Cambodia dismisses UN human rights report

10-08-2023

Lone de Chene

South East and Pacific Researcher,

Global Human Rights Defence.

Followed by an August 1 meeting, the Cambodian government has dismissed a recent UN human rights report as biased. The draft report was titled “Roles and Achievements of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Assisting the Cambodian Government and People in Improving and Protecting Human Rights” and was reviewed by delegates from various relevant ministries and institutions of the Cambodian government at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

The main concern of the delegates was that the report relied too much on information from civil society organisations (CSO) in preparing their report. Causing it to emphasise the negative aspects of the situation, which do not truly reflect the human rights landscape in Cambodia, according to Chin Malin, secretary of state of the Ministry of Justice. “Our response was to demonstrate the effort of the government, the progress of the human right situations and challenges we need to address. We had also interpreted some matters that were different from the facts. They tended to conclude that legal action against political activities had violated human rights, but this was purely law enforcement,” he said.

The government's denial of the UN report is not atypical. According to Am Sam Ath, deputy director of rights group LICADHO, Cambodia has a habit of dismissing reports that cast the country in a negative light. Ath encouraged the government to thoroughly review the UN report and accept recommendations to improve and uphold the human rights situation in Cambodia. 

Sources and further readings: 

Chandara, S. (2023). Cambodia dismisses human rights report. (n.d.). Phnom Penh Post. https://m.phnompenhpost.com/national/cambodia-dismisses-human-rights-report