Release of US State Department 2010 Human Rights Report

Released in Phnom Penh, April 9, 2011

Human rights abuses in Cambodia

The U.S. Department of State released its 2010 Human Rights Report on Friday, April 8.   The report, required by U.S. law, examines the status of human rights in most countries and other entities during 2010 . The report describes the performance of governments in putting into practice their international commitments on human rights.  It is a widely respected human rights reporting mechanism, and has become one of the most significant tools available to the U.S. Government to help determine foreign policy strategies that promote the development of democratic systems and principles, remedy abuse and disregard for human rights, and facilitate partnering with countries to develop their capacity to address human rights concerns.

The 2010 report acknowledges passage of the Anti-Corruption Law and efforts to begin implementation, as well as the RGC’s active participation in the Universal Periodic Review its acceptance of all 91 recommendations for improvement offered by members of the UN Human Rights Council.  However, a number of problems persist.  There were more than 200 land-related complaints in 2010 and concerns continue to grow over violence used in evictions and inadequate resettlement planning.  The continued use of defamation, disinformation, and incitement charges to punish acts of expression, as in the cases of Leang Sokchhoeun and Seng Kunnaka, is disturbing.  

Uneven implementation of the 2009 Law on Peaceful Demonstration has placed constraints on freedom of assembly throughout Cambodia.  Finally, the prospective Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations threatens to further hamper the rights of Cambodians to gather and advocate for rights protected under the Cambodian constitution.

The official text of the report is available here.  Khmer-language translations of the Human Rights Report's preface and the Cambodia Country Report will be available on the U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh website no later than May 8, 2011.

The United States vigorously promotes the cause of human rights as a core component of its foreign policy.  Democracy, which is the best guarantor of human rights, is an interrelated set of freedoms and responsibilities, such as the rule of law; accountability; participation; thriving civil society; protection of minorities and women; and freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly and of worship, in addition to free and fair elections.  When we support human rights and those civil society individuals and organizations who champion their cause, we help men and women around the world shape their own destinies.