Human and Land Rights

ADHOC calls for Mid-Term Election to Solve Political Crisis

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

Phnom Penh, 20 December 2013 – The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) urges Cambodia’s two main political parties to resume dialogue and embrace an attitude of compromise for the sake of peace and stability in the country. Cambodia has been in a state of political deadlock since the 28 July 2013 elections to the National Assembly. ADHOC welcomes the commitment to peace so far expressed by both parties, as demonstrated not only in words but in the relative lack of political violence in the election and post-election period as compared to previous elections in the country.

ADHOC proposes both sides agree to a mid-term election that can provide a meaningful, lasting, democratic and most importantly peaceful solution to the current stalemate. Few countries have endured the level of political violence as Cambodia and both parties have a duty to ensure they act responsibly so that the country is not again scarred by conflict. ADHOC believes there is significant common ground between the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP). This common ground, as outlined below, can and should form the basis for an agreement to hold a mid-term election within a time-frame that is satisfactory to both parties and their supporters.

Since the July election the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) has repeatedly taken to the streets to protest what it perceives as widespread fraud and electoral irregularities. It is now threatening to block major highways. The CNRP has called for major reforms to the National Election Committee (NEC), which it claims is heavily bias toward the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). CNRP leader Mr. Sam Rainsy and his party argue that they won at least 63 seats in the election, and would have won more had the election been free and fair. The CNRP has put forward three solutions to Cambodia’s deadlock. The first of these is an electoral investigation; the second option is fresh elections and the third and final option is that Prime Minister Hun Sen resigns.

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ADHOC Statement: SUPREME COURT MUST FREE YORM BOPHA

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) has been paying close attention to the case of land and housing rights activist Mrs. Yorm Bopha, who was arrested by the Phnom Penh Municipal Police on 04 September 2012. The Municipal Court sentenced her to 3 years in prison on 26 December 2012 under Article 218 of the Cambodian Criminal Code: “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances” and ordered her to pay 30 000 000 riels (7500$) in compensation. Her husband, Mr. Lous Sakhorn was sentenced under the same provision but released on bail.
The Appeal Court heard the appeal of Yorm Bopha over two days on 05 and 14 June 2013. The court rejected her appeal but suspended one year of her sentence.

ADHOC calls on the Supreme Court to drop all charges against Yorm Bopha and release her immediately.

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AI Statement: Cambodia: Global call to release Yorm Bopha ahead of Supreme Court appeal

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

Cambodia must free housing rights activist Yorm Bopha, Amnesty International said as it launched a worldwide campaign for her release just days before the country’s Supreme Court hears her final appeal on 22 November.

“Yorm Bopha is a prisoner of conscience who is behind bars purely because of her human rights activism. She must be freed immediately and unconditionally,” said Isabelle Arradon, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.

“Thousands of our members and supporters around the world are taking action on Yorm Bopha’s behalf, calling on the Cambodian authorities to finally set her free.”

A 30-year old mother of one, Yorm Bopha has been locked up since her arrest in September 2012 on accusations of planning an assault on two men. She was convicted in December last year for “intentional violence with aggravating circumstances,” despite no evidence against her and inconsistent witness testimonies.

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Statement: CHRAC Demands Investigation into Violent Crackdown Against SL-Garment Factory Workers.

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

Phnom Penh, 12 November 2013 – The Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee (CHRAC) – a coalition of 21 NGOs working in the field of the promotion Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law in the Kingdom of Cambodia– deplores the excessive use of force by the authorities this morning at a demonstration by workers from the Singaporean owned SL-Garment factory – which makes clothes for clothing giants Gap and H&M. Tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and live rounds were fired to disperse the workers, after demonstrators and police threw rocks at each other in Stung Meanchey District, Phnom Penh. Mrs. Em Sokorm, 49, a local rice vendor was shot dead around 9:30am. Numerous others were injured and early reports to the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) suggest that at least 27 people have been arrested, including monks and youths living at the Stung Meanchey Pagoda.

Statement: CHRAC Demands Investigation into Violent Crackdown Against SL-Garment Factory Workers. Read More

Boeung Kak Lake Protesters Demonstrate Outside Prime Minister Hun Sen’s House

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

At 8 am on the morning of April 22, 2013, around 80 former Boeung Kak Lake residents staged a protest in front of the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) headquarters in Phnom Penh. They were requesting that the party president, H.E. Chea Sim, help them solve their longstanding land conflict with Shukaku Inc., a politically connected company that has begun work on a multi-million dollar development where their homes once stood. The former residents have been given inadequate compensation and have been repeatedly harassed and intimidated by the authorities. They were also demanding the release of Yorm Bopha, a former Boeung Kak resident and prominent activist jailed in December 2012 on charges widely perceived as baseless. There is very thin evidence connecting her with the crime she is purported to have committed and her sentence is likely related to her advocacy work.

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REPORT: A Turning Point? Land, Housing and Natural Resources Rights in Cambodia in 2012

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

Whereas 2011 had seen a sharp increase in the number of Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) granted by the Royal Government of Cambodia to private companies, in 2012 conflicts became more acute and protests multiplied. The government showed that it had understood the seriousness of the situation by taking initiatives aimed at resolving land disputes, addressing some of the issues related to ELCs and granting thousands of land titles to rural families.

However, some of the most pressing concerns about the overall pressure on land, landlessness, land tenure insecurity, lack of law enforcement, power abuses, and encroachment on livelihoods and natural resources remained unaddressed. […]

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Remembering Dey Krahorm: Three Years after their Forced Eviction, Former Residents Petition the National Assembly to Make Cambodia an Eviction and Land-Grab Free Zone

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

On 08th October 2012, past residents of the Dey Krahorm community in central Phnom Penh gathered at the site of their former homes to petition the National Assembly to put an end to pervasive land-grabbing and forced evictions across Cambodia. The residents of Dey Krahorm were forcibly evicted and the community razed on 29 January 2009, when armed police, military police and demolition workers came at night to tear down houses and move people off their land. In many cases residents did not have time to move their possessions outside of their houses before they were pulled down by the demolition teams.

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Two Persons Accused of Killing Hang Serei Odom Detained in Rattanakiri Province

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

On Saturday, 15th September 2012, the Rattanakiri province police detained two suspects—one is a military police officer named Ean Bunheng, alias Eng, and the other is his spouse, Sim Vy—at the provincial police headquarters. They have not been sent to the Prosecutor’s office at Rattanakiri Provincial Court yet. What is more, the provincial police prolonged their detention (by 24 hours) in order to conduct more investigation. The victim’s family, the journalists’ community, as well as human rights NGOs, are closely monitoring the handling of the case by the authorities and express grave concerns about this killing.

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Killing of a Journalist in Rattanakiri Province

- by ADHOC- Cambodia

On 11 September 2012, ADHOC’s office in Rattanakiri province received reliable information from Mr. Joun Phin Dara according to which a reporter working with the local newspaper Virakchun Khmer, Mr. Hang Serei Oddom, had disappeared.
ADHOC staff immediately started investigating and sought intervention with Mr. Em Vunn, head of Banlung police, to find out about the reporter’s whereabouts. At 12pm, the authorities located Hang Serei Oddom’s car at Savay Channty garden, Touy village, Ja Ong commune, Orchum district, about 3 kilometers away from town. Hang Serei Oddom was found dead in the trunk.

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