The situation in Cambodia can perhaps be described as straddling a testament and a predicament. The testament is the 30th anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreements (October 1991) which brought peace to the country after a long period of warfare and the "recent tragic past". It established a pivotal framework for human rights, democracy and sustainable development in the country.
Saturday, 6 March 2021, 6:10 pm
GENEVA (5 March 2021) – UN human rights experts today
deplored the disproportionate prison terms handed to exiled
senior leaders of the disbanded Cambodian National Rescue
Party (CNRP) and called on the Government to protect
freedoms of association and expression to ensure democratic
processes and political activities.
The experts said
the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s verdict could potentially
deprive their right to engage in public affairs. Since June
2019, more than 150 people associated with the CNRP have
been arrested detained, and subjected to judicial
proceedings.
On 1 March, the court convicted nine
senior leaders of the former CNRP in absentia on charges
GENEVA (5 March 2021) – UN human rights experts today deplored the disproportionate prison terms handed to exiled senior leaders of the disbanded Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) and called on the Government to protect freedoms of association and expression to ensure democratic processes and political activities.
The experts said the Phnom Penh Municipal Court’s verdict could potentially deprive their right to engage in public affairs. Since June 2019, more than 150 people associated with the CNRP have been arrested detained, and subjected to judicial proceedings.
On 1 March, the court convicted nine senior leaders of the former CNRP in absentia on charges related to “attempt to commit a felony” and “attack and endanger institutions of the Kingdom of Cambodia” under Articles 27 and 451 of the Cambodian Penal Code. This is related to their plan to return to the country to take part in Cambodia’s political life, which was publicised on social