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with the Government of Burundi”, and “to
make recommendations for technical
assistance and capacity building”. On 29
September, the Council also renewed the
Commission of Inquiry’s mandate for another
year. Discussions between the UN and the
government on the reopening of the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights in Burundi had not reached a
conclusion by the end of the year.
Burundi’s withdrawal from the ICC came
into effect on 27 October. Two days earlier,
the Pre-Trial Chamber authorized an
investigation into the situation in Burundi, a
decision made public in November.
The AU Peace and Security Council did not
meet to discuss Burundi in 2017, despite the
continued presence of AU human rights
observers and military experts in the country
at the Council’s request.
CAMBODIA
Kingdom of Cambodia
Head of state: King Norodom Sihamoni
Head of government: Hun Sen
The crackdown on human rights defenders,
media, civil society and the political
opposition intensified ahead of elections
scheduled for July 2018. The authorities’
misuse of the justice system continued.
New criminal charges were brought against
serving and former leaders of the main
opposition party. The authorities increased
pressure on civil society including by
conducting surveillance of human rights
workers and restricting or shutting down
organizations monitoring elections. Media
freedom and diversity were dramatically
reduced. Human rights defenders continued
to be monitored, threatened, arrested and
imprisoned. Montagnard asylum-seekers
faced forcible return to Viet Nam.
BACKGROUND
The prospect of a close general election in
2018 led to an unstable political environment
and threats to human rights. In February,
Sam Rainsy stood down as leader of the
opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party
(CNRP) to avoid party dissolution because of
his 2016 conviction on criminal charges. The
lead-up to the June 2017 commune elections
was marked by threatening rhetoric from the
Prime Minister and other senior government
and military officials. The ruling Cambodian
People’s Party (CPP) won control of 70% of
communes. In September, the UN Human
Rights Council extended the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Cambodia for a further two years. On
16 November, the CNRP was dissolved amid
allegations of being part of a purported US-
funded “colour revolution” to topple the
current regime.
FREEDOMS OF EXPRESSION AND
ASSOCIATION
Harassment of the political opposition and
civil society through misuse of the criminal
justice system escalated in an apparent
attempt to hamper activities ahead of the
2018 general election.
1
Amendments to the
Law on Political Parties in February and July
gave the Ministry of Interior and courts new
powers over political parties and barred
individuals convicted of a criminal offence
from holding leadership positions.
In March, Sam Rainsy was convicted of
“defamation and incitement to commit a
felony” for claiming on social media that the
July 2016 murder of political commentator
Kem Ley was an act of “state-sponsored
terrorism”. Political commentator Kim Sok
was convicted on the same charges in
August for allegedly linking the government to
the murder in a radio interview. Following the
commune elections, the Ministry of Interior
ordered a local election monitoring coalition
to cease its activities.
In August, the US-based National
Democratic Institute was expelled from
Cambodia for alleged regulatory violations.
Also in August, more than 30 FM radio
frequencies were silenced. Radio stations
were alleged to have violated their contracts
with the government by “overselling” air time
to broadcasting programmes from the US-
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based Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of
America, as well as Cambodian radio
programme Voice of Democracy. In
September, the long-running English
language newspaper The Cambodia Daily
shut down after the authorities gave its
publishers 30 days to pay a USD6.3 million
tax bill, a move widely viewed as arbitrary.
The same month, RFA ceased operations in
Cambodia, citing the restrictive media
environment. In November, two former RFA
reporters were arrested on trumped-up
charges of “espionage” and faced up to 15
years in jail.
On 3 September, new CNRP leader Kem
Sokha was arrested at his home in the
capital, Phnom Penh, and later charged with
“conspiracy with a foreign power” in relation
to a 2013 speech in which he discussed
international advice he had received
regarding democratic change. CPP
lawmakers later voted to strip him of the
parliamentary immunity he had been granted
under the Constitution.
The Ministry of Interior ordered local land
rights organization Equitable Cambodia (EC)
to suspend its activities for 30 days for
alleged regulatory violations. Although the
suspension lapsed on 15 November, EC was
not allowed to resume activities. At least three
individuals were arrested throughout the year
for posting comments on Facebook that were
regarded by authorities as insulting to the
Prime Minister. On 26 November, the
Cambodian Centre for Human Rights was
threatened by the Prime Minister with
closure; it was allowed to remain open after
investigation by the Ministry of Interior and an
announcement by the Prime Minister on 2
December.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders were harassed and
prosecuted for their peaceful human rights
work. In February, Tep Vanny, a prominent
land rights activist from the Boeung Kak Lake
community, was convicted of “intentional
violence with aggravating circumstances” in
relation to a 2013 protest, and sentenced to
two years and six months’ imprisonment. In
December, the Supreme Court upheld a six-
month prison sentence against Tep Vanny
and two other community members
stemming from a protest in 2011. Human
rights defenders Am Sam Ath and Chan
Puthisak were investigated in February for
allegedly instigating violence at an October
2016 demonstration in Phnom Penh. They
were beaten by para-police during the
demonstration; however, their formal
complaint of assault appeared to have been
ignored.
In June, five serving and former staff
members of the Cambodian Human Rights
and Development Association (ADHOC) were
released on bail after being held for more
than a year in pre-trial detention on charges
of bribing a witness. Three of the five − Ny
Sokha, Nay Vanda and Yi Soksan − were
arbitrarily denied access to medical care for
two months prior to their release. The
charges remained pending at the end of the
year.
In September, two activists from the
environmental organization Mother Nature
were arrested while filming sand-dredging
boats off the coast of Koh Kong in an attempt
to highlight alleged illegal smuggling. They
were charged with incitement to commit a
felony and making an unauthorized
recording.
UNLAWFUL KILLINGS
On 23 March Oeuth Ang was sentenced to
life imprisonment after being convicted by
the Phnom Penh Municipal Court of the
2016 murder of prominent political
commentator Kem Ley. The trial lasted only
half a day. The authorities did not respond to
calls for an independent, impartial and
effective investigation into the killing of Kem
Ley.
WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Cambodia failed to submit its report, due in
October, on implementation of the
recommendations of the 2013 UN CEDAW
Committee, or to follow up with requested
information regarding sexual and gender-
based violence – in particular redress and