As Cambodia's international donors prepared to meet in Tokyo on February 25-26 for the first time since the July 1997 coup, Human Rights Watch called on participants to attach human rights conditions to any pledges of non-humanitarian aid to the Cambodian government. Prime Minister Hun Sen will be attending the donor meeting, convened by the World Bank, at Japan's invitation.
"This is a key moment to press for an end to impunity in Cambodia," said Mike Jendrzejczyk, Washington Director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. "The international community should insist on accountability for the crimes of the Khmer Rouge committed from 1975-79, as well as for dozens of extrajudicial killings, incidents of torture, and other serious abuses committed in recent years. Impunity will continue to plague Cambodia until the government takes effective steps to bring violators of basic human rights to justice. It is pointless to talk about the rule of law as long as impunity is not seriously addressed."
Prior to the meeting of the Cambodia Consultative Group (CG), the Royal Cambodian Government announced an extensive reform package, vowing to uphold human rights. In the government's report for the meeting, it pledged to reaffirm its "unbreakable attachment to liberal democracy, to the freedom of expression, to an independent judiciary, to neutrality and discipline in the armed forces and national police, to the strengthening of the rule of law and compliance with national and international laws, to encouraging all strata of civil society to participate actively in the political, economic and social life of the country..." The government also vowed to cancel several major logging concessions, reduce the size of the military and police force, and re-direct funds to health and education programs.
To ensure that these promises are fulfilled, Human Rights Watch urged CG participants to condition any direct assistance to the Cambodian government on its progress in ending official impunity, bringing Khmer Rouge leaders to justice, and respecting basic human rights. Human Rights Watch continues to strongly favor unconditional and increased assistance for humanitarian, human rights, and democracy-building projects through non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
"Donors should tell Hun Sen they will closely monitor Cambodia's progress in taking concrete action to uphold fundamental human rights," said Jendrzejczyk. Human Rights Watch calls on donors to establish a committee to oversee implementation and report back on a semi-annual basis. Steps should be taken to address official impunity and lack of judicial independence, restrictions on the freedoms of assembly, expression, and association; violations of land rights, as well as guarantee that commune-level elections held later this year do not repeat the shortcomings of the 1998 election process.
Background:
Despite pledges the Royal Cambodian Government made in advance of donor meetings over the last three years, virtually no progress has been made toward ending impunity for rights violators. Officials linked to murders and "disappearances" remain in office, and Khmer Rouge leaders associated with the 1975-79 massacres of more than a million Cambodians have been granted amnesty or allowed to move freely about the countryside. Among the most serious incidents of political violence and human rights violations that have taken place since 1993 include:
Killings of at least two people by government security forces or their agents, and at least eleven known disappearances of other people in conjunction with demonstrations in Phnom Penh in September 1998. Another twenty-four killings -- mostly violent deaths --were reported in August and September, as part of an increase in killings that coincided with the government's crackdown on the demonstrations, although to date no causal relationship has been established. Dozens more protesters, including monks, women, and students, were beaten or injured by gunfire from government security forces.
Murders of at least twenty-two people, in which political motivations played a part, in the final two months preceding the July 1998 elections.
Extra-judicial executions, disappearances, and torture of close to one hundred opposition members and senior officials of the Funcinpec party in the ten months following the July 1997 coup.
A grenade attack against a demonstration led by opposition politician Sam Rainsy at the National Assembly on March 30, 1997, in which at least sixteen people were killed and more than one hundred wounded.
Murders of at least five journalists, the attempted murders of at least three other journalists, and violent attacks on several opposition newspaper offices over the last four years.
Grenade attacks against gatherings of Buddhist Liberal Democratic Party members in September 1995, which killed two and injured more than thirty persons.
Aside from these relatively high-profile, politically-motivated cases of impunity, hundreds of human rights perpetrators in the provinces have not been held accountable for their crimes. Despite requests from the United Nations, donor governments, members of the Cambodian National Assembly, and Cambodian human rights organizations, to date the government has not launched thorough or independent investigations into most of these abuses, nor have many of the perpetrators been put on trial and punished.
The problem of impunity is compounded by the absence of judicial independence, as well as poorly-trained and low-paid judicial staff, lack of resources, and fear of judges to prosecute military, police, gendarmerie, or any other armed and powerful offenders. Key institutions such as the Supreme Council of Magistracy, mandated to oversee the independence of the judiciary, and the Constitutional Council, established to ensure that all laws passed by the National Assembly are in accordance with the Constitution, are clearly partisan and have little credibility. The majority of their members are affiliated with the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
In December 1998, freedom of association--particularly for human rights organizations--suffered a serious setback with the arrests and one-month detention of two human rights workers from the human rights organization Licadho after monitoring a demonstration, and the unpunished killing of an activist member of Adhoc, another human rights organization, in conjunction with his work. In 1998, several Cambodian rights workers were physically attacked in the course of performing their activities. In addition, a proposed new law on NGOs and Associations, if passed by the National Assembly, could further undermine the ability of NGOs to operate. The draft law would increase and complicate registration requirements for both national and local NGOs, prohibit associations from receiving foreign assistance, and enable NGOs to be more easily dissolved by the Ministry of Interior.
Freedom of assembly and expression has been seriously eroded since the 1998 elections, with the killings and disappearances of peaceful demonstrators during protests against the election results in September 1998. Riot police used electric batons, fire hoses, rifle butts, and bullets to disperse protesters around the city and bulldozers were brought in to destroy a tent city that had been erected in front of the National Assembly.
Freedom of assembly was also dealt a blow by the threat of arrest and ongoing court action against Kem Sokha, former chairman of the National Assembly's Human Rights Commission, for his involvement in the post-election demonstrations. The pending court action against Sokha not only discourages others from joining demonstrations, but also effectively silences a leading human rights advocate.
Cambodia's donors could have a significant impact at the meeting in Tokyo given the Cambodian government's dependence on foreign assistance for approximately sixty percent of its budget. Japan's role, as Cambodia's largest bilateral donor, is particularly important, as is the European Union's since the EU provided much of the financial assistance for the July 1998 elections. The World Bank is committed to promoting "good governance" including the rule of law and an end to corruption in all borrowing countries, but the Bank has thus far not indicated any willingness to condition its direct assistance to the Cambodian government on specific reforms except in the area of illegal logging.
Recommendations:
Human Rights Watch urges donors to call on the Cambodian government to implement the following measures:
Insist that the Cambodian government address the ongoing and unresolved cases of impunity. Press the Cambodian courts to prosecute those responsible for dozens of extrajudicial killings, torture and other serious abuses committed before and after the 1997 coup and in the months before and after the 1998 elections. Provide training and financial support for the development of a non-partisan and independent judiciary.
Call for the repeal of Article 51 of the Civil Servants Act, which provides that civil servants cannot be arrested or prosecuted for any crime unless their governmental department agrees in advance. This means that soldiers and police officers who commit human rights violations are effectively immune from prosecution.
Cooperate in good faith with the efforts of Thomas Hammarberg, the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Human Rights, and the Commission of Experts appointed by the United Nations, to establish as quickly as possible an independent tribunal to put members of the Khmer Rouge responsible for acts of genocide, crimes against humanity or other grave human rights violations on trial as expeditiously as possible. The Commission of Experts' report is due to be delivered to the UN in the next few weeks.
Speak up in defense of Cambodia's domestic human rights monitors, who face ongoing harassment and threats of arrest or violence for exposing abuses by the military and police, and provide funding for Cambodian non-governmental monitoring groups. Their efforts are crucial to help prevent future crimes against the Cambodian people, and to build institutions that promote accountability and the rule of law.
Call for arrest and prosecution of the murderer of an activist member from the human rights organization Adhoc in December 1998, and the immediate dismissal of the court case against two rights workers from the Cambodian human rights organization, Licadho, also in December 1998. The case against the Licadho workers clearly has no evidentiary basis and appears to be aimed at intimidating the local NGO community. This is a very worrying sign from a new government that claims to support freedom of association.
Urge the government to ensure that NGOs and associations have the legal right to continue operating through passage of legislation, created with the input of NGOs and other members of civil society, which does not create undue government restrictions or interference with the activities of NGOs and associations.
Provide funding for local human rights organizations, not only to facilitate their activities but also to demonstrate international support for the work of local NGOs, thereby providing an increased measure of safety for Cambodian human rights workers. Continue to support the work of the Cambodia Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Set specific and enforceable conditions on aid for the upcoming commune elections, currently scheduled for late 1999, before providing financial assistance, in order to ensure the elections meet international standards and do not repeat the serious errors of last year's National Assembly elections. This will help ensure more equitable access to the media, a neutral and non-partisan national election commission, an adequate number of trained international and local observers, and a less violent political campaign.
Address the growing issue of landlessness, evictions, and forced confiscation of land by military and civilian authorities. Any new Land Law should be drafted with sufficient input from members of civil society and ensure title for long-term residents and the right to communal ownership of land among indigenous groups.
