UN expert: Respect for human rights key to resolving multiple crises in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH – A border conflict with Thailand, a cyberscam crisis, and upcoming elections present serious human rights challenges for Cambodia but also opportunities for Cambodia to affirm its human rights commitments with action, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia.

“My first mission to Cambodia has left me with deep concerns: for displaced people along the border with Thailand, for those who have been trafficked, and for those who are behind bars having exercised basic freedoms,” said Andrews in a statement issued at the end of his first official mission to Cambodia.

“I have received information that over 100 people may be detained in Cambodia for exercising their right to freedom of expression, assembly or association,” said Andrews.

“No one should be behind bars for exercising their fundamental human rights. I addressed the detention and condition of these individuals with the government and received a commitment to work with me as I continue to examine these cases,” he said.

The Special Rapporteur stressed the need to open civic space and respect the rights of the political opposition ahead of elections in 2027 and 2028. He visited four prisons, speaking with detained activists, journalists and members of the political opposition.

The Special Rapporteur thanked Cambodian officials for providing unfettered access to prisons and border areas. He visited a relocation site for persons displaced by the conflict with Thailand and spoke with residents unable to return to homes in towns and villages occupied by the Thailand military.

“It is a matter of international law that those displaced by armed conflict have the right to return to their homes,” said Andrews. “It is imperative that Thailand and Cambodia work together to expedite the return of displaced civilians. They need, and deserve, to go home.”

Andrews engaged the government about the ongoing cyberscam crisis in Cambodia. He recognized the government’s efforts to crack down on criminal networks over the past year but raised concerns about the lack of accountability for senior Cambodian officials implicated in cyberscam operations and the conditions of trafficking victims released from scam compounds.

Andrews expressed his commitment to supporting the Cambodian government to fulfill its human rights obligations, including by working together to implement recommendations supported by the government during its most recent Universal Periodic Review. He identified reforming laws to comply with human rights standards, establishing a national human rights institution, and making progress towards marriage equality as areas for collaboration.

“My first mission left me with hope for Cambodia’s future, a hope fueled by my engagements with human rights defenders, journalists, principled political leaders and Cambodian people who are committed to human rights. These are the people on who Cambodia’s future depends,” said Andrews. “I am honored to be serving as UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia and genuinely excited about the prospect of working with them as I fulfill this important mandate.”