest of terms that are highly unusual for the UN, that the Hun Sen government’s systemic and long-standing policies of thoroughgoing human rights and rule of law abuses, including the elimination of the main opposition political party, Mass Criminal Trials of political leaders and other critics of the government, and the closing down of the independent media outlets, have destroyed civil society’s ability to function, and have made free, fair and legitimate elections impossible. The UN adopted an “Action Plan” of reform measures that had to be implemented to make a reasonably fair political process possible. But Hun Sen’s response has been to ignore the UN recommendations and to double down on his autocratic and repressive policies to remain in power.
So, faced with the United Nations’ clear-cut determination that the elections are illegitimate and that the results of the elections do not deserve to be recognized and accepted, how should the international and Khmer communities proceed? What actions can and should they take to promote and encourage the type of meaningful and effective reform measures that the UN recommended to help move Cambodia in the direction of a more democratic approach to its civil society and its political process?
As a first step to help answer this core question and to move Cambodia forward towards human rights and democracy, the Commission of Inquiry for Cambodia, with the help of several other international organizations, will be convening a Zoom-based strategic planning session on 1 November, bringing together on a virtual basis several leading experts and voices dealing with Cambodia. The goal of the session will be to present and explore a variety of creative ideas for dealing with the aftermath of the heavily flawed national elections and, most especially, the failure/refusal of the Hun Sen government to properly address the human rights and rule of law abuses that the UN found made legitimate elections impossible.
This strategic planning session will be open to the public and will be conducted in a virtual format so as to encourage the widest possible participation and impact on an easily accessible basis. Members of the Khmer community are especially encouraged to participate. A Zoom meeting link-in code will be provided in advance for all those pre-registering for the session.
A “Plan of Action” summarizing the ideas and suggestions presented and discussed will be provided to all pre-registered participants at the conclusion of the session. You are encouraged to pre-register and to submit any ideas or suggestions you may have in advance of the meeting.