Sunday, April 29, 2012

Statement of killing of Cambodian environment activist in Cambodia



The below are statements from national and international NGOs related killing of Chhut Wutty, President of Cambodia’s Natural Resources Conservation Group and a well-known environmental activist.

Cambodian Authorities Must Investigate Killing of Chhut Wutty and Arrest Perpetrators

Phnom Penh, 26 April 2012 — The Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC) strongly condemns the killing of Mr. Chhut Vuthy, President of Cambodia’s Natural Resources Conservation Group and a well-known environmental activist. Mr. Chhut was killed today as he was investigating a case of illegal logging in Koh Kong province. ADHOC urges the Cambodian authorities to immediately launch an investigation into his death and arrest perpetrators.
According to the information received, on 26 April 2012, Mr. Chhut travelled to Russey Chrum commune, Thmor Bang district, Koh Kong province to collect evidence about illegal logging in the Central Cardamom Protected Forest. He and two female journalists from The Cambodia Daily intended to take photographs of a place where illegal wood has been stocked. As loggers asked Mr. Chhut to shut down his camera, he refused and was shot dead on the spot. The two journalists were arrested by the military police. They were released later in the afternoon.
The Cambodian authorities must immediately launch an investigation into the killing of Chhut Vuthy, arrest perpetrators and prosecute them. ADHOC expresses deep concerns about the security of human rights defenders and community representatives, in particular those involved in the protection of land and natural resources. The Cambodian government must now demonstrate its commitment to protect both environmental activists and protected natural areas and hold those who are responsible for illegal acts to account, regardless of their rank or social standing.
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Ny Chakrya, Head of Monitoring Section: 011 274 959
Mr. Chan Soveth, Deputy Head of Monitoring Section: 016 667 373
Mr. Nicolas Agostini, Technical Assistant: 078 405 024

Picture  © Radio Free Asia.

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Statement of CIVICUS
Phnom Penh, 26 April 2012: We, at CIVICUS: Center for Cambodian Civic Education, condemn the cold-blooded murder of Mr. Chhut Vuty, the president of Natural Resources Conservation Group, today at noon at Thmor Bang district of Koh Kong Province. He was on mission investigating the illegal logging in the protected areas of the Cardamon Mountains. His body is being transported to his family ancestral village in Kandal Province tonight.
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Statement in response to killing of prominent Cambodian forest campaigner Chut Wutty

26th April 2012
Statement in response to killing of prominent Cambodian forest campaigner Chut Wutty
We are shocked and devastated to learn of the killing of Chut Wutty, Director of environmental watchdog Natural Resource Protection Group (NPRG), in Cambodia today. Wutty was reportedly shot by members of the Military Police while engaged in field research into illegal logging and land seizures.
"Chut Wutty was one of the few remaining Cambodian activists willing to speak out against the rapid escalation of illegal logging and land grabbing which is impoverishing ordinary Cambodians and destroying the country's rich natural heritage. The extent of the risks he and other activists face has been laid bare in the most shocking and tragic manner.  He will be very sorely missed," said Global Witness Director Patrick Alley. "The national government and international donor countries must publicly condemn his murder and take swift action to bring the perpetrators to justice."
Corruption and violence in Cambodia's forest sector has been well documented over many years. The Cambodian government and international donors have collectively failed to tackle this problem, leaving activists from forest-dependent communities and local civil society groups like Wutty standing up for basic human rights, the environment, and the rule of law on their own.
The work of activists such as Chut Wutty should be publicly celebrated as heroic.  Yet the reality in Cambodia is that members of the military, business and political elite, who prey on the country's natural resource wealth for personal profit, view them as a direct threat. As this terrible incident shows, those who take on these vested interests face intimidation and even death. 
The dangers faced by individual activists working on land and forest protection have always been severe; Wutty is not the first to be killed, and sadly, may not be the last. But the stakes for Cambodia's people and its environment are now just as high, as forest and land clearance proceeds at a devastating pace.
The world must not stand by and simply watch.  Cambodia's international donor partners must prevail upon the government, as a matter of urgency, to open up its notoriously murky natural resource sector and hold the most powerful and violent illegal loggers and land grabbers to account.
/Ends
Contact:
London:  Patrick Alley at             +44 7921 788 897      palley@globalwitness.org
Washington DC:  Megan MacInnes at             + 44 7540 891 837      ;cambodia@globalwitness.org
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26 April 2012

Killing of Cambodian environment activist must be investigated

Illegal logging is rife in Cambodia
Illegal logging is rife in Cambodia
© Amnesty International
This shocking incident will undoubtedly set alarm bells ringing for all activists who have worked with Wutty
Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Cambodia
The killing of a prominent Cambodian environment activist must be investigated immediately, Amnesty International said after the activist and a military police officer were shot dead on Thursday in Cambodia’s south-western Koh Kong province.

Other military personnel were apparently present during the shootings, but the details of the incident remain cloudy.

Chut Wutty was an outspoken critic of illegal logging, and has supported other environment and land activists, such as the Prey Lang Network. He had received threats because of his activities.

“This shocking incident will undoubtedly set alarm bells ringing for all activists who have worked with Wutty” said Rupert Abbott, Amnesty International’s Researcher on Cambodia.

“There must be accountability in this case, with an immediate and proper investigation into what happened.”

Two women journalists from the Cambodia Daily newspaper - Cambodian Phorn Bopha and Olesia Plokhii, a Canadian national - were with Wutty when he was shot. Both were initially detained, but have since been released.

“The Cambodian authorities must guarantee the safety of the two journalists caught up in this tragedy while reporting. As the only individuals who may know what happened, they could be at risk,” said Abbott.

Wutty was the Director of the Natural Resource Protection Group (NRPG), a Cambodian NGO that campaigns against the destruction of the country’s forests.

Monday, April 9, 2012

Civil Society Demands Transparency and Consultation on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration


Media advisory  
Civil Society Demands Transparency and Consultation on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
8th April 2012 

In a joint statement released today, over 100 civil society organizations and networks across the ASEAN region have called for the release of the draft ASEAN Human Rights Declaration and the initiation of meaningful public consultations on its content. The Declaration is being drafted by the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which is meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, April 9-11, 2012.

The draft has been in development for nearly a year, but has not yet been released to the public. 

Civil society has been largely excluded from the drafting process as well. Only the AICHR representatives of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have solicited input from civil society on the historic Declaration. Meanwhile, civil society organizations that have submitted recommendations on the Declaration have received no official response from the AICHR. 

“The peoples of ASEAN, whose human rights the Declaration is supposed to uphold, are being left in the dark,” said Yap Swee Seng, the Executive Director of Bangkok based Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) .  “They are not being given any meaningful way to ensure that their concerns are presented, received and reflected in the Declaration. 

“This threatens to fundamentally undermine the legitimacy of the Declaration.”

The joint statement also calls upon AICHR to implement specific steps to ensure that the process of drafting the Declaration will be credible, inclusive, transparent, reflective and consistent with universal human rights standards. These steps include the immediate release of the draft, public consultations, and the translation of the draft into national and local languages.

“Consultations without a draft of the AHRD at hand are meaningless, and a Declaration adopted without meaningful and broad-based consultations will not be legitimate,” said Dr.  Pung Chhiv Kek, President of  LICADHO  “ASEAN and AICHR risk making themselves an outcast among regional organizations if they ignore civil society and impose a Declaration drafted without public input.”

The joint statement has so far been endorsed by over 100 organizations and networks representing a wide range of sectors in ASEAN member states, including youth organizations, women’s organizations, child rights organizations, LGBT organizations, migrant workers network organizations, labour unions, farmers organizations, environmental organizations, human rights organizations, development organizations and some academic institutions.

The AHRD is widely predicted to be adopted at the 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in July in Phnom Penh. “The AICHR should postpone its submission of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration to the AMM in July if no meaningful public consultations were held in the finalization of this document,” said Haris Azhar, coordinator of the Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence of Indonesia (Kontras).      

Media contact persons for English: 

Yap Swee Seng , Executive Director, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), +66 (0) 818689178
Aung Myo Min, Director and Founder, Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), + 66 (0) 819925293 
Dr.  Pung Chhiv Kek, President, Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), + 855 (0) 12589091 

Mr. Haris Azhar, Coordinator, Kontras, Indonesia, + 62 (0) 815-13302342

Media contact persons for other languages: 

Name of contact persons 
Country 
Organizations 
Mobile phone 

Emails 
Mr. Aung Myo Min 
Burma/Myanmar

Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) 
+ 66 (0)8199 25 293


Ms. Khin Ohmar 

Burma/Myanmar 
Burma Partnership 
+66 (0) 8188 40772 

Mr. Ou Virak 
Cambodia
Cambodian Center for Human Rights 
+ 855 (0) 12404051

ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org
Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek

Cambodia 
Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO) 
+ 855 (0) 12589091
president@licadho-cambodia.org
Mr. Haris Azhar 
Indonesia 
Kontras 
+ 62 (0) 815-13302342

Mr. Ryan Silverio 
Philippines 
Child Rights Coalition-Asia 
+ 63 (0) 917 8797710 

Mr. Tan Kong Soon 
Singapore 
Think Centre-Singapore 
+ 65 (0) 91 077 905 

Ms. Sirada Khemanittathai 
Thailand 
People’s Empowerment Foundation 
+ 66 (0) 89696 6286 

Ms. An Phong 
Viet Nam 
Boat People SOS 
+66 (0) 80 118 4729 or 0801 184 729 



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 Law Journal of Cambodia(LJC) is a non-political and independent team who volunteer working for disseminating laws and informaton regarding development and human rights situation in Cambodia. All comment or idea of LJC cannot be claimed in front of court and other purpose. LJC just provide ways for people to understand the context of law and other issues. LJC wants people to understand the law and live in peaceful means. If you need inquiry, please drop your e-mail to cambodianlawjournal@gmail.com. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/law.cambodia Welcome all comments on this blog
 ព្រឹតិ្តបត្រច្បាប់កម្ពុជា (ព ច ក)គឺជាក្រុមឯករាជ្យ និងមិនមែនជាបក្សនយោបាយទេ ជាក្រុមស្ម័គ្រចិត្តដែល ធ្វើការ​ សម្រាប់ធ្វើ ការផ្សព្វផ្សាយអំពីច្បាប់ និងព័តមាន ដែលទាក់ទងនឹងការអភិវឌ្ឍ និងស្ថានភាព សិទ្ធិមនុស្សនៅកម្ពុជា។ រាល់មតិ យោបល់នៅក្នុងព្រឹត្តនេះមិនអាចយកទៅធើ្វជាអំណះ អំណាង ចំពោះមុខ តុលាការ រឺក្នុងគោលបំណងអ្វីផ្សេងទៀតឡើយ។ ព​ ច ក​ គ្រាន់ផ្តល់នូ​វ​ចំណេះដឹងច្បាប់ និងចំណេះដឹងផ្សេងៗទៀតដល់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឌប៉ុណ្ណោះ។ ប្រសិនលោក អ្នកចង់ដឹងព័តមានបន្ថែមអំពី ព ច ក សូមផ្ញើអីម៉ែលមកយើងខ្ញុំ។​ យើងខ្ញុំសូមស្វាគមន៌រាល់មតិលំអដល់ ព ច ក៕

Joint Statement on Calling AICHR to release ASEAN
Human Rights Declaration 6th April 2012
We, the undersigned civil society organizations and networks from Southeast Asia, express our grave concern and disappointment over the continuing secrecy in the drafting process of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD).

The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) is mandated under Article 4.2 of its Terms of Reference to develop an ASEAN Human Right Declaration with a view to establishing a framework for human rights cooperation through various ASEAN conventions and other instruments dealing with human rights. At the 6th meeting of the AICHR in Vientiane on 28 June 2 July 2011, a Drafting Group was officially established by the AICHR to prepare a draft of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. In January 2012, the Drafting Group submitted to the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) a draft AHRD for deliberation and debate.

To this date, the draft AHRD remains confidential while the public has been excluded from any meaningful participation in the drafting process. There has not been any substantive and broad-based regional consultation with the peoples in the region on the draft AHRD.

While we commend the representatives of the AICHR from Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines for holding consultation with their civil society at national level, we are disturbed that no such initiative has taken place in the rest of the ASEAN countries.

If ASEANs aspiration to be People-Oriented is to be achieved, the AICHR that is tasked to defend the fundamental freedoms of the peoples in the region must set a good example in ensuring meaningful and substantive consultation and peoples participation in the drafting of the historic AHRD.

We therefore strongly urge the AICHR to heed the recommendation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, that no discussion of human rights can be complete or credible without significant input from civil society and national human rights institutions  and immediately begin dialogues and consultations with civil society organizations on the AHRD.

We further call upon AICHR to implement the following steps to ensure that the drafting process of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration will be credible, inclusive, transparent, reflective and consistent with universal human rights standards:
1) To immediately publicize the draft AHRD so that the public can meaningfully participate in the drafting process. Consultations will remain meaningless if the draft declaration is kept confidential and out of reach of the peoples.
2) AICHR representatives who are already conducting national consultations in their respective countries must continue to do so, and ensure that these consultations are held nation-wide and in an inclusive and more regular manner. They should further encourage other AICHR representatives that have not taken such initiatives to do the same. The AICHR should also conduct consultations both at national and regional levels, especially if national consultations are not applicable yet in particular places.
3) To translate the draft AHRD into national languages and other local languages of the ASEAN countries in order to encourage broader public participation in the region.
4) To ensure that consultation meetings of the AICHR will be inclusive of all stakeholders, especially civil society organizations and national human rights institutions.

Until and unless the AICHR consults and engages with all stakeholders in a transparent, meaningful and substantive manner, the AICHR should postpone its submission of the final draft of AHRD to the AESAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), which is scheduled to take place in July 2012.

This call is made to public as wide as possible in the ten countries of ASEAN and is endorsed by different sectors of civil society organizations such as youth organizations, womens organizations, child rights organizations, LGBT organizations, migrant workers network organizations, labour unions, farmers organzitions, environmental organizations, human rights organizations, development organizations and some academic institutions. The joint statement is also translated into ASEAN major languages, Burmese, Bahasa-Indonesian, Bahasa-Malay, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese to indicate our commitment to promote the basic human rights of the people that they are entitled to receive information and awareness about ASEAN and its works. 

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 Law Journal of Cambodia(LJC) is a non-political and independent team who volunteer working for disseminating laws and informaton regarding development and human rights situation in Cambodia. All comment or idea of LJC cannot be claimed in front of court and other purpose. LJC just provide ways for people to understand the context of law and other issues. LJC wants people to understand the law and live in peaceful means. If you need inquiry, please drop your e-mail to cambodianlawjournal@gmail.com. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/law.cambodia Welcome all comments on this blog
 ព្រឹតិ្តបត្រច្បាប់កម្ពុជា (ព ច ក)គឺជាក្រុមឯករាជ្យ និងមិនមែនជាបក្សនយោបាយទេ ជាក្រុមស្ម័គ្រចិត្តដែល ធ្វើការ​ សម្រាប់ធ្វើ ការផ្សព្វផ្សាយអំពីច្បាប់ និងព័តមាន ដែលទាក់ទងនឹងការអភិវឌ្ឍ និងស្ថានភាព សិទ្ធិមនុស្សនៅកម្ពុជា។ រាល់មតិ យោបល់នៅក្នុងព្រឹត្តនេះមិនអាចយកទៅធើ្វជាអំណះ អំណាង ចំពោះមុខ តុលាការ រឺក្នុងគោលបំណងអ្វីផ្សេងទៀតឡើយ។ ព​ ច ក​ គ្រាន់ផ្តល់នូ​វ​ចំណេះដឹងច្បាប់ និងចំណេះដឹងផ្សេងៗទៀតដល់ប្រជាពលរដ្ឌប៉ុណ្ណោះ។ ប្រសិនលោក អ្នកចង់ដឹងព័តមានបន្ថែមអំពី ព ច ក សូមផ្ញើអីម៉ែលមកយើងខ្ញុំ។​ យើងខ្ញុំសូមស្វាគមន៌រាល់មតិលំអដល់ ព ច ក៕
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