COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONSIDERS REPORT OF CAMBODIA

The Committee against Torture has considered the combined fourth to sixth periodic report of Cambodia on the efforts of that country to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Introducing the report, Sun Suon, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, noted that the adoption of new legislation such as the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code had had a great impact on the conduct relevant to the provisions of the Convention against Torture. Despite the fact that there was no detailed definition of torture in the Penal Code, Cambodia was bound by the definition of the Convention, which was consistent with Article 31 of the constitution of Cambodia which stipulated that the State recognized and respected human rights as laid out in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenants and Conventions related to human rights, women’s rights and children’s rights.

Mr. Suon said that Cambodian law referred to the term “torture” in a general context as any acts causing injury to an individual and defined torture as a criminal offence. The Penal Code imposed punishments for the crime of torture, inciting torture, or approval or acquiescence thereof by any person acting in an official capacity. The new Procedure Code introduced new procedures and guidelines for the Judicial Police when they interrogated people and investigated crimes of torture. It also offered guidelines for prosecutors dealing with criminal cases.

Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, Committee member Felice Gaer raised a number of issues including the importance of having a definition of torture in domestic legislation because only in this way could perpetrators be brought to justice and statistics be gathered on the practice. Ms. Gaer also raised concerns regarding impunity and what was being done to combat this and what mechanisms existed for people to file complaints and to have access to justice. Ms. Gaer also asked about the rights and status of asylum seekers, particularly unaccompanied minors who were refugees.

Nora Sveaass, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, asked for further details about human rights training and whether it included information on torture and ill-treatment. She also wanted to know whether this training was offered not only to law enforcement officials, but also to social workers and medical personnel. Ms. Sveaass also asked the delegation to provide further information on how many cases of compensation for torture victims had been decided by courts as well as additional information on trafficking in children.

Other Committee members asked about the murder of trade unionists, high rates of domestic violence in the country, sexual violence against female detainees, safeguards for the protection of human rights in combating terrorism, and the use of coerced confessions in trials.

The Cambodian delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veteran and Youth Rehabilitation, the National Preventive Mechanism and the Permanent Mission of Cambodia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Cambodia is among the 147 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.

The next public meeting of the Committee will be held on Friday, 12 November at 3 p.m. when it will discuss follow-up to articles 19 and 22 of the Convention concerning country reports and individual communications.

Report of Cambodia

The second periodic report of Cambodia (CAT/C/KHM/2), notes that neither the Penal Procedure Code nor the draft Penal Code have defined the term “torture”, since the Kingdom of Cambodia has recognized and abides by the principles of international conventions as set out in article 31 of the Constitution. Furthermore, the criminal laws of the Kingdom of Cambodia recognize, and are implemented in compliance with the basic principles of international law, which the Kingdom of Cambodia has ratified as set in article 9 of the draft Criminal Code. The Kingdom of Cambodia has included torture as a criminal offence in the draft Penal Code, in order to prosecute those who commit torture and cruel acts. The penalty is a minimum seven years and a maximum 30 years imprisonment based on the situation, circumstances, and the nature of the offences. The new draft Penal Code has already been submitted to the National Assembly and will be adopted and promulgated in the near future.

As stated above, the existing criminal laws being implemented have not yet specifically identified an act of torture as an offence, so there are no statistics on prosecution or conviction of specific torture cases. Competent authorities such as the judicial police, the prosecutor and the judge have not clearly defined the act of torture as a form of felony or misdemeanor. The draft Penal Code does contain a specific offence of torture and ill-treatment.

Training on human rights for law enforcement officials and other civil servants in the Kingdom of Cambodia has been carried out on a continuous basis through the inclusion of laws on human rights into the curriculum of secondary education, tertiary education and other vocational training schools.

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia states that a confession which is obtained by physical or mental force shall not be regarded as an evidence of guilt. According to the said statement, all investigators in Cambodia, both in the police force as well as in judicial institutions, have been trained on the techniques of investigation which do not use any form of violence or force.

On 19 January 2007, Cambodia passed a national law to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Under the Optional Protocol, the Government of Cambodia established a national preventive mechanism to ensure the respect for the basic rights of those people whose freedom has been deprived, which is to deal with all acts of torture, cruelty, inhumanity, and degrading treatment. This mechanism functions independently, performing its duties without receiving any pressure or recommendations from any authorities. Its duties include that of inspecting all detention centres across the country.

Presentation of Report

SUN SUON, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that Cambodia was a country known for its traditional and rich cultural heritage, but it had also emerged from its recent past of tragic history. This history was marked by the painful experiences of torture, execution, starvation, and other kinds of ill treatment during the Khmer Rouge regime. It has been a long journey for the country to recover from this legacy. In this context, the assessment of Cambodia’s human rights should take into account the past situation.

Mr. Suon went on to say that Cambodia had achieved remarkable progress in many areas toward the development process including in the fields of political, economic, social and cultural rights along with advances in democratization in the post-conflict period. In recent years the economy had grown an average of 10 per cent per year, attributable in large part to political stability and security. According to a recent study conducted by the Overseas Development Institute and the UN Millennium Campaign, Cambodia was listed among 20 countries making the most absolute progress on Millennium Development Goals and it was on track to meeting the goal of halving poverty by 2015.

Since June 2009 important steps had also been taken to strengthen the country’s legal and institutional framework that would have an impact on human rights, including on the fight against torture and all other kinds of ill treatment, by the adoption of important laws such as the Penal Code and Penal Procedure Code and the Anti-Corruption law. New laws concerning correctional law, juvenile justice and a national human rights institution were also in the process of being drafted. The development of an enhanced national mechanism for the prevention of torture was also underway. Cambodia was also involved in bilateral, regional and global partnerships to combat human trafficking, including the enforcement of the law on the suspension of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

The adoption of new legislation such as the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code had had a great impact on the conduct relevant to the provisions of the Convention against Torture. Despite the fact that there was no detailed definition of torture in the Penal Code, Cambodia was bound by the definition of the Convention, which was consistent with Article 31 of the constitution of Cambodia which stipulated that the State recognized and respected human rights as laid out in the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenants and Conventions related to human rights, women’s rights and children’s rights.

Cambodia referred to the term “torture” in a general context as any acts causing injury to an individual and defined torture as a criminal offence. The Penal Code imposed punishments for the crime of torture, inciting torture, or approval or acquiescence thereof by any person acting in an official capacity. The new procedure code introduced new procedures and guidelines for the Judicial Police when they interrogated people and investigated crimes of torture. It also offered guidelines for prosecutors dealing with criminal cases.

Mr. Suon said that the Government had also taken steps and measures to enhance the capacity of the corrections system in Cambodia. A regulation regarding prisoners’ rations and cell equipment was revised with the goal of improving the living conditions. This resulted in a doubling of the daily food allocation per detainee, along with additional funds allocated to the corrections system. It was also decided in early 2010 that healthcare in prisons would fall to the Ministry of Health and prison dispensaries were supported by the relevant public health structures in terms of medical supplies and training for medical staff.

Mr. Suon informed the Committee that capacity building and the reform process remained top priorities for the Government of Cambodia, especially in the area of the judiciary. To raise public awareness of rights enjoyed under the Convention and other international instruments, human rights had begun to be integrated into the curriculum of public high schools and all professional schools in the country. The Ministry of Justice had conducted training courses for law enforcement officials, including judges, prosecutors and judicial police in six separate regions throughout the country. The Royal Academy for Judicial Professions had also conducted on-going training courses for judges and prosecutors. The Royal Academy for the National Police had also conducted training courses on the new Penal Procedure Code for police officials at all levels.

In closing, Mr. Suon said that Cambodia continued to take measures both in the legislative and institutional framework to effectively deliver on its commitments with respect to the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. For these purposes, the Council of Legal and Judicial Reform had set seven strategic priorities in order to ensure the goals set in the areas of reform were met. The delegation of Cambodia appreciated all support and assistance extended by the international community in this regard and Mr. Suon said they believed that through partnerships and constructive cooperation, further progress would be made by the Government in addressing the continued challenges in preventing and eradicating the scourge of torture and other ill treatments.

Questions Raised by Committee Experts

FELICE GAER, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, congratulated Cambodia on the ratification of the Optional Protocol and its welcoming of the Sub-Committee on Torture to the country for a visit. Ms. Gaer said that according to a non-governmental organization report the contents of the Convention were not widely known by judges, prosecutors and other legal officials and that no international treaty had ever been invoked in a case in a Cambodian court. Ms. Gaer asked for information on what had been done to make people aware of the provisions of the Convention.

The Rapporteur went on to note that since there was no definition of torture and it was not defined as a crime there were no statistics on its use. The revisions to the Penal Code in 2009 were supposed to change this. Could the delegation please elaborate on this and what changes, if any, had occurred since the Penal Code was revised? Ms. Gaer asked the delegation if it was possible to invoke exceptional circumstances to justify the use of torture.

Regarding the independence of the judiciary, the delegation was asked to comment on reports that the oversight body for the judiciary had been dissolved. There were also reports that threats from the rich and powerful often dictated the outcome of cases. In light of widespread corruption in such matters, how was the independence of the judiciary guaranteed and how did the State prevent the rich and powerful from exerting undue influence on these judges? Was it also true that a member of the parliament was stripped of her immunity and charged with defamation after filing complaints and her lawyer withdrew from the case after an ethics investigation was opened against her. Could the delegation comment on that as well as the fact that there were only 9 public defenders in the country?

Turning to impunity, Ms. Gaer quoted from a joint non-governmental organization report that stated that lack of training in terms of investigation techniques and other areas often resulted in investigations not being carried out at all and routine torture and ill treatment of suspects. This also included coercive methods used by the police to get a confession. The impunity of these people who used coercion to get confessions was a real challenge to the rule of law; systemic impunity stifled accountability, according to a report from the Special Rapporteur on Cambodia. What efforts were being made to train police in modern forensic methods and evidence gathering? How many law enforcement personnel had been convicted of assault or other abuse or ill-treatment in the last five years? Also, how long were their sentences when they were tried and convicted? There were also reports that even when a confession was the sole evidence and it was retracted and there was contradictory evidence it was still used in a trial. How were police compensated and were they given incentives that led them to force confessions? How would the Government keep accountable those who had committed torture in the past?

There were also reports that people who filed complaints were pressured to drop the charges or conclude informal settlements with perpetrators. How was the judiciary encouraged to investigate these cases?

Did the State party have any information on sexual and gender based violence and how many of these cases were reported and conviction rates for such crimes?

In terms of the anti-corruption law that was passed, how many investigations had been opened, how many cases had been brought and how many convictions had there been? How were members appointed to the anti-corruption unit and did they have any independent powers to investigate police forces, prisons, or the judiciary?

Ms. Gaer also asked about several deaths of detainees that occurred while they were in police custody. The Criminal Code of Procedure also did not specify a timeframe in which family members had to be notified when someone was detained. When could an individual demand to see a doctor and who made that determination, and what happened if someone was detained more than 72 hours? Were these people charged with something, were they able to contact a relative and were they able to have an examination by a doctor?

The State seemed to lack a mechanism for receiving complaints and to the extent that such mechanisms did exist, they were plagued by corruption and people feared reprisals so they did not file allegations of torture or abuse. What was being done to inform people of their rights to file complaints, to provide protection to such people and to perform thorough and independent investigations into such allegations?

Ms. Gaer then went on to ask about asylum seekers and their treatment in the country. There were reports that asylum seekers from Viet Nam were returned to their country of origin by force in 2005. What information could be provided on this case? Was there a legal framework to deal with unaccompanied refugee children and what protections were afforded them? What safeguards were in place to prevent the deportation of asylum seekers who may be subject to torture upon return to their country of origin?

NORA SVEAASS, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, wanted to know if human rights training included torture and ill treatment and how to identify it and deal with it. Was this training also provided to medical personnel? Could the delegation provide more information on the training of police, social workers, prison guards and healthcare workers and whether information on human rights was included in the ethics codes of these professionals? What was the situation of whistleblowers who reported unethical or illegal conduct?

Regarding redress for victims of torture, the Co-Rapporteur asked about cases in which compensation had been given to victims including rehabilitation. How many claims or requests for compensation had actually been filed and how many had been turned down by the judge?

As to Article 14 in relation to extraordinary chambers, Ms. Sveaass said there were reports that the courts only considered moral compensation as redress for victims. This represented a very limited way of understanding compensation, rehabilitation and redress. What about material compensation?

Turning to prisons, overcrowding had been mentioned in various reports and it was reported that the occupancy level was between 150 to 175 per cent and this was growing steadily. Being confined to such small spaces in overcrowded prisons bordered on ill-treatment. The quantity and quality of food rations had been improved, but was there a system in place to monitor this? Was there ongoing contact between the Ministry of Health and the prisons for systematic monitoring of healthcare in prisons? What was the minimum legal age of criminal responsibility? The juvenile system of justice had not been spelled out very clearly and there were reports that juveniles held in some places of detention were rarely let out of their cells and rarely saw their families.

Trafficking in children and sexual exploitation had often been referred to as problems in the country. What was being done to combat this issue and were children being penalized as criminals whereas the adults who perpetrated the crimes were not? What was happening in the rehabilitation centres where victims of trafficking were taken? What sorts of services did they receive and what access did they have to mental and physical healthcare? Had children been abused at these facilities and if so what was being done to punish perpetrators? Also, who was responsible for the oversight of these centres?

Ms. Sveaass then turned to sexual violence which had been characterized as total impunity with women having limited access to justice and health services. How could women file complaints and get the help they needed without paying. What oversight mechanisms were in place for protecting mentally disabled persons from being institutionalized against their will?

Other Committee Experts asked if there had been any cases in which confessions had been set aside because they had been obtained under duress. The State party was asked to comment on the allegations of sexual violence against female detainees. What safeguards were in place to protect human rights in efforts to combat terrorism? There was a high decree of domestic violence in the country, how was this being addressed? In terms of the protection of children, were children born in that country of non-Cambodian parents given citizenship there to prevent them from becoming stateless? Social affairs centres had been called secret places of detention with no judicial oversight; how were these centres monitored?

Further concerns raised by Experts included protections for asylum seekers and the assassination of trade unionists. A Committee Expert pointed out that any national preventive mechanism needed to take into account the country’s history and it could not be preoccupied solely with preventing abuses in the future, but also with reconciling the country’s past. Another Expert asked how often prisons, police stations and other places of detention were visited and whether these visits were unannounced. The delegation was also asked about the practice of pre-trial detention, which could be quite lengthy due to the fact that there was only one appeals court in the country as well as other factors. Why did people who had been acquitted have to remain in detention pending appeals?

Additional questions concerned legal aid attorneys and how many were available to people who needed them as well as reported harassment and intimidation of lawyers in the country. The delegation was also asked how many calories a day prisoners were allotted now that the rations had been doubled, especially considering that some prisoners were being used to build new prisons. Was there a process for the removal of judges? In terms of determining compensation for victims of torture, how was this decided? What factors were taken into consideration? A Committee member noted that marital rape was criminalized in the Penal Code, but had any cases been brought under this law? In light of this progressive legislation, what was the gender makeup of courts and the legal justice system overall?

Response of Delegation

In responding to the many questions and issues raised by Committee members, the delegation of Cambodia began by addressing questions related to prison reform. The delegation said that it acknowledged that this was a problem in the country and it thanked the Committee for the attention it had paid to this issue. A survey carried out showed that prison management was much improved and better than it was before and with the help of many stakeholders the State was working to make conditions even better. There were some financial constraints in carrying out the desired changes, however the conditions for prisoners had been improved and the Cambodian authorities were doing as much as they could. For example, the Government had plans to build new prisons in some provinces and the State was also paying close attention to prison overcrowding as it realized this was a threat to prisoner health. Some prisons had been enlarged to provide more space for prisoners.

The delegation said that the State also needed to provide visits by medical personnel to all provincial prisons and jails and it also acknowledged that corruption was an issue that needed to be addressed as well according to international standards and internal rules and regulations. Committee members had also raised the issue of the lack of sanitary conditions in prisons, for example a lack of clean water, and the delegation said they were looking into this as well as it affected the right to life. Requests had been submitted to the Ministry of the Interior to equip all prisons with clean water. Prisoners were also entitled to training programmes as well as access to exercise and recreational activities.

Regarding asylum seekers, the delegation said that Cambodia had agreements with Viet Nam as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees regarding refugees from Viet Nam. Cambodia was a crossroads country and as such it did not work alone, but rather in cooperation with other countries and the United Nations to address these issues and to provide transparency. Immigration law had to be applied of course, but it needed to be done in a consistent manner and the country was working on implementing a more consistent application of these laws. Cambodia fully understood the needs of refugees as more than a million of its citizens had fled during the Pol Pot regime so the State understood the issues and the needs in this area, but the delegation also asked that the situation of refugees in Cambodia be considered in light of the country’s history as well as its current situation.

The delegation said it still had no details on the definition of torture and it realized this was a gap in the law, but that did not mean that the country did not deal with the issue as the constitution said that the country was bound by the provisions in international law so torture did not go unpunished in Cambodia.

Child labour had been eliminated in the garment industry, according to the delegation and the State was working on eliminating child labour in the shipping industry as well as the informal sector by offering free primary and secondary education. Cambodia had already submitted its report for the Committee on the Rights of the Child and would present this report next year. Domestic legislation had also been amended to bring Cambodia into compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and an inter-ministerial working group had been created to oversee the rights of the child and the draft law on juvenile justice and other policies and laws concerning children and adolescents.

The delegation said that after the Pol Pot regime there were only seven lawyers left in the country and so their ranks had to be built as part of the country’s reconstruction and now there were more than 600 lawyers enrolled in the bar association. There were 10 female judges and prosecutors in the country.

On the issue of anti-corruption measures, the delegation told the Committee that the anti-corruption law was promulgated on 17 April 2010 and entered into force immediately. This law required the establishment of the National Council against Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Unit. The Anti-Corruption Unit was an independent body and had a zero tolerance policy toward corruption. There was no single solution to ending corruption, and with this in mind the country was tackling the problem with a three-pronged approach that included public education, prevention, and law enforcement.

The delegation said that the definition of torture was not included in the Criminal Code because it was in the Convention on Torture and therefore was directly applicable in Cambodia. Torture was prohibited and punishable by law. Judges and prosecutors were aware of this Convention through both published documents and trainings. The Government was aware that there was a need to accelerate the adoption of laws to ensure the independence of the judicial system. Although there was no data on torture cases in the last five years, the delegation believed that there had been court cases handled considering this although it agreed that this was a shortcoming in the system and that a database needed to be formed to keep track of torture cases. A complaint mechanism did exist in the system and those who suffered torture at the hands of law enforcement officials could lodge complaints with the Ministry of the Interior. There were administrative punishments under which officers could be removed from their positions or criminal proceedings could be brought and officers could stand trial and be sentenced to prison if they were found guilty.

The Government provided some financial support for legal aid services, according to the delegation. The protection of human rights was key in maintaining a peaceful, stabile and safe society and to prevent repeating the acts of the past. The Government recognized the importance of setting up a support scheme for the victims of torture. There were currently some hospitals that offered medical and psychological services, but the State wanted to expand and improve these services. This would be difficult because the country was a poor one and poverty in the country had to be addressed as well. The delegation noted that the country received approximately $1 billion a year in foreign aid, much of which was spent on infrastructure in the country.

The delegation then turned to developments regarding the national protective mechanism in Cambodia. Since its inception the national protective mechanism had worked with various stakeholders, especially development partners such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ representative in Cambodia. These partners had worked mainly on capacity building as well as the enactment of a law for the establishment of the national protective mechanism in a manner that was compliant with the Optional Protocol of the Convention. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had offered financial and technical assistance and training for the purpose of purchasing equipment, but also to provide training in the areas of carrying out interviewees with detainees, preparation of questionnaires on a case by case basis, and the conducting of site visits to places of detention in order to provide justice and appropriate compensation to the victims of various forms of torture.

The delegation said that although it faced considerable budgetary constraints and lacked an experienced workforce to undertake the tasks required by the national protective mechanism, Cambodia was on track to integrate various laws from several countries to establish the national protective mechanism. At present, the laws from France, Spain and Azerbaijan were being translated into the Khmer language and once that was complete the national protective mechanism would set up a committee comprised of legal and judicial experts to compile and select appropriate acts suitable for the Cambodian context and in compliance with the Convention Against Torture.

The national protective mechanism was in talks with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up a hotline and other methods for people to lodge complaints with the body. The current national protective mechanism mandate did not specify anything about visits to places of detention, but they were empowered to do so to assess the administrative structure and physical infrastructure of prisons. The national protective mechanism was also empowered to receive information and complaints, interview detainees about their conditions and treatment, make recommendations, make reports and observations about existing and draft legislation, and work with the Sub-Committee of the Committee against Torture.

The delegation said that Cambodia was a transit country and as a result human trafficking was an issue for the nation. People were often lured from Cambodia to Thailand and then on to Malaysia with the promise of lucrative work. Vietnamese people were trafficked to Cambodia for sexual exploitation and Cambodian children were often trafficked out of the country for the purposes of begging. There were 745 Cambodian nationals who were victims of forced labour and they were repatriated back to the country. Other examples included 4 Vietnamese women who were victims of sexual exploitation and were sent back to Viet Nam and 18 Cambodian men who were repatriated from Malaysia where they had been subjected to forced labour in the fishing industry. Cambodia was working with Viet Nam to develop a standard operating procedure and criteria to identify trafficking victims as well as criteria for receiving information, taking action, and the verification, return and reception of victims. The rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking should include counsellors, social workers and other service providers to help with their reintegration into the community. There were also shelters in which people could undergo rehabilitation if they did not have a family or a community they could return to while they received this care.

In 2005 the National Committee on Street People was established to prevent migration by providing training and reintegration services to street children. There were also social affairs centres in the country which provided recovery services, vocational training and reintegration services to these children. In September 2010 with the help of the United Nations Children's Fund and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Cambodia began a programme to recruit international and national consultants for the assessment of these service centres and how they provided services to women, children and other vulnerable groups. Reforms in juvenile justice were also underway, including the consideration of requiring social workers to be involved in all court cases involving children.

Follow-up Questions Raised by Committee Experts

FELICE GAER, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Cambodia, said that while the State party’s cooperation with non-governmental organizations and other entities was commendable, the Committee would focus on the Government’s role in implementing the Convention and compliance with its provisions.

Ms. Gaer went on to say that the most troubling aspects raised yesterday involved corruption and lack of accountability and some of those questions remained unanswered. On the issue of asylum seekers, what had happened to people who were returned to their country? The delegation answered the question by referring to immigration law, not refugee law, and by saying that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was there so they had taken care of it. But did Cambodia not have control over determining who was a refugee and did they follow up on these people who had been returned to their countries of origin?

With regard to the anti-corruption bill, when would it come into force?

On the definition of torture, could the delegation provide the text of whatever laws currently dealt with torture? How was the Convention made applicable through the constitution in concrete terms? It was not clear how domestic law provided for the application of the Convention.

When it came to prison overcrowding, information indicated that building new prisons would not be enough to keep pace with the growth in the detainee population. What would be done about this? Had any of the prison visits that had been made been unannounced visits? Had any police officers been criminally punished for abuse or ill treatment or had they only been subject to demotion or expulsion from the police force?

Turning to judges, Ms. Gaer said they never referred to the Convention against Torture in their rulings although they were allowed, or even required, by the constitution to apply the Convention. Were there any statistics on this, as well as statistics on how many torture cases had been brought before the courts and their resolution?

Returning to the topic of prisons, how did the State party deal with non-State actors in prisons, people on self-management committees in prisons? There were reports that these committees were corrupt and charged inmates for things like access to medical care, access to outdoor recreation, access to phone calls, access to better food, access to bigger jail cells, etc. How were people appointed to these committees and how were they governed?

The delegation had said that the non-governmental organization report was not balanced and did not acknowledge improvements the Government had made. This concerned Ms. Gaer because it sounded as if it might be a warning to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to change their behaviour and this was a concern to the Committee because the presence of NGOs in a country provided a check on individuals as well as governments. Ms. Gaer asked for additional information on the status of the NGO law and she wanted assurances that this law would not be used to criminalize non-governmental organizations that criticized the Government and that human rights NGOs that engaged in valuable work to protect victims of torture were not going to be subjected to reprisals for their work in bringing these practices to public attention.

In the case of the national protective mechanism, Ms. Gaer said she was unsure of who actually made up this body. It seemed that the members were chosen from the executive body of government and how did the delegation reconcile this with the requirement under the Optional Protocol that members of national protective mechanisms be independent?

NORA SVEAASS, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, wanted to know if representatives from civil society would be included in the national protective mechanism.

The Co-Rapporteur pointed out that there had been serious allegations of abuse at asylum centres for refugees and asylum seekers and she wanted to know what had been done to investigate these allegations and punish the perpetrators if the allegations were found to be true. Also, Ms. Sveaass requested assurances that these centres were places of rehabilitation and were not used as places of unlawful detention.

Ms. Sveaass also asked for a clarification on the number of torture cases that had gone to court. It was her understanding that there had not been any, but she asked for more information about complaints, how they had been investigated and the number of sentences handed down in cases of torture and ill treatment in the case of law enforcement officials, if there were any such cases.

What measures were taken to ensure the rights of indigenous people, the protection of their lands, the provision of identification cards and other matters?

Other Committee Experts asked questions related to the protection of children, particularly whether children born in Cambodia to foreign parents were granted nationality and what protections this afforded? The delegation was also asked about efforts made to combat terrorism and what standards were in place to guide these policies. On the question of forced displacement, land was confiscated and had led to difficult situations where the human rights of the people dispelled from this land were not respected. What was being done to address this land appropriation? A Committee member also reiterated a question asked earlier about measures taken to protect trade unionists and human rights defenders.

Further concerns raised by Experts included prison overcrowding and whether Cambodia offered alternatives to imprisonment such as community service or parole or other such measures. Also, there was a wealth of information provided by non-governmental organizations that indicated that women deprived of their liberty were often the victims of sexual violence and ill-treatment. Were there any women working in the criminal justice system working with female inmates? The delegation was also asked again how judges were appointed and removed from their positions and how many judges there were total and how many were women. Had any cases been brought to trial regarding marital rape?

Response by Delegation

In response to follow-up questions posed by the Committee, the delegation said that while there were shortcomings there had been achievements and progress made. The delegation believed that civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations were very important to the work in the country and they appreciated all their work very much. The challenge was how to have a good and instructive dialogue with these groups and to not politicize their work because democracy in Cambodia was young and fragile. There were far more developed countries that were still grappling with some of the issues such as prison overcrowding, poverty, and establishing a national human rights institution, among other issues, so Cambodia was not alone and it was taking steps to implement laws and put mechanisms in place to deal with these problems.

There were many problems stemming from the country’s legacy, such as the appropriation of land, and that was why reform was necessary in so many areas. The national protective mechanism would really help the country in complying with many treaty body conventions, not just the Convention against Torture. Cambodia was also learning from the experiences of other countries. In terms of the non-governmental organization law, when there wasn’t one the Government was criticized for not having such a law and now that they had a law it was criticized as being too restrictive.

In terms of indigenous groups, the delegation said that if people had Cambodian citizenship they enjoyed all the rights under the constitution and it did not matter if they were members of indigenous groups or held dual citizenship.

In terms of child labour, the delegation said that poverty was the main cause for this problem so the State was working to combat poverty in addition to cracking down on people who employed children, particularly in the garment industry and the informal sector.

The delegation said that combating corruption was a long term process that would require public information and awareness campaigns as well as capacity building and an increase in human and financial resources.

In conclusion, the delegation said that one had to know the reality of the country first to understand the challenges and achievements, but nonetheless the delegation appreciated the points made by the Committee.

Concluding Remarks

CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, Committee Chairperson, said this was a continuous dialogue and the Committee appreciated the seriousness of the delegation’s responses. The delegation could submit additional information in writing. Mr. Grossman thanked the delegation for its presence and engagement and wished them safe travels.

SUN SUON, Permanent Representative of Cambodia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said he apologized that the delegation could not answer all the questions, but thanked the Committee members for their contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights in Cambodia and their recommendations would be taken into consideration and followed up.


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