Representatives of civil society & victims in detention
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2020-015-003
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2020
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 12.565679
Longitude: 104.990963
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Cambodia
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Country
- UN (Dep.) High Commissioner on Human Rights
- Dates of prior UN action
- 9 May 2019; August 2019; October 2019; 27 February 2020
- Type of record
- Unnamed individual/group/organization
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
representatives of civil society have reportedly declined to be identified as working with the UN in its advocacy toward the Ministry of the Interior due to a fear of reprisals. Some victims in detention have also declined assistance from OHCHR, including refusing to have their cases reported to UN human rights mechanisms. The Special Rapporteur noted in October 2019 that she has repeatedly been denied confidential interviews with detainees. She reiterated that she should be able to visit any place of detention and meet with anyone as part of discharging her mandate
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Special Procedures: country
- Unclear
- Type of attempted engagement
- Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
- Unclear
- Reprisal information
Special Rapporteur noted in October 2019 that she has repeatedly been denied confidential interviews with detainees. She reiterated that she should be able to visit any place of detention and meet with anyone as part of discharging her mandate
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Access denied to UN expert/representative
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 4 August 2020
- Government response content
noting that the statement in the Special Rapporteur’s report is misleading and non-transparent based on information and opinions of one party that do not reflect the actual situation, and that it was made without cooperation with the police to verify information and facts. The Government stated that the presence of local police outside of forums or meetings or gatherings with local people was owing to the duty of the police to observe and prevent any insecurity that may occur at those sites and is not meant to threaten, intimidate or disrupt. The Ministry of Interior stated that activities of civil society at the local level are undertaken normally without any restrictions and are not closely monitored by local authorities as before. The Directorate General of Prisons clarified that the agency responsible has already addressed the alleged denial of confidential interviews of detainees with the Special Rapporteur and OHCHR in Cambodia.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 0