At FORUM-ASIA, we employ a range of strategies to effectively achieve our goals and create a lasting impact.

Through a diverse array of approaches, FORUM-ASIA is dedicated to achieving our objectives and leaving a lasting imprint on human rights advocacy.

Who we work with

Our interventions are meticulously crafted and ready to enact tangible change, addressing pressing issues and empowering communities.

Each statements, letters, and publications are meticulously tailored, poised to transform challenges into opportunities, and to empower communities towards sustainable progress.

Multimedia Stories
publications

With a firm commitment to turning ideas into action, FORUM-ASIA strives to create lasting change that leaves a positive legacy for future generations.

Explore our dedicated sub-sites to witness firsthand how FORUM-ASIA turns ideas into action, striving to create a legacy of lasting positive change for future generations.

Subscribe our monthly e-newsletter

Cambodia: Joint Letter to the Prime Minister Hun Sen – Release All Detainees and Lift the Ban on All Public Gatherings

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

February 10, 2014

His Excellency Prime Minister Hun Sen

Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia

Cabinet of the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers

Phnom Penh

Kingdom of Cambodia

E-mail: [email protected]h

 

Dear Prime Minister Hun Sen:

We the undersigned are deeply concerned by the continued detention of 21 of 23 people arrested during and after a violent crackdown by state security forces against striking garment workers and other protesters in Phnom Penh on January 2 and 3, 2014.

We are also extremely concerned that Cambodian authorities have yet to lift the general ban imposed against public gatherings in violation of the rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and association under international human rights law and the Constitution of Cambodia.

We urge you to take the following measures to comply with the government’s human rights obligations:

1.      Immediately and unconditionally release all detainees arrested in connection with recent demonstrations and civil unrest who are being held solely on account of their exercise of basic human rights, including the rights to peaceful assembly, expression and association;

2.   Immediately and unconditionally drop all cases against persons who are being investigated in connection with the protests solely on account of their exercise of basic human rights, including the rights to peaceful assembly, expression and association;

3.   Immediately investigate and take appropriate legal action against companies that have fired or otherwise punished workers and union members in retaliation for their exercise of basic human rights, including rights related to union activities;

4.   Grant temporary release, in accordance with international law, to any remaining detainees held in connection with the January protests, and ensure lawyers have free and full access to the case files of their clients who have been charged with a criminal offense;

5.   Ensure that anyone charged in connection with the January protests receives a prompt, fair and public trial before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal, free from government interference in the trial process;

6.   Immediately lift the ban on all public gatherings, and ensure the rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression;

7.   Promptly revise all laws, decrees, sub-decrees and decisions containing provisions that restrict the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression, including rights related to union activities, to bring them into accordance with international human rights law and best practices; and

8.   Ensure that anyone responsible for excessive use of force during the protests, especially those responsible for causing death or injury through such use of force, including those with liability arising from command authority, is appropriately disciplined or criminally prosecuted.

We appreciate your attention to these matters of grave and ongoing concern.

 

Sincerely yours,

Brad Adams, Asia Director, Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Scott Nova, Executive Director, Worker Rights Consortium (WRC)

Lynda Yanz, Executive Director, Maquila Solidarity Network (MSN)

Anne Dekker, Urgent Appeals Coordinator , Clean Clothes Campaign International Secretariat (CCC)

Fahmi Panimberg, Programme Coordinator, Asia Monitor Resource Centre (AMRC)

Judy Gearhart, Executive Director, International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF)

Estela Ramirez, Global Chair, Union League for Brand Responsibility

Karim Lahidji, President, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Isabelle Arradon, Asia-Pacific Deputy Director, Amnesty International – International Secretariat

Brittis Edman, Southeast Asia Director, Civil Rights Defenders

Sue Gunawardena-Vaughn, Ph. D., Director, Southeast Asia, Freedom House

Evelyn Balais-Serrano, Executive Director, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

Download the Joint Letter (PDF)