Cambodia: Human Rights

(asked on 1st February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support democracy and human rights in Cambodia in view of the treason charges brought against 121 members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party for treason.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 15th February 2021

The UK is concerned about the trajectory of democracy in Cambodia. The UK plays a vocal role in the promotion of democracy. We raise concerns about democratic space and other human rights issues with the Cambodian authorities. The British Embassy in Phnom Penh has and will continue to meet with members of the Cambodian opposition and representatives from the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to hear their concerns. Embassy staff have attended court hearings, including of some of the 121 CNRP members, and will continue to do so in partnership with like-minded foreign missions.

The UK also uses multinational fora to raise concerns. At sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020, the UK publically urged the Cambodian authorities to lift restrictions on political debate and to create the conditions for a proper functioning democracy. We also voiced concern regarding the repeated arrests and intimidation of those seeking to be part of a public discourse about the future of Cambodia.

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