Executive Summary
2007 saw the consequence of a serious division of the FUNCINPEC party, which led to its separation into two factions (the FUNCINPEC Party and the Norodom Ranaridh Party). The ex-party chief was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine to the court. This had been preventing the prince from returning back to the country until recently. The separation has led to a serious decrease in the party’s popularity, which was observed during the last commune election (see key events).
In the 2003 election, only two parties (FUNCINPEC and Sam Rainsy) received enough votes to have seats in the National Assembly along with the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). In the coming 2008 election, it is possible that at least 3 or 4 parties (the Sam Rainsy Party, the Norodom Ranaridh Party, the FUNCINPEC Party and the Human Right Party) will split the votes that do not go to the CPP. Therefore, if the other non-CPP parties are unable to form an alliance before the election, the CPP stands to gain more than the current 73 seats in the National Assembly. This analysis is based on the highest average formula and the result of the 2007 commune election. Even if the CPP maintains the same share of votes as in the 2003 election, the CPP can gain more seats in the National Assembly because the opposition parties will be splitting the remaining votes. This result was seen in the 2007 commune election, where the CPP maintained the same share of votes (61%) as in 2002. It is therefore likely that the CPP will be able to get the same share of votes in the 2008 general election (47%) as it did in 2003.
According to the amended constitutional article on government formation, which changes the numbers required for a majority from 2/3 to 50% + 1, it is possible that the CPP will be able to form the government alone or to share little power with its coalition partner (different from the power sharing arrangement with FUNCINPEC in 2004). If this trend becomes a reality, will the space for democracy continues to be narrowed? We can notice that after the government’s coalition partner weakened and separated, the CPP, with power in hand, has already started to restrict the freedom of assembly. The question is what space will there be for democracy; especially freedom of assembly and freedom of association after the 2008 election?
The right to freedom of assembly has decreased significantly. In previous years, though there were some crackdowns on demonstrations that were aimed at criticizing the government in relation to important issues facing the country, the farmers who lost their land in land disputes were able to hold demonstrations in Phnom Penh and other provincial cities.
However, in 2007, only a few of all peaceful demonstrations over land disputes held in front of the National Assembly, in public parks or on the streets, escaped a crack down by the authorities. Unlike before, demonstrators were forced by authorities to return home. Some were transported back in the middle of the night and were banned from staying in the public park. In some instances, demonstrators were even restricted from staying temporarily in the pagodas. According to the organization Reporters Without Borders, freedom of press in Cambodia improved in 2007 (ranked 85, up from 103 in 2006). Unlike freedom of assembly, freedom of press, particularly expression through radio broadcasting, was given to all opposition parties, allowing party members to disseminate their policies and express their views; this was not allowed before. However, all TV stations and the state radio station remain under the strict control of the ruling party.
Land disputes remain a hot issue, and the pressure on the poor and vulnerable people who are often the victims of these cases is getting more and more serious. In 2006, out of 450 complaints filed with ADHOC, only 78 people were arrested, and then subsequently released. But in 2007, the number of arrested people increased to 149 while the number of complaints filed decreased to 382. At the time this report was written, 49 people were still in prison as a result of land dispute cases. This figure shows that there has been an increase in the use of court proceedings as a mean to pressure the weaker and poorer parties to accept the offered solution in exchange for their release from prison. Using a criminal offense to arrest and detain weak and poor protestors has become a tradition of some unscrupulous court officials and some people who are rich, powerful and ambitious without limitation.
Forced eviction, achieved through the destruction or burning of the shelters of poor people in the city and other urban areas, is also increasing. There were only 16 cases in 2006, but the number increased to 26 in 2007 and affected at least 5,585 families. In addition, forced evictions resulted in the deaths of 2 people and injured many. The granting of economic land concessions to private companies is still continuing without proper social and environmental impact assessments as required in the sub-decree on Economic Land Concession. The proper policy on social land concession has still not benefited the poor. According to the 2001 Land Law, the sale or purchase of ethnic minority community land is illegal because community land is considered state public land that cannot be sold. Ethnic minorities that have a legal right over the land are still unable to register the land as their own. However, the purchase and sale of those ethnic community lands still continues with acknowledgement from authorities.
In 2007, two human right workers (community representatives) were killed, something which had not occurred recently. A suspected criminal was detained in only one of these cases; however, based on our association’s investigation, we are doubtful that the suspect arrested in the one case is the actual perpetrator.
In addition to these deaths, human right workers were also threatened. Threatening phone calls, death threats and shooting threats were received. In many cases, arrest and detention or imprisonment were used to warn human right defenders to stop their activities relating to the protection of people’s rights, especially land rights of the poor. Some court and government officials said that the arrests and detentions were not directly related to land disputes, which were considered civil issues, but instead related to criminal issues that arose from land dispute cases. However, at the detention facilities, those community representatives who had complained about land issues were told they would be released on the condition that they drop the case or agree to the solution offered by the other party to the dispute.
The Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims was passed 16 months ago, but in practice, effective implementation of this law is yet to be seen. This allows domestic violence to continue. With the implementation of the new Civil Procedure Code, victims of domestic violence are now required to pay a fee of 55,000 riel to file a complaint with the court. This prohibitive fee is a major reason why many victims are unable to file complaints and to continue to live with domestic violence.
Girls under 18 years old are still the most vulnerable to rape crimes (72.2%). Most of the cases were settled by relevant authorities through mediation outside the court. In solving the problem using mediation, some authorities rely on Article 8 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This interpretation is completely different from the actual content of Article 8; and there is still no training being offered to law enforcement officials on the new law.
Though the United States of America raised the status of Cambodia back to number 2 ranking, trafficking of women and children continues at the same level and measures were employed, in most cases, only to remove victims from brothels. 14 December 2007 marked a significant improvement as the Law on Human Trafficking was passed after many years of delay.
According to a report from Oxfam, in 2007, 63.27 percent of the population in rural areas had less than half of a hectare of land or no land at all. Based on this report, many people lack land for farming, leading to regular shortages of food in many rural areas. These food shortages were also frequently reported by various media in 2007 as well as in previous years.
According to the World Bank’s report, 38 percent of doctors and 44 percent of nurses resigned from government posts to work in the private sector in 2007. This left more than 60 percent of nearly 1000 health centers throughout the country unable to fully provide health services. Last year we learned that 60 percent of health centers existed only as buildings but were not actually functioning. The number of students attending primary school decreased by 3.8 percent compared to the previous year. In remote areas such as Mondol Kiri, more than 50 percent of ethnic minority children did not have access to school. In some areas such as Sdao commune, Ratanak Mondol district, Battambang province, 50 percent of secondary and high school students dropped out of school. Financial problems in the family are a major cause of the non-enrollment and drop-out rates.
ADHOC welcomes the significant legislative developments that took place during 2007.
In particular, the entry into force of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code indicate a commitment to law reform on the part of the Government. Unfortunately, however, progress has been limited with respect to the other key laws fundamental to establishing a sound framework for a more effective legal and judicial system. Furthermore, while ADHOC recognises the value and importance of the new Criminal Procedure Code and Civil Procedure Code, it has concerns with respect to certain aspects of those Codes, which have negative implications for human rights in Cambodia. In particular,
ADHOC notes the increased time limit for pre-trial detention, the requirement that three judges hear each felony case, the lack of a time frame for appeals, and the increased cost of filing a civil complaint.
ADHOC has observed that obstacles to implementation of the laws in Cambodia continue to contribute to a lack of judicial independence and access to justice. In this regard, ADHOC notes the comments of the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for Human Rights in Cambodia and the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, who called upon the Cambodian authorities in 2007 to ensure that Cambodian law and international human rights law are respected so that the independence of the judiciary can be ensured.
Political influence and corruption within the judiciary continue to lead to a critical lack of independence, impartiality and application of the rule of law within the Cambodian judicial system. The vast majority of Cambodians continue to face a range of obstacles to accessing the justice system. In particular, ADHOC is concerned at the lack of high quality legal representation for defendants, the high cost of filing complaints under the new Civil Procedure Code, and the pressure exerted on people to accept out-of-court settlements.
With respect to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), difficulties associated with the adoption of the Internal Rules which began in 2006 continued into 2007. One dominating issue was the position of the Bar Association, who wished to place conditions on the participation of international lawyers. These conditions were seen as unacceptable by the international judges of the ECCC and by civil society. These difficulties were finally overcome, with the Bar Association agreeing to a lower fee for registration and participation. On 12 June 2007 the Internal Rules of the ECCC were adopted, thus allowing the work of the ECCC to begin.
Since the adoption of the Internal Rules, concrete actions such as the arrest and detention of four Khmer Rouge top leaders, and the transfer to the ECCC of Kaing Guek Eav (alias Duch), former director of the S-21 prison, demonstrate that progress is being made. We can expect that the process will be conducted fairly and in accordance with international standards.
Budget issues continue to plague the ECCC, with nearly two times the initial budget now required for continuation. This issue may, however, be resolved following a request by the Cambodian government for additional funding and by a potential donation from the United States government, who has been encouraged by the recent progress. Funding must also be found to ensure that the rights of victims found in the Internal Rules are translated from theory into reality.
The process has been confronted with many obstacles; however, these have been resolved and the work of the court is going forward. We hope that the new difficulties that are currently being confronted by the court will be resolved in the same way in order to allow for this exceptionally important process to continue.
