Cambodia: National action plan on indigenous rights among measures needed to improve human rights, says expert

GENEVA – An independent UN expert today called on the Cambodian Government to implement a national action plan on the rights of indigenous peoples.

“There should be a one stop-service to help these communities in their quest for indigenous rights,” said the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Vitit Muntarbhorn, at the end of his third official visit to the country.

The independent expert commended Cambodia for recognising in law the notion of indigenous peoples and their rights, but a national action plan was crucial. “There is a need for a national forum or working group to enable them to dialogue with authorities, with concomitant budgeting,” he said in a statement.

Muntarbhorn was in the country to review progress on implementation of the 10-point Cambodian Human Rights Action Agenda he presented in 2022, to improve the human rights situation, open up civil and political space and pave the way for democratic reform.

During his six-day mission, the Special Rapporteur met with local government officials in Ratanakiri and Kandal provinces, with a focus on indigenous peoples. “Social awareness on indigenous peoples can also be nurtured through more education on their culture, as well as possibly a national and or international festival on indigenous arts and culture.”

The UN expert met with communities affected by encroachments on their ancestral land and unbalanced development , and he also visited prisons. He noted the efforts of the authorities to support alternative methods of dispute resolution, as well as to reduce overcrowding in prison.

“I urge Cambodia to comply with international human rights law and work towards more non-custodial and community-based measures, coupled with reform of the law enforcement system, and improved quality of the judiciary and related law enforcers,” he said. “There should be more access to legal aid and members of civil society as helpers to open space for accused persons and detainees, with support geared to empathy rather than retribution.”

The Special Rapporteur said political opponents continue to be detained, and human rights advocates and environmentalists continue to be prosecuted for incitement and related offences in exercising their right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and their quest for justice.

Muntarbhorn also called on the Government to reform the infamous law on associations and non-governmental organisations (“LANGO”), which imposes constraining conditions on the work of civil society. “Imposing the litany of laws, policies and practices of a restrictive kind impedes the broader stakeholdership, and in the quest to reform them, the authorities should desist from applying them expeditiously.”

The expert’s fourth report on the situation of human rights in Cambodia will be released in September 2024.