Mr. António Guterres,

Secretary General (SG),United Nations

 

Mr. Joko Widodo,

President of the Republic of Indonesia (Co-Chair of the 1991 Paris Conference on Cambodia)

Mr. Emmanuel Macron,

President of the French Republic (Co-Chair of the 1991 Paris Conference on Cambodia)

 

Mr. Guterres,

 

The 23rd of October 2022 marks the 31st anniversary of the Paris Peace Accord (PPA) (1991-2022). The date that all four Cambodian factions and 19 signatories agreed to end the civil war in Cambodia after over two decades of violence, atrocity, and the Khmer Rouge genocide. This event led to the only first free and fair election in 1993 organized by UNTAC and the creation of the Cambodian constitution in the same year. However, HUN Sen's government which was one of the factions has repeatedly violated PPA and the Cambodian constitution. 

Firstly, on the 5th, and 6th of July 1997, he made a coup to oust the power of his first Prime-minister prince Norodom Ranaridh and killed the Prince's supporters of more than 100 people illegally without investigation to update. The coup destroyed the legacy of the free and fair election assisted by UNTAC in which the PPA part I article 1 was gravely violated.

Secondly, Hun Sen was involved in ordering a grenade attack on the demonstrators On March 30, 1997, Led by the current Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)'s chief H.E Sam Rainsy. This attack killed 16 people and more than 150 injured. No one was brought to jail in Cambodia, but in France, on December 30th, 2021, French Judge Sabine Khéris issued the warrants to arrest his bodyguards’ chief and the deputy respectively, Gen. Huy Piseth and Gen. Hing Bun Heang for their roles in planning and orchestrating the attack after Sam Rainsy's complaint. Both generals confessed to the FBI and the independent media that they had gotten the order from their leader known as Hun Sen. 

Thirdly, in 2004, Chea Vichea, the trade union leader was killed. The false killers were arrested, and with Ex-King Sihanouk's intervention, the false killers were released. In 2014, Cambodian security forces opened fire on protesting garment workers killing at least 3 people, and a few disappeared. In 2016 Dr. Kem Ley, a political analyst was killed in Phnom Penh and millions of people joined his funeral. Since 2021, Naga World casino's peaceful strike has been responded to with physical violence from the municipal security making the pregnant workers lose their babies, injured, and seeing their representatives imprisoned consecutively. Thus, these actions violated constitution article 37: The right to strike and to organize peaceful demonstrations shall be implemented and exercised within the framework of the law. while PPA article 5: Part 4: states that "In the event of serious violations of human rights in Cambodia, they will call upon the competent organs of the United Nations to take such other steps as are appropriate for the prevention and suppression of such violations in accordance with the relevant international instruments".

Fourthly, the government dissolved the CNRP in 2017, banned 118 senior leaders from politics, canceled Cambodian passports from 12 CNRP’s leaders, and imprisoned its members up to date. These political attacks and harassment were implemented ahead of the 2018 general election due to the fear of loss based on the 2013 result when CNRP collected 44% against HUN SEN‘s CPP 48%. As planned, His Party CPP won 100% of the MP seats leading Cambodia to a single-party system and dictatorship. These campaigns violated severely the Cambodian constitution chapter VI: the political system article 51- new (as amended march 1999): stated “The Kingdom of Cambodia adopts a liberal multi-party democratic policy”. Article 33: stated that “Khmer citizens shall not be deprived of their nationality, exiled, or arrested and deported to any foreign country unless there is a mutual agreement”. Finally, Hun Sen also violated the article:29 of the Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement for Cambodia (the “ACPS”) provides: “Without prejudice to the prerogatives of the Security Council of the United Nations, and upon the request of the Secretary‐General, the two Co‐chairmen of the Paris Conference on Cambodia [France and Indonesia], in the event of a violation or threat of violation of this Agreement, will immediately undertake appropriate consultations, including with members of the Paris Conference on Cambodia, with a view to taking appropriate steps to ensure respect for these commitments”. 

We, the Cambodian diaspora community would like to demand that Mr. SG execute your competency as stated in PPA article 29 with the following objectives: 

1.     To request the chair and co-chair of the PPA, France, and Indonesia to convoke all the signatories to obligate the Cambodian government to respect the PPA fully.

2.     To ensure a free and fair election in Cambodia and make sure that Cambodian National Election Committee is neutral ( currently 6 of 7 members from CPP).

3.     To ensure that fundamental human rights such as the right to politics, right of expression, and public assembly are well observed.

4.     Rehabilitate the CNRP, and hand over to the CNRP the HQ, the stolen 55 and 5007 MP seats, and communal seats respectively.

5.     To ask the Hun Sen’s government to investigate the above crimes independently,  release all the prisoners of conscience,  and stop all forms of intimidation and blackmailing of human rights defenders, trade union leaders,  national resources defenders, independent media, and other civil societies. 

 

With gratitude,