Nearly a hundred Southeast Asian human rights defenders came together for the 1st Southeast Asia Human Rights Defenders Forum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 14-18 November. Two major themes that emerged from the week-long event were natural resource management and the lack of fundamental freedoms such as those of assembly, association, movement, expression and access to information. Participants also discussed the role of the UN in supporting human rights defenders, with particular interest in the roles of UN Special Representatives, country offices and mechanisms in place to protect human rights defenders.Human rights defenders from across Southeast Asia have expressed solidarity with Cambodian activists and called for increased support for the important work done by grassroots advocates and civil society.

The comments were made during the 1st Southeast Asia Human Rights Defenders Forum, which was held 14-18 November in Phnom Penh. Thirty-three regional activists joined more than 50 Cambodian human rights defenders for the event, which was organized by FORUM-ASIA and LICADHO, in cooperation with ADHOC.

Delegates came from Aceh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, with a guest representative from Nepal.

“As human rights defenders we need to have good networks and learn from each other,” said Htoo Chit, director of Grassroots Human Rights Education, Burma. “The human rights defenders in Cambodia are raising issues which we have to support back in our countries.”

Two major themes that emerged from the week-long talks were natural resource management (particularly land issues) and the lack of fundamental freedoms such as assembly, association, movement, expression and access to information. Participants also discussed the role of the UN in supporting human rights defenders, with particular interest in the roles of UN Special Representatives, country offices and mechanisms in place to protect human rights defenders.

Activists shared the experiences of their country’s human rights situation and made a commitment to improve information sharing, as well as to engage in joint lobbying for specific issues raised by FORUM-ASIA members and partners in Southeast Asia.  

A recurring theme throughout the forum was that everyone has a responsibility to defend human rights, not just NGO workers. This resonated with Cambodian participants, who included trade union workers, community activists, students and monks.

“The role of monks is not only to build pagodas, but to also build the capacity and development of the people so they understand Buddhism and human rights,” said Mean Someth, a monk from Wat Preah In Kosa, Siem Reap province.

Participants are in the process of drafting a ‘Phnom Penh Declaration’ to articulate unity amongst Southeast Asian activists and to urge for the role of human rights defenders to be strengthened. The draft declaration discussed on 17 November noted that Cambodian human rights advocates suffer arrests, threats, intimidation, physical assaults, travel restrictions, malicious legal action and murder.

The final Phnom Penh Declaration will be finalized within a week and will be tabled with declarations drafted in South Asia and Northeast Asia when participants meet in Bangkok for a regional forum on 28-29 November.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Kek Galabru, President, LICADHO
Ph: +855 (0)12940645
Miwa Igawa – Cambodia/Mekong Country Program Coordinator, Forum Asia
Ph: +855 (0)12249571 (Cambodia) / Email: [email protected]