Statements
Statement | LICADHO Condemns Politically Motivated Allegations Against CNRP Officials and Supporters
22 December 2014
Eleven officials and supporters of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) have recently been summonsed to appear for trial at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on December 25, 2014, to answer charges of either leading or participating in an “insurrectionary movement.” LICADHO strongly condemns the continued criminal proceedings on these politically motivated allegations and takes this opportunity to release a detailed timeline of events since July 15, 2014, showing the course of criminal proceedings against opposition party members and supporters alongside political negotiations between the ruling Cambodia People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition CNRP.
Statement | LICADHO Calls for the Release of the 19 Men and Women Wrongfully Imprisoned in Prey Sar’s CC1 and CC2 Prisons
8 December 2014
On Wednesday, Cambodia will celebrate International Human Rights Day. LICADHO takes this opportunity to recall attention to the 19 men and women who have been wrongfully imprisoned following a recent spate of arrests in Phnom Penh. LICADHO condemns these imprisonments and the continued abuse of the judicial system by the ruling party and well-connected individuals.
Statement | Death in Prey Speu Highlights Detention Center Abuses
7 December 2014
The Cambodian government should promptly close all centers arbitrarily detaining people outside the criminal justice system, LICADHO and Human Rights Watch said today. The abusive nature of these centers was highlighted by the death on November 26, 2014, of a man who was arbitrarily detained and denied medical treatment at the Prey Speu center outside Phnom Penh.
Statement | Monks to Lead International Human Rights Day March
2 December 2014
Over 600 human rights activists, led by monks, will march along six national roads towards Phnom Penh between December 5 and December 10, 2014, to celebrate the 66th International Human Rights Day (IHRD). Joining them will be participants from communities affected by land disputes, associations, networks, unions and NGOs, as well as villagers from rural and urban communities along the designated routes.
Statement | “Good Wives”: Women Land Campaigners and the Impact of Human Rights Activism
23 November 2014
To mark the start of the global campaign, 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence, LICADHO has published a report exploring how the lives of women campaigners are changed by their activism. It reveals the high price women pay, suffering not only serious economic and emotional impacts but also often domestic violence and family breakdown.
Statement | Groundless Charges against Venerable Loun Sovath Need to be Dropped
23 November 2014
We, the 16 endorsing non-governmental organizations, urge the Cambodian authorities to drop the charges against renowned human rights defender Venerable Luon Sovath. He is facing trial on 25 November 2014 in a flawed and protracted judicial process that clearly aims to silence him. Venerable Sovath is internationally known as the "multi-media monk," and his efforts to voice the human rights abuses against vulnerable communities and human rights defenders in Cambodia have been recognized globally.
Statement | Civil Society Groups Condemn Arrest and Detention of the Boeung Kak Lake Seven
12 November 2014
We, the undersigned civil society groups, condemn the arrest, detention, and conviction of the seven Boeung Kak Lake community representatives following protests outside Phnom Penh City Hall on the morning of November 10, 2014.
Statement | Oddar Meanchey Authorities’ Continued Illegal Conduct Towards Equitable Cambodia’s Staff
16 October 2014
We, the undersigned civil society groups, condemn the actions of the Oddar Meanchey authorities who have, since September 2014, been engaged in the obstruction, harassment, intimidation, and assault of rights workers. Most recently, a four-person team from Equitable Cambodia (“EC”) was in the province to conduct field research on the impacts of forced evictions resulting from economic land concessions granted for the development of sugarcane plantations. The plantations are owned by the Mitr Phol Group, one of Coca-Cola’s top three global suppliers. Research data collected will be provided to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (“NHRCT”), which is investigating Mitr Phol’s operations in Cambodia.
Statement | Joint Legal Analysis of the draft Law on Unions of Enterprises
18 September 2014
Today, CLEC and LICADHO release a legal analysis of the latest draft of the Law on Unions of Enterprises (Trade Union Law) obtained at the end of May, this year. As unions yesterday began a nationwide campaign for a $177 per month minimum wage, the draft Trade Union Law underlines the government’s intent to interfere with and infringe upon union formation and activities.
Statement | Civil Society Groups Condemn the Groundless Detention of Equitable Cambodia Staff
12 September 2014
We the undersigned condemn the continued intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders in Cambodia. We call upon the competent authorities to investigate those responsible for ordering the groundless detention of Equitable Cambodia Staff Meg Fukuzawa and Lida Sok.
Statement | Rights groups call for an end to enforced disappearances in ASEAN
30 August 2014
Today, on the occasion of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we, the undersigned organizations, urge ASEAN member states to end acts of enforced disappearances in Southeast Asia.
Cases of enforced disappearances continue to occur in the region. Victims include human rights defenders as well as ordinary citizens. Enforced disappearances also continue to target vulnerable groups, such as children. Three new cases of enforced disappearance that took place over the past year clearly illustrate this worrying pattern.
Statement | Response to Phnom Penh Sugar Company’s Allegations Against Equitable Cambodia Executive Director Eang Vuthy
21 August 2014
On August 18, 2014, the Phnom Penh Sugar Co. Ltd., took out advertisements in several major Cambodian newspapers accusing Equitable Cambodia’s Executive Director, Mr. Eang Vuthy, of making false and misleading statements about Oknha Ly Yong Phat, and causing “irreparable damage” to the Senator’s reputation as well as that of his business, Phnom Penh Sugar.
While the Senator may currently have no involvement in the management or ownership of Khon Kaen Sugar Company’s in Koh Kong province or Mitr Pohl Sugar Company’s in Oddar Meanchey province, there is strong evidence that Ly Yong Phat was involved with each of these companies and with the forcible eviction of thousands of villagers.
Statement | LICADHO Calls for Immediate Family Access to all Three CNRP Youth Leaders Currently Detained in Prey Sar’s CC1 Prison
20 August 2014
LICADHO calls for immediate family access to all three CNRP youth leaders currently detained in Prey Sar’s CC1 prison. Khin Chamreun, Neang Sokhun and San Kimheng have now been in pre-trial detention for 18 days and have not been permitted any family visits.
Statement | LICADHO Condemns the Violent Crackdown of a Peaceful March by Lor Peang Villagers
12 August 2014
LICADHO condemns the violent dispersal of more than 50 villagers from Lor Peang community who had begun their 60km-long peaceful march from Kampong Chhnang province to Phnom Penh, calling for a resolution to their long-standing land dispute. Amid the violent dispersal, three villagers – including the husband of the main Lor Peang community representative Um Sophy – were arrested and sent to the provincial court.
Statement | Abuse of the Court to Suit Political Agenda Must Cease and Charges against CNRP Members Should be Dropped
7 August 2014
We, the undersigned organizations, condemn the flagrant abuse of the Cambodian legal system and the trumped up charges that have been used to manipulate the outcome of political negotiations between the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), following the latest arrests of three CNRP youth members, and urges all charges to be dropped.
Statement | Seven Opposition MPs Detained Amid Ongoing Restrictions on Peaceful Assembly
18 July 2014
The Cambodian government must release all seven Members of Parliament (MPs) and one official of Cambodia’s main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and immediately lift the ban on public gatherings of more than 10 people, FIDH and its member organizations the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) and the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) said today.
Statement | Civil Society Groups Condemn Baseless Charges and Call for an End to Violence and Repression
17 July 2014
We the undersigned civil society groups condemn the unfounded charges against seven Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) MPs-elect and one CNRP grassroots leader. We call for their immediate and unconditional release and for all charges to be dropped.
All eight were arrested in connection with the violence of July 15 in Freedom Park and charged under Cambodia’s Criminal Code articles 28 and 218 (instigating aggravated, intentional violence), 495 (inciting others to commit a felony) and 459 (leading an insurrectional movement). The latter charge carries a sentence of up to 30 years’ imprisonment.
Statement | LICADHO Condemns this Morning’s Violence at Phnom Penh's Freedom Park
15 July 2014
LICADHO condemns this morning’s violence by protesters and authorities at a gathering at Phnom Penh’s Freedom Park. The event which was organized by the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) descended very quickly into violence following interference by authorities and resulted in a number of serious injuries, the worst of which were suffered by district security guards who had been mobilized to prevent the event from taking place.
Statement | LICADHO Report: Torture & Ill-Treatment, Testimony from Inside Cambodia's Police Stations and Prisons
26 June 2014
On June 26, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, LICADHO releases new testimony and analysis of torture and ill-treatment in Cambodia’s police stations and prisons, including the abuse of females and juveniles and those experiencing mental health problems.
Statement | Unconstitutional Draft Laws on the Judiciary should be Rejected
15 June 2014
On the anniversary of Cambodia’s Constitutional Council, LICADHO urges the Council to reject the three new laws affecting the judiciary in their current form. The Cambodian Constitution mandates that “Judicial power shall be an independent power,” and necessary implementing legislation has long been called for to strengthen the rule of law. However, passage of these laws in their current form will codify and indefinitely prolong the lack of independence currently undermining the Cambodian justice system.
