"Fifth Annual Report: Cambodia Fundamental Freedoms Monitor", 1 May 2021

CCHR’s report has found, yet again, that Cambodian officials have severely restricted basic civil rights, especially those of freedom of association and expression.

The report, …, is the fifth such study published by the Fundamental Freedoms Monitoring Project (FFMP), a joint initiative by local civil society groups…

This most recent iteration highlighted several instances of rights violations carried out last year by national and local authorities... FFMP stated these violations showed non-compliance with both domestic and international human rights law, adding that state officials often weaponized the criminal code to further state aims.

“[Last year] saw an increase in restrictions and violations by the government that impeded the rights of environmental activists and journalists,” wrote the authors of the FFMP report, noting that restrictions of fundamental freedoms occurred in almost every province of Cambodia.

“Actions by the [Royal Government of Cambodia] continue to undermine the exercise of fundamental freedoms,” the report stated. “The RGC utilizes laws not to protect fundamental freedoms, but rather to curtail civic space and quash dissent.”

… The coalition of rights groups recorded a total of 384 incidents related to the exercise of fundamental freedoms, and notably in July witnessed a peak in the state crackdown during a surge in arrests of activists following the arrest of Rong Chhun, president of the Cambodian Confederation of Unions.

… Chin Malin, vice president of Cambodian Human Rights Committee, refuted the FFMP report, dismissing it as having been “just copied and pasted” from year-to-year when police officials implemented the law against FFMP’s favored groups…